‘ I don’t want it to end’
Warde wrestlers lose chance for redemption, final season
Injuries cost Nate Cuoco his sophomore year with Fairfield Warde and had kept him from getting looks from college wrestling programs. Sean Rodriguez, a senior now like Cuoco, is probably playing soccer in college but had dedicated himself to his wrestling team, too.
The pandemic has taken away their final season. The CIAC announced Thursday that there will be no wrestling competition this winter after the state Department of Public Health continued to recommend against playing sports deemed higher- risk for transmitting COVID- 19, like wrestling.
“I know I worked hard, and I know my teammates worked hard for a couple of years
to get a shot at making Opens, all- state,” Cuoco said. “It was just hard to see that.”
Rodriguez was an allstate defender in the fall and appreciated getting that opportunity to play that season, even though there was plenty of uncertainty and no state tournament.
“Postseason is always kind of win- or- go- home, and this ( fall season) was even more so,” Rodriguez said. “We had the mentality of ‘ this is it.’ ... This could be the last game, the last time I play for my high school in my entire life.”
His last soccer game, it turned out, was that last time, as it could be for many high school athletes. In the meantime, around 50 Mustangs wrestlers will take part in small- group non- contact conditioning and skill development, coach Jason Shaughnessy said, as the CIAC permits.
He understands the decision not to push a possible wrestling season into the spring, which could force many of his wrestlers into choosing between sports. He also understands that a full- time wrestler might not understand.
Seniors like John Summers, Ethan Sanchez and Dylan Cruvinel could have built on their experience and had big seasons.
And Cuoco, who placed fifth last year in the State Open after taking second in Class LL, had a chance to close out his career in style after missing a year.
“Nate’s a very passionate wrestler,” Shaughnessy said. “He’s got 24/ 7 dedication to wrestling, and now he has missed 50% of his high school career.”
Rodriguez, meanwhile, “he’s the caliber of a state place- winner,” the coach said. “He was going to be a full- time starter. It was a great reward for staying committed to the program.”
Rodriguez has played club soccer, but the recruiting process, he said,
“there’s kind of been a lull.” He’d like to get out of state for college, and he plans to get back on the field as soon as possible once the state prohibition on team sports expires on Tuesday.
Cuoco, a National High School Coaches Association Academic All- American, plans to go into physical therapy and is considering club wrestling.
“I don’t want it to end now,” he said.
Cuoco said he wrestled in the summer and felt safe throughout. Rodriguez, even while playing club soccer, took part in summertime wrestling, too, over the years and enjoyed the way Shaughnessy linked current Warde wrestlers with the program’s past.
“The amount of time I put into wrestling, now that it’s gone, was not as much as I would have liked,” Rodriguez said.
“The time I did put in was well- spent.”