Final meet for Gordon
Six Clippers, pair of Villa Novans headed to Providence for New Englands
Cumberland sends six wrestlers to New Englands Friday night in Steve Gordon’s last meet
CUMBERLAND — There have been plenty of lasts for Cumberland wrestling coach Steve Gordon.
Gordon coached the last dual meet of his 50-year career before a capacity crowd at the Wellness Center last month against Hendricken.
Gordon’s last state tournament took place over the weekend where junior Reuben Hancock punctuated Gordon’s career with an overtime pin in the 220-pound state final.
Today, Gordon coaches his last tournament – New Englands. Cumberland is sending six wrestlers down Route 146 to the Providence Career & Technical Academy for what is the biggest two-day tournament of the season.
“The New Englands is a very big deal,” Gordon said prior to Wednesday afternoon’s practice. “It’s the one thing we’ve never won, but we’ve come pretty damn close when we finished second by a half a point in 1980.”
Cumberland, which last crowned an individual New England champion in 2009 when Shai Lariviere defeated Timberlane’s Zach Bridson in the 103-pound final in New Haven, has experienced plenty of success in the regional tournament recently. The Clippers finished third in 2009 and 2010 and they were 10th last season with a pair of placefinishers.
Gorodon expects at least one of his underclassmen to come home with a medal with the most likely candidates coming in the lower weight classes. Sophomore Brady Gillis received a good draw in the 106-pound weight class with an opening-round match against Tyler Knox of Pentucket, Mass. The winner of that contest will wrestle Vermont state cham- pion Ben Stewart of Essex for a spot in Saturday morning’s quarterfinals.
“I think we’re going to do pretty well,” Gordon said. “I think we’re going to win some matches and have some placefinishers. This is a great experience for all of the underclassmen, are you kidding? I expect all of these kids to be back again next year at New Englands and they’re going to be tough.”
Sophomore Colby Reilly faces Trevor Nugent of Masconomet, Mass. in the first round before the winner gets the unenviable task of facing one of the favorites to win the 113-pound weight class, Connecticut Open champion Jared Kosman of Fitch in Groton.
Sophomore Dom Passanante, the runner-up to Hendricken’s Nate Williams at 120 pounds, faces Bristol Central’s (Conn.) Chris Trelli Friday night. The winner gets Maine runner-up Josh Brown of Nokomis in the round of 16. If Passanante survives until the semifinals, he will likely meet tournament favorite Ryan Jack of Danbury, Conn.
“My goal is just to do the best I can,” Passanante. “It’s the end of the season, so I just want to place. I’m going to wrestle how I wrestle, because I really don’t know much about the competition because I’ve probably never wrestled any of them before.”
Kaream Sangare, the state runner-up at 195 pounds, has wrestled a number of his potential opponents because the Clippers competed in events in four states this season. Sangare could face Trumbull’s Brett Nutter in the round of 16 for the second time this season. Nutter earned a 5-3 win over Sangare in the Southington Invitational semifinals.
Hancock is familiar with one of his potential round of 16 foes in the 220-pound weight class. Mattuez Kudra of North Attleboro wrestles Qasim Khan of Foran (Conn.) in a first-round match. The Red Rocketeers have trained with the Clippers over the last two weeks.
“Hancock, there’s no question about that,” Gordon said when asked about his biggest surprise this season. “He was a jayvee wrestler and he ends up as a varsity wrestler winning a state championship. You just never know how you will do because of the brackets and how it shakes out. You can be lucky and go right to the semis or you can be unlucky and meet the best kid in the first round.”
Junior Jaylen Reynolds, who came up a couple of wins short of placing last year at 220 pounds, faces Pinkerton Academy’s (N.H.) Cam Macro in an opening-round match. The Astros competed at the Gorman Invitational, but Macro didn’t participate.
A win in his opening match would pit Reynolds against Vermont state champion and Lowell Holiday champion Calvin Hayford of Mt. Anthony. The two wrestled last month in the Mt. Anthony Duals.
Woonsocket is the only other Valley school sending wrestlers to Providence and coach Matt Morrow believes both of his seniors can win a couple of matches. Elijah McDowell is back at New Englands for a second straight year and he opens with Cesar Alvan of Ludlow, Mass. If McDowell survives that match, he’ll face Vermont 132-pound state champion Noah Call of Mt. Anthony for a spot in the quarterfinals.
“He’s got to wrestle tough,” said Morrow, who pointed out that McDowell needs just two wins to tie Julien Jerez’s school record for career wins. “We like wrestling out of state because everyone in the state knows his moves. When we went to New Hampshire and Cape Cod, nobody knew he was a great thrower and they would tie up with him.”
Rogelio Gonzalez is making his first trip to New Englands and needs just two wins to become the first wrestler in program history to win 40 matches in a season. The 170-pound state finalist received a bye into the round of 16 where he’ll face either Issac Gladey of Concord, N.H. or Carson LiCastri of Joel Barlow in Connecticut.
The good news for Gonzalez is he wouldn’t face reigning New England champion Ryan Devivo of Xavier (Conn.) until the semifinals.
“Knowing this was my last practice as a Villa Novan broke my heart a little bit,” Gonzalez said. “I’m been working my butt off all year. Coach said the first two matches are winnable and my goal is to reach the semis. I know some of these guys are going to outsize me a little bit, but as long as I keep my technique on point I should be all set.”