State Champs

West wins freshman crown

By ALEX SPONSELLER
Posted 3/4/20

By ALEX SPONSELLER The Cranston West freshman wrestling team took home its second consecutive state championship. The young Falcons had three individual winners on the day, with Domenic Schiavulli taking first at 106 pounds, Luke Montefusco at 120

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State Champs

West wins freshman crown

Posted

The Cranston West freshman wrestling team took home its second consecutive state championship.

The young Falcons had three individual winners on the day, with Domenic Schiavulli taking first at 106 pounds, Luke Montefusco at 120 pounds, and Matt Defusco at 145.

Vincent Merlino placed second at 160, while third place finishers included Baker Kattan at 126 and David Vieira at 182. Daniel Negalha finished fourth at 138.

The West junior varsity also had a strong outing, with Noah Polion winning at 170 and Matt DiSpirito taking second at 160.

Jordan Gooch finished in third at 145, while Jose Diaz finished fourth at heavyweight.

“We expected it, and I hate putting the cart before the horse, but this team was just so special and so good that it was expected,” West coach Tom Lynch of the freshman title. “With the amount of kids we had this year, we pretty much had triple the talent of last year, so it would have been a surprise not to win.”

Healthy numbers, as well as hungry grapplers is what led to the team’s success once again, according to Lynch.

“It’s the numbers and the athletes coming in. They are very dedicated, no nonsense. The upperclassman can fool around a little bit, but the freshman that come in are looking to prove something. They are the low men on the totem pole, they have to work hard and they have to work harder to win. That really showed this year and it paid off,” said Lynch.

The varsity team took 11th place as a team last week at the state championships, and Lynch is looking forward to seeing what the future holds for this rising club.

“We’re expecting big things in the next year or two. When you win two freshman state championships in three years, it shows that you have a lot of promise as a program and may possibly have a shot at winning a varsity state championship,” said Lynch. “There will be some pressure, the kids don’t know that yet, but when they do, I feel that they will have enough class and be good enough to handle that pressure. It’s a really solid group of kids.”

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