Coaches poll, week 6
Johnson & Wales remains on top of
New England poll
New England Division III college wrestling poll for week 6, ending Jan. 6. Record and first place votes in parentheses.
School
Rec. Pts LW
1. Johnson & Wales (10) 3-0 136 1
2. Springfield (1) 0-0 129 t2
3. Roger Williams 3-0 113 t2
4. Rhode Island College 3-1 98 4
5. Wesleyan 0-0 79 5
6. Williams 3-0 71 6
7. Norwich University 3-1 55 7
8. Southern Maine 6-3 33 9
9. Coast Guard 0-1 24 8
10. WPI 1-3 21 11
Others receiving votes: Plymouth State, Bridgewater State
New England Wrestling Association individual rankings, No. 3
As of Dec. 17, 2013
125 Pounds:
1. Tom Casper - Springfield
2. Anthony D'Anton - Roger Williams
3. Brian Amato - WPI
4. Andrew Gauthier - Bridgewater State
5. Joe Smith - Johnson & Wales
6. Khalik Newbill - Southern Maine
133 Pounds:
1. Silas Murray - Rhode Island College
2. Dan Evangelakos - Williams College
3. Paul Sughrue - Bridgewater State
4. James Hamilton - Wesleyan University
5. Pat Lacroix - Roger Williams
6. Brian Jennings - WPI
141 Pounds:
1. Tyler Tilbe - WPI
2. Mike Ferinde - Johnson & Wales
3. Ricando Cole - Rhode Island College
4. Jacob Strohman - Springfield
5. Carson Brooks - Williams College
6. Matt Pelton - Wesleyan University
149 Pounds:
1. Tim Garripoli - Williams College
2. Ethan Farrell - Johnson & Wales
3. Mike Perruccio - WPI
4. CJ Luth - Southern Maine
5. Dan Downes - Roger Williams
6. Chris Siracusa - Wesleyan University
157 Pounds:
1. Devin Biscaha - Springfield
2. Everet Desilets - Johnson & Wales
3. Jorge Lopez - Williams College
4. Francisco Colom - Roger Williams
5. Ray Welch - Plymouth State University
6. Kevin Barrucci - Rhode Island College
165 Pounds:
1. Collin Crowell - Roger Williams
2. Dave Pinto - Norwich University
3. Dylan Foley - Springfield
4. Steve Jarrell - Johnson & Wales
5. Justin Marsh - WPI
6. Taran Carr - Wesleyan University
174 Pounds:
1. Mike Labell - Johnson & Wales
2. Kyle Lundberg - Trinity
3. Ryan Sblendorio - Wesleyan University
4. Dan Ressler - Roger Williams
5. Will Burns - Norwich University
6. Rob Sotelo - Rhode Island College
184 Pounds:
1. David Welch - Roger Williams
2. Colin Lenhardt - Johnson & Wales
3. Jon Deupree - Southern Maine
4. Chris Perreault - Plymouth State University
5. Kyle Humphries - Rhode Island College
6. Marc Wagner - Coast Guard
197 Pounds:
1. Hunter Ayen - Springfield
2. Shane Parcel - Roger Williams
3. Petros Hologitas - Trinity
4. Sean Fagan - Southern Maine
5. Mark Howard - Coast Guard
6. Josh Roometua - Wesleyan University
285 Pounds:
1. Brian Nicoll - Rhode Island College
2. Jamison Sacco - Western New England
3. Ricky Caruso - Bridgewater State
4. Kyle McGuire - Trinity
5. Anthony Joyce - Norwich University
6. Steve Dwight - Springfield
Springfield's Foley recognized; Pride win Williams tournament
New England Wrestling Association
NEWA Wrestler of Week: Junior Dylan Foley, Springfield, 165 pounds, Southborough MA
Foley had a great weekend winning the Williams Invitational at 165 pounds. Foley went 3-0 and had wins over Gaffney of Williams 8-2 and Cannon of Wesleyan 7-2 to reach the finals. In the final he pinned Evan Robinson of Trinity in 3:57 to help lead Springfield to a dominating team win.
NEWA Rookie Wrestler of Week: Freshman Ben Wertz, Williams, 285 pounds, Wyomissing, PA
Ben Wertz went 6-1 this past weekend. On Friday night he had big overtime wins in dual meets against Simpson and Southern Maine. The next day at the tournament he went 4-1 and took 3rd place. Wertz is also a member of the Ephs football team.
Springfield prevails at Williams Invitational: At the Williams Invitational last week, Springfield College won the championship with 135½ points ahead of Simpson (95) and Wesleyan (84). The remaining teams in the field were Williams 62½, Southern Maine, 48½, Springfield Technical Community College 44, Plymouth State 36½, AIC 29½ and Trinity 29.
At 125, Tom Casper of Springfield continued his strong season going 3-0 and winning the championship at 125. Casper was one of 9 finalists and 5 individual champions for the Pride. James Hamilton was down at 125 for Wesleyan for the first time this season and looked good going 2-1 and taking second place losing to Casper 5-2 in the finals. Hamilton defeated Newbill of Southern Maine in the semifinals, 12-4. Newbill would finish 3-1 on the day and take third.
At 133, it was an all Springfield final. Tyler Keane (South Windsor, CT) beat his teammate Victor Ekpenyong (Middletown CT) 3-2 in the finals. Keane went 3-0 also beating third place finisher Dan Evangelakos of Williams 5-2 in the semifinals.
At 141, Springfield College freshman Jacob Strohman took second place. Strohman beat senior Carson Brooks of Williams by fall in 6:40 to advance to the finals. Freshman Matt Pelton of Wesleyan went 3-1 on the day and took third at 141.
At 149, the weight class seemed to be heading for a great final between Tim Garripoli of Williams and Eric Hamrick of Springfield. Hamrick was down at 149 for the first time this season and looked very good for the first time weighing in at 149 in over a year and a half. He started the day with two pins before beating Chris Siracusa of Wesleyan 5-0 in the semifinals. He won the tournament by medical default as Garripoli of Williams won his first 4 matches including a semifinal pin before defaulting in the finals. Hamrick being down at 149 is a big move for the Pride and he can be a real factor on the national level for Springfield.
At 157, Keonmin Hwang took third place for Wesleyan. Hwang was 4-1 on the day and came back for third after dropping his first match of the day. He lost to Chipman of Southern Maine by pin and came back and beat Chipman 4-2 in the consolation semifinals.
At 165, Dylan Foley of Springfield College won the championship with a pin over Evan Robinson of Trinity. Foley had two decisions on his way to the finals before pinning Robinson in 3:57. Foley earned the tournament OW for his efforts on Saturday. Robinson was one of two Trinity College finalists and went 2-1 and took second place. Alex Cannon of Wesleyan went 4-1 to take third place.
At 174, Ryan Sblendorio went 5-1 and took third place. After winning his opening match 9-2 he then lost to eventual champ Roberts of Simpson 6-3. Roberts would go on to have two first period pins to win the weight at 174. Sblendorio had 3 pins on the day including a fall in 3:25 over Mike Stoltzman of Simpson for third. Vincent Silano of Springfield was second. Silano beat his first two opponents and had one fall to reach the finals.
184 was another good weight class that had great potential for some big matches but an injury to Jon Deupree of Southern Maine took some excitement out of the bracket. Another big move for Springfield had Mike Case down at 184. Case is a really tough wrestler that could have a big second half season for the Pride. Case went 2-1 on the day before falling in the finals to Brandon Riggins of Springfield Tech. Chris Perreault of Plymouth State took third place going 4-1. In the third place match he had a very good win over Tyler Witzel of Simpson 5-3.
197 was a small weight class but there was plenty of talent. Hunter Ayen of Springfield continued his strong freshman season with a win in the finals over Sean Fagan of Southern Maine, 4-0. Fagan took second and had a great overtime win over Anthony Brooks of Williams 8-6 in the semifinals, which was one of the best matches of the tournament. Brooks would go on to pin in the third place match.
At 285, Kyle McGuire of Trinity won the tournament. McGuire went 3-0 with a fall and a major decision victory. McGuire has looked great since getting a late start to the season from football and has one his first two tournaments of the season. Freshman Ben Wertz of Williams took third. Wertz went 4-1 and avenged a second round loss in the third place match with a 4-2 win over Khamitcaev of AIC.
AROUND THE MATS: In dual meets on Friday night before the tournament, Williams went 2-0 and had wins over Simpson and Southern Maine. Southern Maine also had a big win over Simpson who took second place at the tournament the next day.
