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The Winchester High wrestling team (2-1) recently concluded one of its busiest parts on its regular season schedule, and it all centered around the town of Belmont.
On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the Red & Black were at Belmont High for a dual meet, and by the end of the night, they were able to come out on top against the rival Marauders, 53-26.
Girls team captain Maria Baldwin helped lead the way to victory with a big individual win over her Marauders’ counterpart Ava Svistunov, who’s currently among the state’s top-ranked wrestlers.
“Maria hit an impressive standing Jonesy tilt on her way to a pin fall,” said the program’s assistant Vitaly Napadow. “I’m sure these two will see each other again in the state tournament.”
Napadow also singled out the efforts of first-year wrestler Seojun Ryu, who was trailing early on, but fought his way off his back to pin a much bigger Belmont wrestler at 190-pounds.
“On this night, it was great to have close to a full roster on hand. It made all the difference in the world, because we were able to wrestle up to our potential as a team,” said Napadow.
On Saturday, Jan. 10, the Winchester wrestlers were back in Belmont again for the Brendan Grant Memorial Tournament that featured separate varsity, JV and girls matches.
The Marauders played host to 23 teams, some coming from as far away as Rhode Island.
“We finished third overall, behind only Woburn and Arlington,” said Napadow. “We had standout performances from several wrestlers, with two of them making it to the finals.”
Ilyas Malik came out on top in a deep, competitive 175-pound bracket after pinning his Woburn opponent in the finals.
“[Malik] will see this opponent again on Jan. 21 (7 p.m.) in a Middlesex League matchup at home,” said Napadow.
Kai Napadow Baquero came in second in the 120-pound weight class after buzzing through the field of competitors, before falling just short, 4-1, in the finale against Woburn’s Alex Orellana, who’s ranked fourth in the state. At the end of the day, Orellana was awarded the top prize as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Both Eddie Donlon, who came in third at 138-pounds, and Luca Kovacev, who at 165-pounds finished fourth, made it to the consolation finals.
At 132-pounds, Leo Gannon picked up three wins to help his teammates finish among the top squads in the tournament. Ian Welsh and Jack Allen were each credited with two wins.
In the JV matches, freshman Ben Gagne was runner-up at 190-pounds. Thomas Blake came in third. Several other JVs also had solid showings, including Jonathan Juarez with five wins, as well as Jack Anderson, Henry Cunnane and Jacob Lieberman with three apiece.
“This was a great experience for all of our competitors,” said Napadow.
In the girls tournament, Baldwin finished second, and Ele Siciliano third, while competing in varsity and JV matches.
Coming events
As a reminder, Senior Night is only two weeks away on Jan. 28. Visiting Lexington will provide the opposition on this date in the new high school gym.
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.
