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After participating in a couple of early season invitational tournaments – the Glen Doherty Memorial at home and the Lowell Holiday extravaganza – coupled with an unexpected loss to host Reading, the Winchester High wrestling coaches now have a better idea of the team’s strengths and weaknesses.
There are some difficult matches coming up after Christmas, and so the practices leading up to them were used to sort out the starting lineup, while also working on each wrestler’s conditioning program to improve the overall stamina, before the schedule heats up.
As a refresher, the match against the Reading Rockets had a not so surprising result, considering the circumstances. The Red & Black, who were shorthanded, ended up dropping a 46-33 decision to their league rival. They had multiple starters out with injuries – including two of the three captains – which makes it difficult to beat a seasoned team like Reading.
But there’s good news, because some of those walking wounded will return to the starting lineup when the calendar flips to January. While dealing with the injuries, there has been a silver lining centered around the understudies. They have been given a chance to compete, which is providing them valuable experience on the varsity level.
On Dec. 19 and 20, the Red & Black headed to Lowell’s Tsongas Center to wrestle in the aforementioned Lowell Holiday Tournament. This two-day tournament featured over 75 teams, and the locals were able to stand up against many of them quite well.
Senior captain Eddie Donlon, coming off his win in the Doherty Memorial Tournament, placed eighth in the competitive 138-pound bracket, going 6-3 overall. Among those wins, he was able to secure his 100th career varsity triumph.
“This is a huge accomplishment, and it speaks to his consistency over the past four years,” said assistant Vitaly Napadow.
In the girls bracket, captain Maria Baldwin came in fourth in the 114-pound category after recording a 4-2 record.
Luca Kovacev, who lost his first-round match, before running off four straight wins, finally ended up dropping a match to a solid Wellesley wrestler on Day 2. He too was 4-2 in Lowell.
Henry Wallace and Jack Allen each finished up with 2-2 records after competing in some “spicy matches,” according to Napadow. They also made it to the second day. Ian Welsh, Beni Curcio and Ele Siciliano picked up the Winchester wins.
“Rani Audi, Massimo Cella and Caleb Kolberg competed hard, while also getting some great varsity experience, which will serve them well as the season progresses,” said Napadow. “Much thanks to coaches Ryan Errico and Tomi Uyehara, who covered all of our matches across the eight mats at the Tsongas Center, as well as all of the wrestlers, who came to the corner to cheer on their teammates.”
Two days after Christmas, the Winchester wrestlers are scheduled to return to the mat for a quad match at Leominster. Franklin and Mahar Regional high schools are also on the four-team card. It should be a good test for the Red & Black. Franklin, for instance, has the two-time 113-pound Lowell Holiday Tournament and New England Tournament champion on its side.
While the varsity is in Leominster, the JV team will be in Natick for its own tournament. Coach Errico will be with them, while Uyehara and Napadow are going to be in Leominster.
“It will be a great wrestling experience for all the kids, who will be attending these tournaments,” said Napadow.
The Leominster non-league quad match will also be a nice tuneup for the New Year’s Day showdown against visiting Wellesley in the new gym, starting at 6 p.m.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News last November.
