Bob's BLOG

I am sitting around killing time waiting to leave for the New England Wrestling Championships today and I have been thinking about the lead up. I have been thinking about the 2 guys that will be wrestling today and the guys that didn't get here. It occurred to me that there is something special about a wrestler that can go through this post season ordeal and continue to the end. When I say special, I am not referring to their wrestling ability. I am thinking about their mental toughness. That something extra that drives them to compete at a high level even in the face of adversity and disappointment. I have come to realize over the last so many years that the psyche of  an athlete, the mental toughness, can bring them so much farther than ability alone. I was thinking about Ricky Viruet at All States last weekend and the expectations that we all had for him. He was poised to make a substantial run and qualify for New Englands. His first match of the tournament seemed to be well in hand with seconds to go when his opponent snapped off a 5 point move that took Ricky by surprise. He lost the match. Unfortunately, he didn't only lose the match, but he seemed to have lost that "psyche" of toughness. It was unbelievably frustrating for him. When he came out to wrestle his next match underneath, you could see in his demeanor that his desire to continue was missing. It's a very tough thing. That mental toughness seems to be fleeting at best with most wrestlers. On any given day it can energize a wrestler or defeat him. I have seen Ricky bounce back from disappointing loses before. I knew he was capable. Maybe it was the way that he lost that first match, getting "caught" like that by an inferior wrestler. We all know it can happen, but when it does it is a tough pill to swallow. He lost that match. A promising post season run ended with a two and out. I can't help but wonder what he could have accomplished if he hadn't been caught like that. It's a mind game. Coach McLaughlin says it all the time. It's all in your head. You win or lose in your mind before you even wrestle. I am not thinking about this because I think Rick was a failure this season, because he wasn't. He is an awesome wrestler. A sophomore that has a lot more wrestling to do before his story is finished. What it brought home to me was what an amazing accomplishment it is for the two guys that made it. Jonathan Viruet experienced losses over the past two weekends that could have changed his psyche and no one would have been surprised. Ellison Robinson takes the losses and just keeps going this post season. They both have wrestled some amazing matches and come up short. Yet, this year on these three championship weekends, they were able to keep their heads in the game. So young to be handling this much pressure. They do, they all do. Some days one is up while the other is down. You never know when someone is going to break under the pressure. It's a grueling sport this wrestling thing. You have a team to support you, a coaching staff to teach you and pump you up, and most times a family to root you on, but when you step on the mat…..well, then it's just you. Pressure. Mental toughness. It's crazy, these are just kids. It's amazing they even try, let alone succeed. I will be watching the New England contenders this weekend with new eyes. There are always great stories to be seen and told. Not all of them involve winning, but they are all great. This sport truly does build men of strong character. Congrats to all the New England qualifiers. Stay Tough!

Both Central and West Springfield made it to the final four in the division one team championship. Unfortunately, both teams lost in the semifinal round and were eliminated in the second day of the tournament. It was a great run for both teams and a cannon blast across the bow of Eastern Mass. The west is no pushover. West Side went into the first day with a tall order. They needed to beat reigning division one champion Lawrence in their first match in order to win the opportunity to face Central section champion Framingham. Lawrence is a tough team. West Side went right after them. It was back and forth all match and the meet came down to heavyweight. Vinny Guiel pulled the victory to cinch the win for West Side and those guys were fired up! Framingham had a bye the first round, and I felt a little sorry for them. They were walking cold into a match with a buzz saw. West Side went right after Framingham as well and it was another barn-burner. West Side wrapped it up at 220 and Guiel put the final touches on the victory at 285. They looked strong and hungry. It looked like they may make a run at the finals.

On the other side of the gym, Central was having a few battles of their own. The matches were not exactly barn burners, more like yawners. The Golden Eagles faced Algonquin where they gave up a forfeit at 106 and then swept the table to win 60-6. Next up was Franklin. Franklin had just demolished Chelmsford 55-19 and it looked like Central was going to have a tough match ahead. Once again the Golden Eagles gave up a forfeit at 106 and then proceeded to run the table right up to the 195 lb match where Matt Paris lost a decision before the rest of the lineup finished with wins. The final score was 56-9. The guys were looking good. It looked like they had a shot to beat Methuen in the semifinals.

After the first day, the final four teams left in division one were West Side, St John's Prep, Methuen, and the Golden Eagles. I will admit, there were more than a few comments running around the team about a possible meeting of West Side and Central in the state finals. It was a fun thought, but it wasn't meant to be.

It was a fun time though and very fitting. West Side and Central on adjacent mats (really, right next to each other) battling it out for a chance at the state title. Good stuff for Western Mass Division one.

Central knew that they had a hard road ahead. Methuen is a powerhouse this year. I believe that they gave it everything they had. There were stellar performances by all of the wrestlers. The highlight of the match was at 126 lbs, when Ellison Robinson hit undefeated Paul Sughrue with a four point move to tie up the score and then get a quick takedown in OT to hand him his first defeat of the season. Also showing signs of greatness (in a losing effort) were Nick Stahovish, Luis Quinones and Bryan Lebron who all had excellent matches but came up one point short.  The final score was 33-22.

West Side was right next to us and I was trying to keep tabs on how they were doing, but it looked like they were never really in it. Tamaradze got a pin at 132 and Kenny line took care of business at 160, but it really just wasn't enough against St John's Prep as West Side finished with just that 12 points. The match was over before 220 and so West Side decided not to wrestle their two all state qualifiers to keep them healthy for this weekend. I am not sure if SJP took the forfeits but judging by the score I would say that they didn't. The final was 38-12.

I hear a lot of murmuring about getting rid of the team championship format. Some of the coaches really don't like it. Personally, I like it. I hope it continues on. This new format that allowed four teams from each section was a really great idea and I think it worked well. It always bothered me that only the section winners were allowed to wrestle for the title. I knew that there were runners up in some sections that were better than the winner of other sections and this year's format proved it. West Side and St John's Prep were both runners up in their respective divisions and managed to make it to the final four. The only gripe I have about the competition is the inequality in travel. Making teams travel two days in a row from places like Western Mass, while other teams just needed a short ride cross town seemed a little unfair to me. It would seem to me that this could have been handled as a one day tournament. The other thing that bothered me was having the guys make weight both days and then not letting them weigh in until 3:00 PM the next day. Just seems like a little bit too much to ask. I think they should have allowed a weigh in Sunday night or not had a second day weigh in. Asking kids to make weight two days in a row and then waiting until 3:00 to eat or rehydrate was a little ridiculous.

So, with the team competition out of the way we are looking into the final two weeks of the season. Central has five wrestlers still competing and traveling to Salem, MA next weekend for the All State Championships. They are Tyrique Dowdell at 113 lbs, Ellison Robinson at 126 lbs, Jonathan Viruet at 138 lbs, Rick Viruet at 145 lbs and Bryan Lebron at 160 lbs. Good luck guys.

There are a couple wrestlers who wrestled their last match in a Golden Eagles uniform this last weekend. They are seniors Nick Stahovish and Mickel Melendez. These guys were a big part of this season and it's going to be hard to see them go, but we wish them luck. Remember guys, ROUGH, TOUGH, CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!!   PAY THE PRICE!!!!!!