Falcons fly to title

West takes home freshman wrestling championship

By ALEX SPONSELLER
Posted 2/20/19

The Cranston West freshman wrestling team beat the odds this weekend and claimed first place at the freshman state wrestling tournament. The Falcons got solid performances across the board, and were led by Landon Giampietro who took first place at 152

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Falcons fly to title

West takes home freshman wrestling championship

Posted

The Cranston West freshman wrestling team beat the odds this weekend and claimed first place at the freshman state wrestling tournament.

The Falcons got solid performances across the board, and were led by Landon Giampietro who took first place at 152 pounds.

West coach Tom Lynch was surprised to see the club take first, especially considering some of the adversity that it faced throughout the regular season.

“It’s really exciting and it was a surprise. We knew that we had some good guys at the beginning of the season, we started the season with 13 freshmen which is a lot of freshmen to have. We looked around and were like, ‘We could have some kids at freshman states this year.’ But then the numbers dwindled down, which is natural (in wrestling), retention can be really hard,” said Lynch. “When it was all said and done, we really didn’t know how we would do and we knew that we would need some upsets to have a chance. We had faith in them and they worked really hard up to that point, and at states everyone stepped up and performed really well. We are really excited, couldn’t be happier. Winning the freshman title is really big.”

Lynch was also proud of his team’s mental toughness and maturity. Between roster turnover and adapting to the high school level, Lynch was impressed with his team’s ability to stay strong and perform on the state’s biggest stage.

“It says a lot about them, it shows a lot about their character. It’s tough coming in as a freshman at the beginner level. You have these guys that they’re facing that are juniors and seniors that are at more of an advanced level and it can be quite intimidating. It says a lot about their character to stick with it and overcome the adversity of being a freshman and competing with some of the guys in varsity,” said Lynch. “So for them to go to the freshmen states and win it is great for them, and it makes them realize that this is what they’ve worked for, this makes it worth it. It’s good for them to love the sport and to see the hard work pay off.”

With the state championship win, the Falcons are poised to have success for the next handful of years. The varsity team is getting set for this weekend’s state championship, and has a handful of wrestlers that will compete for the top spot. Lynch hopes that the freshman title will help motivate the young grapplers, and help maintain a strong feeder system in the future for the West program.

Staying humble and continuing to work hard will be the key to success, according to Lynch.

“It’s going to be about sticking with the basics, reinforcing what they have done well and how they got there … reminding them of the hard work that it took,” said Lynch. “It’s now going to be about, if you push yourself even harder, what will your potential be. Working hard, getting rest, putting yourself in a position to get better, paying attention in practice. Now that we have seen that we can do it as a team, that will be motivation enough moving forward.”

Rory Perrino would take home second for West, while Ethan Nunziata also placed second. Anthony DeCotis took home a third-place finish for the Falcons, while Noah Polion finished fourth and Jordan Gooch fifth.

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