Went to my first high school wrestling match in decades Tuesday. It was at Loyola's Performance Gym. The Dons, No. 10 in The Baltimore Sun’s poll were taking on No. 5 Curley.

Curley won 37-31 by getting a pin in the final weight class.

But when I walked in, I thought I was in the wrong place. The lights were off –- except for one giant spotlight over the wrestling mat. I thought maybe they were going to have a National Anthem performance and then turn up the lights and get underway. But that wasn’t the case.

The wrestlers performed under the light, while the audience sat in darkness. It was like being at the Myerhoff or the Lyric, except the seats were harder and the crowd was noisier.

Afterward, Loyola’s coach Steve Truitt told me a number of schools use a spotlight for matches, while others don’t.

“I like it,” Truitt said. “It adds atmosphere.”

The coach did admit that he doesn’t think the refs always like it, however.

“The shadows make it more difficult for them to see the pins,” he said.

But Truitt is right, the lighting added to the excitement of the night.

-- Sandra McKee