Minutemen Youth Wrestling

Fifteen of the Minutemen traveled to South Berwick, Maine where they competed in the 2003 Marshwood New England Youth Championships on April 5th. In their first experience away from home the Minutemen held their own and had a fine showing. The tournament was broken down into grades and held team scoring. Placing the highest was the Bantam's (K-2 Grades), they placed 7th with 85 team points. The following are the highlights from each wrestlers matches: Bantams Division: Anthony Zovich wrestled in the 46 lb weight class losing to eventual champion 8-4 in the semi-finals. Anthony then pinned his two opponents in the consulation bracket to place 3rd. Matt Cote wrestled in the 46.5 lb class winning his first match 8-0. He the lost in the semi-finals and finished 4th losing in the consolation final 6-3. Colin Cunningham wrestled in the 47 lb division pinning his first opponent and then losing 7-0 to the eventual champion. Coin lost to Howie Kilpatrick from Colchester, CT and placed 4th. Jeremy Eliades competed in the 54lb class, pinned everyone he faced but due to a error was dropped into the consolation bracket and only placed 3rd. Ricky Mullins competed in his first tournament at 54.5 lbs. He won his first match in overtime 6-4. He then lost his semi-final match 5-4 and met his first opponent for 3rd place which he lost 6-3 and ended taking 4th place. Sean Pentalow was sick the night before the tournament and wasn't himself as he competed in the 55 lb division and lost both his matches. The two losses were against the 3rd and 4th place finishers in his division. Ryan Butler wrestled in the tough 64 lb division. He won his first match 4-0 and then faced CT rival RJ LaBeef who beat him 4-2. Ryan then lost his next match 6-2. Tyler Cunningham competed in the 70 lb division. After losing his first match he won his next match against Peter Gerrish from Mountain Valley 6-2. He then lost to eventual 3rd place finisher James Garvey from RI. David Balfore competed in the 84 lb division and lost his first match 11-4. David then went on a tear and won his next three matches including a 9-8 win for third place. Mason Powers competed in the 90 lb division. Mason won his first match 5-0 but was feeling under the weather and lost his semi-final match 2-1 (his first tournament loss of the year)to eventual champion Devin Hurt. Mason was then unable to compete in the consolation round. Novice Division: Ryan Bisson coming off a broken thumb had another tough break as a referee called a pin against him in his first match while he was out of bounds. Still whirling from the loss Ryan lost his second match 3-2 against Joshua Hines from Peru. Kevin Moss wrestled in the 84 lb division. Kevin lost his first match 2-1 against Jack Simpkin. He then beat Dillion Tibbetts 6-3 before falling to Dillon Nadeau of Southington 5-2. Both wrestled placed in the division. "All in all it was a great experience for the kids" staed Coach Roger Moss. We could easily make this an annual event for our program. "After placing 7th as a team I think the boys want to come back and prove they can do better."

The six Minutemen who traveled to Danbury on Sunday, February 23rd did a great job. Bringing home the gold medal were Anthony Zovich (2 pins)Mason Powers (3 pins) and Sean Pentalow (1 Pin). Silver was won by Kevin Moss and Jeremy Eliades, While Jacob Eliades had a tough bracket pinning his final opponent for third place. The Minutemen finish up their dual meet season at home Friday, February 28 against Coventry. The Tournament wrestlers will enter the CT Kids State Tournament on Sunday March 9th in Milford.

On Sunday February 9, 2003 four Minutemen attended the youth tournament at Killingly High School. This tournament had five man brackets and all four Berlin wrestlers came home with first place. They included: Brendan and Ryan Butler, Sean Pentalow and Mason Powers.

Click on the title to go to the stats page for this match. On Friday, January 31st the Hebron Coyotes visited the Berlin Minutemen. The Minutemen won the match 93 to 57. The match was wrestled by many youn wrestlers as the older wrestlers didn't match up by weight or were out sick. Winning three matches were: Tyler Cunningham and Ryan Bisson (1 pin). Winning two matches each were: Anthony "Z" Zovich, Ryan Butler (1 pin), John Swantek (1 pin) and David Balfore. Winning one match each were: Matthew Cotes (pin), Kyle Zuk (Technical Fall), Erik Labieneic, Anthony Scacca (pin), Jeremy Eliades, Colin Cunningham, Jacob Eliades and Andrew Alessi. Show a good effort on the match against two older opponents was Mason Powers and Sean Pentalow. Coming up on the short end of the score but working hard was Ethan Renner and Ritchie Skwiot. The Minutemen's record now stands at 5-1 on the season.

By KEN LIPSHEZ, Staff Writer January 30, 2003 PLAINVILLE - Undefeated Berlin heavyweight John Russo was afforded a view from a brand new perspective. It was one he didn’t care for, one that he hopes he doesn’t see again. Late in the second period, Plainville’s Brian Wilson had Russo on his back struggling to avoid a fall. Russo dodged disaster and his close call provided him with renewed inspiration. He fired out for the final stanza and pinned Wilson on Wednesday night as the Redcoats rolled to a 45-19 win over Plainville in a key Northwest Conference match. Russo, now 25-0 with 21 falls this season, faced a foe in Wilson who was just as strong and perhaps a bit more determined, at least at the start. Russo had pinned Wilson the three previous times they met. This time, Wilson served notice. "I wrestled sloppy and he wrestled extremely hard," Russo said. "I hit a move, he countered and put me to my back. He’s been gunning for me since the first time I pinned him and he almost got me tonight." Russo chose to be on top for the final period. "I had to hang in there," he said. "When I got my chance to get on top, I took advantage of it." Russo’s victory was one of many high points for the Redcoats (15-4, 3-0), who will face a stern challenge from No. 2 RHAM next Wednesday in order to retain their NWC crown. The action began at 140 where Plainville’s Vito Barbagallo won handily as expected, but Berlin freshman Dave Fiorillo managed to avoid the pin. Barbagallo won by technical fall, 21-5, to earn five points but a pin would have given Plainville six. The Redcoats and coach Jim Day celebrated Fiorillo’s effort. "You’re going against a senior at Vito’s level and your freshman 130-pounder gets (put in the lineup) and doesn’t get pinned? That was wonderful," Day said. "In the matches where they had more experience, we would not give up. It was one of my most satisfying victories as a coach." After Nick Catalano won by major decision at 145, sophomore Jim Solek wrestled brilliantly in topping Plainville senior Paolo Acca, 3-0, at 152. Plainville’s Aaron Weinhofer came out strong against Eric McCurdy, scoring a quick takedown and a three-point nearfall. But McCurdy persevered, dominated the middle of the bout, and held on for a 13-10 decision. Nick DiSalvo won by forfeit at 171 and Berlin had a 16-5 lead. Plainville coach Sean Kelly hoped he would be in a better position at that juncture. "We needed pins and we didn’t get them," Kelly said. "In several places Berlin was on a mission to not get pinned and our kids didn’t push the issue. Berlin did a better job of getting the six (points) and avoiding the six (points)." That rang true at 189 where Dave Chapman continued his outstanding campaign for the Blue Devils (5-6, 3-1) but Matt Powell stayed off his back and yielded just three team points in a 7-1 decision. At 215, Justin Fangiullo decisioned Dave Sataline to pull Plainville within five, but Russo jacked the lead back to 11 with his stirring comeback. The Devils were in desperate need of pins but Berlin 103-pounder T.J. Farr fought hard to stay off his back against Than Tranh. Tranh was overpowering in a 14-3 major decision but once again, the Redcoats yielded just four team points where it could have well been six. "(Farr) refused to give up the fall," Day said. "He showed great heart." Berlin’s Mike Crowe scored a third-period fall against Jordan Benson to elevate the margin to 28-15. Berlin’s Chris Santerre continued the trend of avoiding the pin at 112 but New England placewinner Jesse Cavallaro celebrated his birthday with a 12-2 major decision. The Madey brothers sealed Plainville’s fate. Dan Madey (125) won by technical fall against Chad Verbitsky while brother B.J. pinned Aaron Lee in 3:26. C.J. McCormack capped a fulfilling evening for Day and the Redcoats with an overpowering effort against Mike D’Onofrio (fall in 1:42). "Consider the individuals we had out and the adjustments the team had to make and I thought we showed a lot of mental toughness," Day said. The Redcoats weathered the resignation of two wrestlers and 152-pound state placewinner Justin Giarnella was home with the flu. "We knew we wouldn’t have (Giarnella) but the kids didn’t let up, showed their focus and just keep on working hard," Day said. Kelly paid tribute to Day and his wrestlers. "You could see them over there celebrating losses because we needed six and for them it was a victory," Kelly said. "We needed pins and we didn’t get any at all." ©The Herald 2003