No matter the strides that Westlake’s program has taken in the past few seasons, one local bugbear continues to bother the Chaps.

And that nuisance known as Bowie picked up another dual win over the Chaps with a narrow 42-38 triumph Jan. 13 at Westlake High School.

“Every time we wrestle Bowie, something seems to happen that should not happen, and we lose the dual,” Westlake coach Patrick O’Harra said. “They have an uncanny luck when it comes to duals in Austin. Don’t get me wrong, they are a great program that is well-coached, but somehow the stars always align for them.”

That alignment began when Westlake had to forfeit three weight classes because of injuries. The two powerhouses then traded points before Bowie pulled off two narrow wins.

Jim Gianakopolous, who moved up to 145 pounds, almost claimed a decision win before suffering a sudden pin near the end of the match. In a 152-pound bout, Westlake’s Peyton Burns appeared to secure a victory when he hurled a Bulldog onto his back, but the official didn’t count the points as the match went into overtime. Burns, already weakened by an illness, didn’t have much remaining stamina and fell 4-2.

“If either of those matches go the other way, or the way they should, we win the dual,” O’Harra said. “It’s petty disappointing, but that’s how it always seems to go with Bowie.”

Chase Betzer (130 pounds), Conor Shults (135), Sawyer Morris (160), Trevor Hershey (171), Richmond Howard (180), Cooper Scott (189) and Curtis Loeffel (215) all picked up wins.