Chin pins milestone
Lincoln senior becomes ninth wrestler in school history to win 100 wins in Lions’ dual meet defeat to
North Providence.
LINCOLN — Eric Chin never had any interest in wrestling until the eighth grade when friend Matt Morra dragged him to a Lincoln Middle School wrestling practice. It took some time for the Lincoln senior to fall in love with the sport, but as he closes in on his final state tournament, Chin has become one of the most consistent wrestlers in program history.
“I didn’t really want to do it at first, but I lost some weight and I was really pleased with it because it was great exercise and a good way to stay healthy,” Chin said. “It just continued from there.”
Unbeknownst to Chin when he stepped on the mat for his 182-pound bout with North Providence’s Justus Turnipseed, the Lion had a chance to become just the ninth wrestler in program history to win 100 matches. Even though he made some mistakes in a shaky first period, Chin wrestled better as the match went on and pinned the Cougar with 12 seconds left in the match to reach the 100-win plateau Wednesday night.
“I never really tracked how many wins I had, but I knew coach said I was close, but not how close,” Chin said. “My coach has been very helpful working with me to help me get better. I’m working hard toward getting on the podium. I’m just trying to wrestle as tough as I can all three periods.”
“He hurt his knee pretty badly earlier in the week, so we didn’t know if we he was going to go tonight,” Lincoln coach Michael Tuorto said. “We’re looking to get Eric on the podium at the state tournament and we feel he’s in a very good spot. He keeps on racking up wins at the weight, so that’s what matters the most. Being a senior and a leader, this is where we want to see him at.”
There weren’t many highlights for the Lions against the deep and talented Cougars, but Tuorto was pleased to see the way some of his younger kids wrestled against experienced Division I grapplers. Lincoln received a pin from freshman Nameek Vieira at 113 pounds and a 5-2 victory from 220-pounder Christian Balon in a 62-15 Division I defeat at the Lions’ Den.
Along with Chin’s win, the most impressive performance came from Vieira, who picked up a crucial head-to-head victory over North Providence sophomore Cody Bryant. The two wrestlers met twice this season with Vieira picking up a consolation final victory in the North Providence Invitational, while Bryant won two weeks ago at the Gorman Invitational.
Wednesday, it was all Vieira. The freshman picked up the only takedown in the first period and went on to pin Bryant 1:14 into the third period to give the Lions their only lead of the night at 6-3.
“The first two matches were close, but this was his coming-out party because he was dominant,” Tuorto said. “His problem is he’s not finishing and he’s not consistent. He’s been up on a lot of guys this season and he doesn’t finish in the third period. It was exciting to see him come through, whip him to his back and get the fall and the six points.”
Balon took the mat with the meet already decided, but important seeding points were on the line against Malaciah Turnipseed. After a cagey opening period where neither wrestler could muster any offense, Balon produced the match-winning takedown following an escape in the second period on his way to a 5-2 victory.
Tuorto knows the junior has a chance to reach the podium at the state meet, but he needs to be more consistent, starting with a big match against Burrillville’s Alexander Greeno on Friday.
“He had a really nice John Gorman tournament and then he had two upsetting losses where I feel he didn’t wrestle,” Tuorto said. “He lost to Greeno where he was up four and got reversed to his back. Now that Lyric [Logan] is back in the fold at 195, that helps the room because those two guys will battle and make each other better.”
Friday’s match against the Broncos will be tough tests for all of the Lions’ upperweights, including Logan, who was pinned by returning state placer Nick Symmes in the second period.
Tuorto said he also liked the way freshman Zach Henault wrestled in the opening match after falling behind 13-4. Henault hit a five-point move to close the gap to three, but he gave up a late takedown and suffered a 17-11 defeat.
“I was impressed with how Zach Henault persevered in his match,” Tuorto said. “If he just settles his hips late in the match, he gets a pin and that’d been a huge win. All we’re trying to preach right now is wrestling tough because we know it’s tough sledding wrestling in Division I.”