Monument Mountain Wrestlers Top Mount Greylock
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Monument Mountain wresting team Wednesday earned a split of the season series with Mount Greylock by taking a 44-25 win on senior night for the Spartans.
The Spartans led by as many as 26 points, 41-15, after Steven Wool earned a technical fall in 2 minutes, 36 seconds at 182 points.
The key to the match came a few spots down the ladder, according to Monument coach Simon Jones.
“I’d say there were a couple of matches that I thought going in we needed to have,” Jones said. “It would have been 138, with Katahdin Jenen. That was his first time making 138 and his second week in the varsity lineup. And we knew he was matched up against another young kid, a first-year guy, and he did a great job. He won a one-point match.”
Jenen’s 9-8 win came courtesy of a late takedown to give Monument an 18-9 lead at the time.
“And then the big turning point where we kind of walked away with it was 152,” Jones said. “There we bumped Nate [Cormier] up from 145 to get that better match we we thought we’d have there. Not necessarily looking for a pin, but we ended up getting it, and that was huge for us.”
The pin at 2:23 touched off a wild celebration on the Spartans’ side of the mat and in the bleachers.
“We’re lucky,” Jones said. “We’ve got a really knowledgeable wrestling fan base that comes down here, so they know what’s going on. [Mount Greylock’s] Cayman Mead has been around wrestling us for a long time. Last year, when we lost at Greylock, Cayman was the one who beat Nate’s cousin at 145, I think it was. So we know him, him and the fans know him.
“That was a big win for us.”
Max Buffoni and senior Eli Jones recorded pins at 106 and 113, respectively, to give Monument the early lead before Mount Greylock’s Adam Cohen recorded a quick pin at 120 to get the Mounties on the board.
The teams then traded three-point wins: Ian Hadsell and Jenen at 126 and 138 for Monument, wrapped around a Dillon Whitley win at 132 for the Mounties.
Monument then got two straight pins, including Cormier’s, to make it 30-9.
Mount Greylock’s Devin Pelletier recorded a 50-second pin at 160 to cut the lead to 15 points, but Jose Sagastume and Wool earned back-to-back pins to give the Spartans a 26-point lead with three weight classes left.
Mount Greylock’s Alex Griffs recorded a 13-4 win at 195, and Hunter Abriel got credit for a forfeit win at 285.
“i pretty much knew this was going to be the result,” Mount Greylock coach Ray Miro said. “We had too many injuries this year, and it’s the nature of the beast. We had a couple of kids who didn’t step up and wrestle the way they should. I thought it would be a little closer. There were a couple of matches we needed to win that we didn’t.
“But we didn’t get it. They outwrestled us. … If this is the worst thing I have to deal with, life is pretty good.”
With the win, Monument Mountain improved to 3-2 in the Berkshire County League with just a date against undefeated Taconic remaining. Mount Greylock (2-3) finishes with winless Mount Everett.
Before those dual matches, the Spartans will be in Williamstown on Saturday to compete in the Mountie Invitational.