Published January 16, 2019

By RYAN MARSH

WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Warrior wrestling team faced off against the Triton Vikings this past Wednesday, January 9 at the Charbonneau Field House. Wakefield was ready to dictate this match and catch a quick win. In order to get the victory, the Warriors had to fire on all cylinders.

To start off the meet, Luke Fitzgerald was slated to wrestle in the 113 pound group. Fitzgerald was hyped up to compete in the match and fired right out of the gate, immediately taking down his opponent. Fitzgerald grabbed his opponent’s legs, set himself up, and ended their chance of escaping, pinning his opponent in twelve seconds, an amazing time, for Wakefield’s fastest pin of the day. All of the wrestlers encouraged Fitzgerald as he walked back to the bench. Wakefield snatched up an early led and never gave it back.

Following up the sophomore, Jameson O’Callahan was to wrestle Triton’s 120 pounder. O’Callahan entered the match and turned on the jets. After dominating the first period, O’Callahan got taken down and was on the bottom. Fighting hard in the second period, O’Callahan reversed the position to gain some more points. He came back and finished the second and third periods with the lead after some crafty moves. O’Callahan won by major decision, 12-2. Wakefield added to their lead with another four points.

CAPTAIN Derek Dimascio (left) picked up a win against Triton on Jan. 9. (File Photo)

Next up was rising freshman wrestler, Nick Roberto. He strolled onto the mat, ready to show off his skills. Roberto and his opponent were evenly matched, but Roberto was better in this one. Early into the second period, Roberto was on top of his opponent, grappling, when he saw the opportunity and ran him right into the ground. Roberto was essentially pinning his opponent for about 20 seconds, but the referee couldn’t see the pin. All of the Wakefield wrestlers were on their feet, screaming. When Roberto’s opponent got up, groans and shocked expressions came from the team. Entering the third period, Roberto had a sizable lead and was managing the match to get some big points. Roberto won by major decision, 9-0.

The back-to-back captain duo of Aidan Armstrong and Brock Johnson were the next two weight classes. In the 132 pound match, Armstrong was dazzling. He started off the match by pouncing on his opponent right at the beginning. The match went back-and-forth for a while. With head coach Ross Ickes and the staff yelling commands from the sidelines, Armstrong pinned his foe in three minutes and 32 seconds.

The second part of the back-to-back captains was Brock Johnson. Johnson really controlled the match, twisting his opponent up into knots. Just like his coach taught him, Johnson used his amazing technique to find openings and create opportunities. As Johnson was on top of his opponent, an opening caught his eye, and he went for it. Brock pinned his opponent in two minutes and 32 seconds.

BROCK JOHNSON pinned his opponent in 2:32, helping Wakefield get a victory over Triton, 44-27 on Jan. 9. (Ryan Marsh Photo)

After the captains, Matt Cunningham wrestled. Similar to Johnson, Cunningham used good control and moves against his opponent. To earn the win, Matt pulled some tricks and ended up pinning his opponent in one minute and 42 seconds.

Jimmy Grover was next to wrestle. Grover was quick out of the gate, but cooled down after using some amazing defense to counter his opponent’s attacks. Grover fought valiantly but couldn’t come back, and lost by decision 9-2.

Joāo Valdevino stepped into the mat, and pulled a similar move to what he has done in the past, going for his opponents feet right away. Surprisingly, his opponent reacted to it well and lunged away. Valdevino recovered and managed to take down his opponent. After battling it out on the ground, the first period came to a close. Valdevino then used speed and strength to force his opponent to the ground for the pin, winning in two minutes and sixteen seconds.

Wakefield’s heavier weights unfortunately did not have a meet to remember, dropping four of the last five. Captain Derek DiMascio was the only one out of those five to win.

“We just need to be more consistent in the upper weights,” said coach Ickes. “We are really young in the upper weights, we just need to be more consistent.” 

Wakefield ended up beating Triton by a final score of 44-27. The Warriors next home match is a quad meet on Friday, January 18 at 5 p.m.