Kickemuit Wrestlers Attribute State Win to Hard Work

First year head coach Matt Martel gave the members of the Kickemuit wrestling team some sound advice at the start of the season:

 “If you work hard, it will pay off,” said Martel.

 Those words certainly rang true. The hard working Kickemuit wrestlers captured third place the state tournament, held recently at Cumberland High School Wellness Center.  

 “I am extremely proud of how the kids wrestled this season and especially in the tournament,” said Martel, who was assisted by Warren Barnowski and Chris Case. “We were missing three weight classes, so I wasn’t sure we had a shot. We wrestled well the first day.  As the tournament progressed, I realized we had a shot to do well.”

 They certainly did. In fact, Kickemuit had seven wrestlers enter the finals – the most of any of the 23 teams competing in the state tournament. Kickemuit emerged with five state champions and two runners-up en route to a third place overall finish. Riverside won the state title followed by Johnston, which took second.

 Martel was thrilled with Kickemuit’s third place finish.

 “I preached hard work and it definitely paid off,” said Martel.  “The kids did a great job.”

 Five Kickemuit wrestlers were crowned state champions. Nick Teves, a sixth grader who went undefeated all season, became the state champion at 75 pounds.

 “To go undefeated as a sixth grader is very impressive,” said Martel. “I was really pleased.”

 Kickemuit eighth graders Christian Torres (112), Sean Patrick Thibaudeau (126), Dominic Lombardo (148) and Quinlan Preston (170) were also crowned state champs.

 Several other KMS wrestlers had strong showings at the states. Nathan Pimental was the runner-up at 133 pounds and Josh Zasowski finished second at 159 pounds. Devon Lancaster placed third overall at 89 pounds.

 Kickemuit’s Trevor King and Josh Conti also fared well in the tourney, placing fourth at 126 and 140 pounds, respectively.

  “I have to give credit to these kids,” Martel said. "They are a great group of kids. From the beginning of the season they worked hard, practiced hard and kept their grades up. That continued throughout the season. I pushed them and they responded. They had a good attitude at the start of the year and it carried throughout the season.”

 A pasta dinner to benefit the KMS wrestling team will be held on Saturday March 5, 5-8:30 p.m. at the Bristol Cup Defenders. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children. To purchase tickets or for more information contact Tara Thibaudeau: at 401-245-9862 or displays@hotmail.com.