Borawski Leads Mount Greylock to Second at Holiday Tourney

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Hard work is paying off for the Mount Greylock wrestling team.

 

Jacob Borawski won a title at 175 pounds, and five different Mounties ended their day with a victory as the North County co-op earned a second-place finish at the Berkshire Holiday Tournament at Monument Mountain.

 

Borawski won one of two all-county finals, stopping the hosts’ Isaac Hartshorn in third period to give Mount Greylock its only individual title.

 

From a team perspective, the Mounties were all smiles after finishing as the top county squad at the 15-team tourney, placing behind team champion Ludlow.

 

“We had a lot of guys today,” Borawski said. “We’ve been working hard in practice recently. A lot of guys were still running over the break 25th and stuff. They were putting in work even on their own time at night. A bunch of us went on runs and stuff to stay in shape.

 

“I think that can really make the difference, especially in a hard match like that – just the mental stuff, doing it on your own.”

 

Mount Greylock had wrestlers battling for first or third place in nine of the 14 weight classes on Friday.

 

Logan O’Connell dropped a hear-breaker in the title bout at 215, where he was pinned by Ludlow’s Tristin Stephens with one second left in the first period.

 

Aiden Maroney (106), Cash Kolodziej (113), Sam Pantano (175) and Zach Boyles (132) each won a consolation final for Mount Greylock. Brody Smith (150), Daniel Bondini (157) and Tanner Manning (285) each reached a consy final and settled for fourth place in his weight class.

 

“I told the kids that we win the tournament in the consolation matches, which they call the blood rounds,” Mount Greylock coach John Carvalho said. “That’s where the most points come in, because the guys who are in the championship [round] are sitting and waiting while these guys are still grinding it out match after match. That’s where you earn the most points.”

 

Carvalho echoed Borawski’s thought that effort in between events led to Mount Greylock moving up from its fourth-place showing last year at the annual holiday week event.

 

“It brings back a lot of memories from back in the day,” Carvalho said. “It’s nice to see the kids working hard every day. They earned it to get to the spots they’re at today, and there’s still more work to be done.”

 

Three Berkshire County wrestlers ended up atop the podium at the first local tourney of the 2024-25 season.

 

Sam St. Peter survived the final at 285, outlasting South Hadley’s Roberto Melendez to win, 2-1, and help the Spartans place third in the team competition.

 

Mount Everett’s Max Manning won the day’s other all-Berkshire final, beating Taconic’s West Dews, 10-6.

 

It looked like the showdown between Borawski and Hartshorn also would go the distance.

 

It was tied, 7-7, after the first period, and Borawski had a slim 15-12 lead going into the third.

 

About 25 seconds into the third, there was a restart with Borawski on the bottom. He not only quickly flipped Hartshorn for a quick reversal, but he worked his advantage to get his third pin of the day.

 

“He got me a cradle, and I thought I was done for,” Borawski said. “He was feeling it, but I just locked him up and kicked out of it, and I ended up pinning him there. It was hard. He’s a good wrestler, definitely.”

 

Photos from this tournament to come.

 

Team Scores

1. Ludlow, 187 points; 2. Mount Greylock, 152; 3. Monument Mountain, 146.5; 4. Hampshire, 120; 5. Athol, 112; 6. West Springfield, 98; 7. South Hadley, 96.5; 8. Northwestern (Conn.), 85; 9. Taconic, 74.5; 10. Taconic Hills (N.Y.) 73.5; 11. Frontier, 68; 12. Springfield International Charter, 58; 13. Mohawk Trail, 51.5; 14. Mount Everett, 40; 15. Franklin Tech, 17.

 

Championship Bouts

101 Charles Soffen, Ludlow, pinned Mason St. Peter, Monument, 2:37.

106 Izmir Isik, West Springfield, pinned Bao Ha, West Springfield, 4:53.

113 Peter Derochick, Northwestern pinned Javier Rosado, South Hadley, 1:57.

120 Arion Blackwell, Taconic Hills tech fall Jacelyn Antes, Frontier, 18-0, 3:27.

126 Ryan Gomes, Ludlow, pinned Robert Zononi, Hampshire, 3:52.

132 Taylan McColgan, Hampshire, pinned Derek Pazmino, Mohawk Trail, 1:04.

138 Kassey Stickle, Taconic Hills tech fall Ahliyas Sanches, Ludlow, 18-2, 5:31.

144 Max Manning, Mount Everett, dec. West Dews, Taconic, 10-6.

150 Kyle Rodrigues, Ludlow, dec. Kamren Boino, Monument Mountain, 13-8

165 Russell Melius, Northwestern, pinned Logan Cabral, Ludlow, 146

175 Jacob Borawski, Mount Greylock, pinned Isaac Hartshorn, Monument Mountain, 4:25

190 Lucas Alvan, Ludlow, tech Fall, Sawyer Lefsyk, Athol, 21-3, 3:06

215 Tristin Stephens, Ludlow, pinned Logan O’Connell, Mount Greylock, 1:59

285 Sam St. Peter, Monument Mountain dec. Roberto Melendez, South Hadley, 2-1.