Clippers head to state finals
Cumberland eyes competition for championship
CUMBERLAND — The Cumberland wrestling team lost more dual meets this season (4) than the Clippers lost in the previous 13 seasons. As a matter of fact, Cumberland hadn't lost more than two dual meets since going 9-7 in 2004.
Dual meets, however, aren't the way you determine the state champion and veteran Cumberland coach Steve Gordon knows this better than anyone as he enters the final state tournament of his 50-year career.
“We've got seven solid, solid scorers, and in my way of thinking we could put five or six in the finals – that's realistic,” Gordon said prior to Wednesday's practice. “Will it happen? I don't know because you just don't know what will hap- pen. Don't ask anybody [if Cumberland can win] because they didn't say anything about us last year. We'll see what happens.
“Ponaganset is so deep they're like we were last year. Hendricken and Coventry are both very good, but I don't know if they have enough depth to win.”
If Cumberland wants to retain its state title then the Clippers are going to have to win the title in a completely different way than last season. Last season's team put four wrestlers in the finals and two brought home of titles, but the Clippers overcame Ponaganset thanks to great depth and strong wrestling in the consolation bracket.
Gordon concedes that the Chieftains have more depth than his team, but he hopes his seven talented underclassmen can score enough points to make up for some deficiencies. Cumberland enters the tournament with six top-2 Division I seeds led by sophomore Colby Reilly (113 pounds) and junior Reuben Hancock (220 pounds), who are both No. 1 seeds.
Sophomores Brady Gillis (106 pounds) and Dom Passanante (120 pounds) and juniors Kaream Sangare (195 pounds) and Jaylen Reynolds (285 pounds) are seeded second.
Cumberland's best hope at a state title is likely Hancock, who wrestled behind Reynolds last season at 220 pounds. The junior is undefeated in dual-meet competition and has valuable experience from wrestling in out-of-state events against New England powerhouses like Mt. Anthony, North Andover, North Attleboro and Bristol Eastern. Ponaganset's Luke Cirka is the No. 2 seed.
“This is going to be a big weekend for me because this is probably the most kids I've ever had in a bracket,” Hancock said. “I think there's been a bull's-eye on me since early in the season when I started off 2-0 with pins. I've had that target on me all year since I came out of nowhere because I was a jayvee guy last year.”
Gillis, who only has one in-state loss, is also wrestling in his first state tournament. The sophomore defeated the No. 4 seed at the Connecticut Open, Simsbury's Thomas Finn, in the Southington Invitational semifinal last month. The sophomore's in-state defeat was to Coventry's Joziah Fry, who is undefeated this season. Fry owns a win over Connecticut Open No. 1 seed Travis Longo of Wilton.
“I've got a pretty good spot in my bracket,” Gillis said. “They're are some really good kids in my bracket, but I think I'll do good and have a shot at winning. The key is beating Joziah because he's the hardest competition in the bracket. I've been practicing hard to stop what he does. It's a great feeling to win last year, but I'm trying to win a state title this year.”
The Clippers and Chieftains could lock horns in up to three state title matches and Cumberland would likely need to sweep all three matches to win the title. Reilly is the No. 1 seed even though he dropped a decision to Mike Joyce because Joyce suffered a disqualification loss to No. 2 seed Jacob Remolina.
Sangare, who will likely see SK's Sean Holmander in the semifinals, was majored by returning state finalist Tyler Riggs in a dual meet. Sanngare is still working his way through a chest injury.
“He was really sick with uthe flu and then he had an injury to his chest,” Gordon said. “He'll be ready for this weekend.”
Cumberland's most consistent wrestler has been Passanante, who claimed the Marshfield Holiday and Gorman titles earlier in the season. The sophomore suffered his first dual-meet defeat last nweek to Hendricken's Nate Williams, who sits at the top of the 120-pound bracket.
The only roadblocks to the final for the Clipper are Chris Gomez and Woonsocket's Jordan Dutcher, who meet in nthe quarterfinals. t “We've already worked on that match,” Gordon said of a rematch with Williams, who ycontrolled Passanante from the top position. “We think it will be much closer this time and we feel like we have a good possibility of winning.”
Freshman Aidan Faria is the seventh Clipper who Gordon needs to reach the medal stand Saturday night. The 126-pound has a good opportunity to reach the semifinals where returning state finalist Mason Clarke of Coventry awaits.
The Valley's two other returning state finalists face difficult roads back to Saturday night. Lincoln senior Jeremy Batista, who reached the 132-pound state final as a Clipper last season, faces two-time state finalist Noah Young of Coventry in the biggest first-round match of the tournament.
Batista, who bumped up to 145 for the tournament so Allen Setaro could wrestle at his natural weight, is in a weight class with returning state champion Cole Mcgill of Ponaganset sitting as the No. 1 seed.
“We're not ducking anybody at 138,” Lincoln coach Mike Tuorto said. “That is a very tough weight class, but I think he can beat anybody there. For the betterment of the team, this is the decision we made. Jeremy's in a tough spot – I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm confident in Jeremy's wrestling, his cardio and his technique. It doesn't matter how you wrestle in this tournament, it's just about survive and advance. I do think he can win this.”
The Division II-B champions have another top Division II seed in sophomore Mason Lynch, who is on the same side of the 106-pound bracket as Gillis. Lynch could do the Clippers a big favor by beating Ponaganset's Tim Cook in the quarterfinals, and Tourto believes he has a wrestler who can advance to the New Englands and maybe even the state final.
“We're in a great spot at that weight and we knew it was going to be where he was all season,” Tuorto said. “Cook is no slouch and he's really tough. They are a style matchup nightmare for each other, but I think [Lynch's] experience of being in the blood round last year really helps. The goal at the beginning of the season was to reach the podium, but that's changed. We want him to go to New Englands.”
Central Falls/Tolman/Shea co-op's Jacob Felix is D-II's No. 2 seed at 106 pounds and he has a chance to meet Fry in Saturday's semifinals.
The other returning state finalist, Woonsocket senior Elijah McDowell, will have to upset the state's poundfor-pound best wrestler in Coventry's three-time state finalist and New England placefinisher Seth Brown in the 132-pound semifinals. McDowell is in the top half of the bracket because of last week's overtime loss to Hope's Darnell Dunston.
“Our goal is to get four wins,” Woonsocket coach Matt Morrow said Thursday. “We want to win our first two matches and beat Seth Brown and win a championship or lose to Seth Brown and win two matches to go to New Englands. I just want him to finish one hell of a career at New Englands. A day after that [loss to Dunston] he was ready to go.”
Woonsocket has two No. 1 seeds in Dutcher and Rogelio Gonzalez. Gonzalez is the No. 1 seed at 170 pounds, but he spent most of the season bumping up to wrestle 182 pounders. The Smithfield Invitational champion will likely see Ponaganset's Josh Frenette in the quarterfinals Friday night before Chariho's Cam Anderson awaits in the semifinals. Gonzalez, who lost to Frenette, 3-2, in the North Providence Invitational in December, majored Anderson in the Smithfield final.
“Frenette is one of Rogelio's two losses this season,” Morrow said. “He has to wrestle because he didn't wrestle in the first match. He didn't wrestle for the first period and a half, so he just needs to go out there and wrestle tough.”
Burrillville junior Nick Gosselin is going to have to work hard to return to New Englands because Friday night he will likely see Ponaganset's Richard Andrews in the 152-pound quarterfinals. Andrews has wrestled at 138 pounds this season, but Burrillville coach Vinny Micucci knows his nephew is in for a tough match against a return- ing state finalist.
“Andrews is a very talented wrestler, but it's tough to jump up two weight classes,” Micucci said. “He can handle this weight class. Is this ideally what I wanted to his in the quarters? No, but the only options were Andrews, {John} Myers or Devin Rivet. Nick has to wrestle his match. I do not see this being a neutral match, it's going to the mat. It's about who's controlling the hips and the upper body.”
Wrestling starts tonight at 5 at the Providence Career and Technical Academy and the second day begins at 10:00 a.m. with the finals taking place Saturday night.