Clippers hope to pin down regional title
CUMBERLAND — This season was always about New Englands for the Cumberland wrestling team.
Yes, winning last week’s state title was certainly a great accomplishment and the team celebrated the program’s sixth state title, but all season long the talented Clippers had their sights set on this weekend in Methuen, Mass.
It’s been a decade since Shai Lariviere finished third in the 112-pound weight class and his brother Shoneil finished fifth at 119 pounds to help the Clippers finish third for the second time in three seasons. Since that trip to New Haven, the Clippers haven’t been close to the podium while state rivals Hendricken, Ponaganset, Coventry and even tiny Exeter-West Greenwich brought home plaques from the regional meet.
That could change this weekend. With seven wrestlers making the trip up Interstate 95, including a pair of returning place finishers, the Clippers believe they are in the mix to not only earn a spot on the podium, but compete with Hendricken, Coventry, Danbury, Conn. and Timberlane, N.H. for the title.
“It’s a focus and we’ve talked about this tournament for the last couple of years,” Cumberland coach Colin Smith said. “We want to make an effort of it. New Englands has been a conversation since the start of the season. Our approach to wrestling doesn’t change. Whether it’s at the state tournament or New Englands, we’re aware of who is in our bracket, but we can only focus on the next match.”
“We know [defending champion] Danbury and Timberlane are going to be tough and so is Hendricken and Coventry.”
This weekend’s tournament isn’t about how deep your team is – after all, Coventry only brought three wrestlers to last season’s meet and finished third because all three placed in the top three. To come home with the title Sunday night, you need at least one champion and the Clippers have a bona fide title contender in 152-pound junior Aidan
Faria.
Faria, who finished third at 145 pounds last season and is undefeated in 201920, had his first close match of the season in Sunday’s state final when a third-period escape was the difference in a 1-0 victory over Chariho’s Dom Bonanno.
“I think that match was a great experience for Aidan to get tested,” Smith said. “He did a great job tying up and it will only be a good thing for Aidan going into the weekend. The difference this year is when you have the credentials and experience, you go into the tournament feeling confident. If he’s in position to win a match, he’s going to do it.”
Because the tournament isn’t seeded – although that might change next season because of the unbalanced brackets at 120 and 126 pounds – Faria could’ve been put on the same side of the bracket as returning New England champion Tyler Sung. Instead the two, who wrestled a one-point match in last season’s semifinals, are on opposite sides.
Faria will likely see Massachusetts All-State runner-up Eddie Marinelli of Canton in the quarterfinals Saturday afternoon before coming back for the semifinals Sunday.
Cumberland’s other returning placer is 113-pound state champion Brady Gillis, who finished sixth at the same weight last season. Gillis will see familiar faces if he stays in the main bracket. The returning All-America will likely face Burlington, Mass. grappler Cam Soda in the first round before a date with New Hampshire state champion Konrad Parker of Timberlane in the quarters. Gillis defeated Parker, 8-1, in the consolation semifinals of the Gorman Invitational.
“His first match is against Cam, which is always a tough match,” Smith said. “Our goal is to make a schedule where we face tough kids and we’re going to take losses, but it will make us better for this tournament.”
Colby Reilly, the 132-pound state second-place finisher, is making his fourth trip to New Englands and went 2-2 last season. Reilly will face either Massachusetts wrestler Nore Mendes or Maine’s Jack Tibbitts in the first round. The winner will likely get Massachusetts All-State champion Kaya Bogle in the quarters.
“A lot of our kids are heading there have a lot of experience,” Smith said. “Colby won a couple of matches last year and he wants to reach the podium this year.”
Senior state champion Mason Lynch and 106-pound second-place finisher Corbin Dias are making their first trips to the regional event. Lynch is in a very difficult portion of the 138-pound bracket, as he will likely run into Massachusetts All-State champion Mike Glynn in the quarterfinals. Dias faces Connecticut’s Kaden Ware in a pigtail match.
Woonsocket sophomore Anthony Diaz is also in the 106-pound bracket and he will face Connecticut’s Dante DiStefano in a pigtail match. The winner meets New Hampshire champion Sam Wagner of Concord in the first round.
Senior Dom Passanante, who had to sit out New Englands with a shoulder injury in his junior campaign, wrestles Connecticut’s Zach Johns Saturday morning for the right to face Vermont champion Hunter Verge of St. Johnsbury in the first round. Returning New England finalists Andrew Fallon and Max Leete will likely meet in the quarterfinals on the other side of the bracket.
“I’m proud of Dom,” Smith said. “He had a tough road coming back from the shoulder injury and he dominated his way through the state tournament until he faced Fallon in the final.”
Senior captain Tyler Shaw, a second-place finisher at 170 pounds, will face either Massachusetts grappler Josh Cordio or Hunter Rasmussen of Connecticut in the first round. The winner gets New Hampshire champion Kyle Gora of Alvirine in the quarterfinals.
In the same half of the bracket, Burrillville junior Bobby Thatcher faces North Attleboro’s Michael Edmonds in a pigtail match. Edmonds dominated his match with Thatcher in the Gorman semifinals, earning a win by pin 29 seconds into the third period.