Taconic Wrestlers Open Dual Meet Schedule with Win at Mount Greylock
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Fresh off a season in which it won the Western Mass title and finished as the sixth-ranked team in the state, the Taconic Braves wrestling team handed the host Mount Greylock Mounties a 74-6 defeat in their first dual meet on Wednesday night.
Taconic nearly swept every match, with two pins and two tech-fall victories sandwiched around numerous forfeited weight slots.
“These kids were chomping at the bit, so this was good,” Taconic coach Jeremy Tetreault said. “It was good to get a taste of dual-meet action, and this was the first that a lot of these kids had seen of that.”
After coming just short of winning the title in Saturday’s invitational at Athol High, Taconic came out looking sharp and crisp in technique and execution. Wrestlers were aggressive and often held the upper hand during each match.
“That is one thing that we work on is to stay to the book,” Tetreault said. “When we first start off, even the veterans want to get in there and do all kinds of crazy-looking moves. But a lot of these guys were playing football and are coming off of other sports, so we stay to a game plan and do not stray from that. Fundamentals first, and then everything will follow. The first two weeks of the season we usually are still kind of scrambling, but this has gone pretty smooth.”
Things got off to a strong start for Taconic right away, as Alex Hall won the 106-pound match to set the tone. Hall went into the start of the second period tied 2-2 with Mount Greylock’s Trey Lepicer, before going on a run with a reversal, a takedown and a near-fall to pull ahead 9-3. Hall then recorded the pin with 1:08 remaining in the match.
Along with several forfeits, Taconic also tacked on to its team total thanks to a pair of tech-fall victories. Deven Pekosz won 21-5 over Avin Whaley at 126, and Zach Mathes defeated Aiden MacPherson 15-0 in the 138-pound bout. Gabe Carrington followed with a 12-3 win over Jack Rosier at 145, and Taconic recorded one more pin on the night, when Zabion Powell caught Dominick Green with 21 seconds left in the second period of the 152-pound match.
The Mounties (0-1) avoided the sweep thanks to a pin at 170 by Liam Feeley. In the most exciting contest of the night, Feeley took control of a scoreless bout with Chris Loggins after starting in the down position to open the second period. Feeley broke free to escape back to his feet, and then recorded a takedown. Next he added to his 3-0 lead with two more points on a takedown from a neutral start in the third, before finally finishing things off with the fall with 56 seconds left.
The win from one of its veterans helped provide another building block for many of the young Mountie wrestlers.
“We have a lot of young kids on the squad, and this is the first time ever seeing wrestling in their life,” Mount Greylock coach John Carvallo said. “I’m just happy that the kids enjoy it, and my goal is that they have fun. They are learning a lot and they have been through a lot of stuff over these last three weeks. They showed a little bit tonight and kind of impressed all of us coaches. They didn’t give up and that’s all that we ask for.”
Although Taconic earned the rest of its team points by more forfeits at the higher weight classes, both clubs were also able to put out some other guys for exhibition matches afterwards. Several Mounties even stepped up and wrestled a second time, allowing their opponents some real experience rather than just more sparring at practices.
With Taconic set on defending its Western Mass title and beyond, every bit of experience only makes them that much stronger. The goal is simply to develop two-deep depth at every weight class and avoid any injuries along the way.
“We go in every year and the team goal is to win Western Mass, but we are raising the bar,” Tetreault said. “After being sixth in the state last year and with the seniors that we have and the talent that I see on this team, I don’t think a state championship is too far out of reach to try and strive for right now.”