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The Winchester High varsity wrestling team (1-1 in the Middlesex League) was back on the mat two days after Christmas to participate in a tri-match against Franklin and host Leominster on Dec. 27, while the JVs traveled to Natick with Coach Ryan Errico for their own tournament.
In the meet at Leominster, several varsity wrestlers recorded wins, led by Ian Welsh and Ilyas Malik, who came away with two wins apiece. Maria Baldwin, Henry Wallace, Leo Gannon, Shaun Garrett and Kai Napadow Baquero also took home victories.
But overall, the team still had too many starters out with injuries, sickness and holiday travel plans, and as a result had to give up too many forfeits, which count as six-point losses, the same as a pinfall.
The Red & Black fell to Frankin by one slip point, 40-39, even though they won six out of the eight matches. Winchester also dropped a 48-32 decision to host Leominster, despite once again securing its share of matches. In this case, they collected three wins out of six encounters.
The Winchester varsity wrestlers are slowly recovering from injuries, and hopefully in the new year they won’t be shorthanded again going into dual meets.
During the JV match in Natick, several local grapplers placed, including third place finishers Bowden Chamberlain, Declan Welsh and Jack Anderson. Seojun Ryu accounted for a fourth-place finish. Jacob Quave came in fifth in his weight class. Stipan Persikic and Ben Gagne each settled for sixth.
Following the Natick Tournament, Errico said this was a great experience for his freshmen and sophomore wrestlers, who will be needed to plug holes in the varsity lineup as the season progresses throughout the next two months.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024.
