Mat men square off
Cumberland hosts Gorman Invitational today
CUMBERLAND — Saturday’s John Gorman Invitational is the Cumberland wrestling team’s first chance to get a good look at some of the state’s best competition and it’s also a chance for local Division II squads Burrillville and Lincoln to face its stiffest competition until the state meet.
The Clippers likely won’t be vying for the tournament championship when wrestling concludes Saturday at the Wellness Center, but a number of Clippers will be battling for individual glory.
“We have a bunch of kids that I think are going to do really well,” Cumberland coach Steve Gordon said prior to Thursday night’s demolition of Barrington and Warwick Vets. ‘We really haven’t been pushed at all in the state. We’ve been out of state wrestling in some really tough tournaments and doing pretty well with half a team.”
The undefeated Broncos and Lions also have a number of talented wrestlers who are off to good starts this season and will be seeing their strongest competition to date.
Gordon also wanted to mention that despite the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs playing their AFC Division game at 4:30 p.m., the tournament will run like it has in the past.
“The tournament is going to go off at 9 a.m. and we’re going to go straight through to the finals,” Gordon said. “I know a lot of people are interested in the football game, but I don’t really care about that. We’re not going to rush the tournament where the kids don’t get enough rest between matches.”
Here’s a look at how the local teams and a few of the other teams coming to the Wellness Center stack up:
Cumberland
Even though there is a returning New England place finisher in the Gorman field, there likely isn’t a bigger favorite than Cumberland 195pounder Nate Skawinski. The senior has already beaten deep fields at the Marshfield (Mass.) Invitational and the Sanford (Maine) Warrior Invitational.
Skawsinki, who could run into Lincoln’s talented Soliamon Saqib at some point in the tournament, warmed up for Saturday with a pair of pins Thursday night. North Providence’s Nate Moriera, a fourth-place finisher at last year’s state meet, is also in contention for the title.
“He’s just very strong, very methodical and nothing fancy with him. He’s just a hardnosed wrestler,” Gorman said. “He just plugs away and keeps the pressure on his opponent all the time.”
One of the highlights Saturday was supposed to be a potential state title match between La Salle’s reigning 160-pound state champion, Chris Francis, and Clipper senior Moulaye Sangare.
But, after reaching the Marshfield Invitational final and taking third in Sanford at 160 pounds, Sangare moved down to 152 pounds on the final day of certification. The senior could run into the Rams’ Mt. Hope Invitational champion, Mason Bernard, or North Attleboro D-II South Sectional champion Colin Fiske.
“He wanted to go at 152 earlier in the season, but it took him a little while after the football season,” Gordon said. “North Attleboro has a decent 152-pounder and they are a strong team all the way through.”
The team’s third senior captain, Kylie Creamer, also reached the Marshfield Field and finished third in Sanford at 132 pounds. Creamer could see La Salle’s Tyler Santos, who was second in the North Providence Invitational, or Brad Testa of Johnson at some point in the tournament. The favorite is Fairfield Warde’s Timmy Kane, who finished third at New Englands in March.
The Clippers also expect Jeremy Batista (120), Malik Sangare (145) and junior John Hayes (170) to wrestler deep into the tournament.
Lincoln
Lions coach Mike Tourto calls his team a tournament team and Saturday is a perfect chance for the Lions to show they will be a force in the upper weights at the state tournament.
Tyler Balon only has one loss at 182 pounds this season and it came when he took third in the Peterson Tournament on Long Island. Balon already owns a win over Burrillville’s Greg Lacroix and he will likely have to beat North Attleboro’s Nick Morrison, a D-II South Sectional champion, at some point in the tournament.
Saqib boasts a record of 184 at 195 pounds and he’s earned a medal at all three tournaments this season with a third-place finish at Mt. Hope and a first at North Providence. Skawinski has been the class of the 195-pound weight class, but Saqib has a chance to propel himself into the conversation.
Jack Brayall has already placed third in Mt. Hope at 285 pounds and sixth on Long Island to produce a 16-6 record. The 285-pound weight class isn’t very strong, with the likely favorite being Hope’s Adonis Toribio, who was fifth in the state last year.
John Barnes (160), Jebran Saqib (220) sand Sam Howard (106) also are vying to wrestle deep into the tournament.
Burrillville
The Broncos are one of the feel-good stories of the wrestling season, as they sit in a four-way tie for first place in Division II-B with no losses. The Broncos, who haven’t finished above .500 since 2010, have a chance to show their quality Saturday against the best teams they will see until late February.
Leading the way for the Broncos is clearly senior Nick Samek, who is undefeated at 220 pounds. Samek will likely have to contend with Fairfield Warde’s Jon Ocana, who took second at the Warde Invitational. South Windsor’s Dylan Hodge is also 14-4 on the season.
Lacroix, who only has one loss on the season, is in contention in the 182-pound weight class, while talented freshman Josh Kanakry brings his undefeated record into the 103-pound bracket. La Salle’s Thomas Mountain, North Attleboro’s Brady Folan, North Providence’s Biagio Rizzo are all in the hunt with Timberlane’s Barrett Kappler entering the tournament as the favorite after placing at the Lowell Holidays last month.
Best of the rest
North Attleboro, which ran away with the Marshfield Invitational title, is the cofavorite heading into Saturday with talented wrestlers in Marshfield champion Devin Spratt (120), Alex Devito (126), Nick Gould (145), Fiske (152), Jack Donahue (170), Morrison, White and Leo Thibeault (220).
If you’re looking to watch the best individual wrestlers than co-favorite Fairfield Warde is the team to follow because Timmy Kane (132) is a heavy favorite. New England champion Charlie Kane (145) had to pull out of the tournament with an injury. Warde also has other talent in Noah Zuckerman (106), Alex Steele (126), Jack Price (138) and Ocana.
Normally, Timberlane would come into the tournament as the favorite, but the Owls are essentially send their second team because they are competing in a league meet with Bedford at the same time. The New Hampshire powerhouse is sending a couple of starters, but the only potential champion is Kappler.
South Windsor boasts a potential Connecticut Open champion in Max Odell, but he isn’t registered to wrestle Saturday. Another potential champion, junior Devon Schoenberger, will be a force in the 113-pound weight class.