Taconic Wins Western Mass Title, County Wrestlers Dominate
DALTON, Mass. – The Berkshire County wrestling community had a short trip to the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Championships on Saturday.
None shorter than 152-pounder Noah Poirier, who wrestles for Taconic but goes to school at Wahconah, which served as tournament host for the first time in school history.
“It was definitely a difference because I was at my own school,” Poirier said. “I was pumped up. And it definitely made a better wrestler today.
“It definitely got me pumped and ready to wrestle because I had all my friends here and all my family coming to watch me.”
Poirier was one of three Taconic wrestlers to take home an individual title and one of seven county grapplers to finish atop the podium in the 14 weight classes.
All that individual success translated into team accomplishments, too.
Taconic was followed in the final standings by Mount Everett in second and Monument Mountain in third.
Mount Greylock, with just six wrestlers competing, placed 10th out of 16 teams because three of those wrestlers ended their respective days with victories: Aaron Bush (160 pounds) and Jacob Mucci (195) winning third-place bouts, and Aiden Macpherson beating Taconic’s Ben West to earn the 170-pound title.
“It was a tough match,” Macpherson said of a final that was much more competitive than the 17-7 final score indicates. “I just really wanted it this time. I’ve wrestled him, I think, five total times. I’ve won twice, and he’s won three times.
“I wanted it today more than any other time this season.”
Taconic and Mount Everett each had five wrestlers in the finals, two more than any other team in the field.
Joining Poirier with an individual crown for Taconic were Broc Healey at 160 and Owen Brennan at 132.
The Mount Everett Eagles, who only had seven wrestlers entered, got first-place finishes from Diego Cruz (160) and Omar Cruz (138) and runner-up showings from Michael Devoti (152), Nick Lupiani (120) and Connor Lupiani (113).
The other two Eagles each ended their day with a win in the wrestlebacks. Tyler Candelari took third place at 126, and Ian Lanoue was fifth at 132.
Monument Mountain got a title from Colin Kinne (113), and a second-place finish from Ely Cormier (126). Sam St. Peter won the third-place match at 220, and Andrew Albert placed fifth at 160.
In addition to West, Taconic’s other runner-up was Keishon Martin at 285 pounds. A pair of Taconic wrestlers won their wrestleback finals; West Dews was third at 113, and Jake Hall was fifth at 220.
It was a different setting for Taconic’s program to “host” a wrestling meet, but it was a familiar position at the end of the day. After the team’s two-year run as Western Mass champs came to an end with 2020’s second-place finish, Taconic on Saturday made it three sectional titles in four tries (there was no sectional a year ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
“In the beginning of the season, we were kind of iffy,” Poirier said. “We had a lot of new wrestlers. But we worked every day, and this is where we are.”
Team Scores
1. Taconic, 215.5 points; 2. Mount Everett, 144.5; 3. Monument Mountain, 119.5; 4. Frontier, 108; 5. Hampden Charter East, 97; 6. Smith Vocational, 90; 7. Southwick-Tolland,86; 8. Franklin County, 78; 9. Duggan, 76.5; 10. Mount Greylock, 66; 11. Gateway, 62; 12. Springfield ICS, 56; 13. Northampton, 50; 14.Hampshire, 49.5; 15. Mohawk Trail, 48; 16. Hampden Charter West, 37.
Championship Bouts
106 pounds: Diego Cruz (Mount Everett) def. Michael Harris (Hampden Charter East), 5-4;
113 pounds: Colin Kinne (Monument Mountain) tech fall Connor Lupiani (Mount Everett), 15-0, 4:30.
120 pounds: Payton Sladeski (Frontier) pinned Nick Lupiani (Mount Everett), 4:57.
126 pounds: Ariel Escalante (Duggan) major decision Ely Cormier (Monument Mountain), 11-3.
132 pounds: Owen Brennan (Taconic) major decision Logan Moore (Mohawk Trail), 10-1.
138 pounds: Omar Cruz (Mount Everett) pinned Seth Doe (Southwick), 5:14.
145 pounds: Josh Brunelle (Franklin Tech) def. Jeremia Cruz (Duggan), 9-5.
152 pounds: Noah Poirier (Taconic) pinned Michael Devoti (Mount Everett), 2:47.
160 pounds: Broc Healey (Taconic) pinned Gilbert Huntington (Gateway), 3:14.
170 pounds: Aiden Macpherson (Mount Greylock) major decision Ben West (Taconic), 17-7.
182 pounds: Myles Brown (Springfield ICS) pinned Evan Cruz (Southwick), 1:16.
195 pounds: David Czartoryski (Hampden Charter East) pinned Jack Mattson (Frontier), 1:07.
220 pounds: William Vanvleet (Mohawk Trail) pinned Jerameel Vazquez (Hampden Charter West), 2:30.
285 pounds: Quinton Gardener (Hampden Charter East) pinned Keishon Martin (Taconic), 5:32.