Coventry Wrestlers Fall To Cranston West

COVENTRY – Last night’s 36-33 loss by the  wrestling team to Cranston High School West may have been disappointing, but in the grand scheme of things, the experience may prove helpful for the Oakers.

“A win would have been nice, but it all comes down to the state tournament,” said Coventry assistant coach Mike Buccaci. “Tonight’s match will help us prepare for the states.”

After losing the first two matches decisively, at 103 and 112 pounds, Coventry needed a couple of wins to get back in the contest. Victories by Nick Bottella at 119 and Blake Pierce at 135 cut the Falcons’ lead to 18-12.

“Nick’s quick pin (39 seconds into the match) helped,” said Buccaci. “Blake came out tough. He’s had a couple of tough losses this season, so it was nice to see him get the win.”

Cranston West’s Ricondo Cole won handily at 140, which set up the evening’s closest and most exciting match. At 145, the Oakers’ Rob Shaw narrowly defeated Jesse Duran, 11-9.

Alex Pratt gave Cranston West a comfortable 27-15 lead at 152 pounds by beating Greg Fusco, 13-5. But Jared and Jack Wilson tied the score at 27-27 with pins over their opponents at 160 and 171 pounds respectively.

With the three heaviest weight classes remaining, what would have been considered a small upset by Coventry, was within reach.

However, the Oakers dropped their next two matches when freshman Andy Maldonaldo lost to junior Guillermo Mirambeaux at 189 and Aaron Pennacchia was pinned in the third round by Ed Caputo.

“Even though Maldonaldo is only a freshman, he never backed down,” said Buccaci. “Pennacchia was a back-up for us at 215. He showed a lot of drive and wrestled well to the end.”

The Oakers’ Joe Nardolillo pinned his opponent at 285, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap for Coventry.

Coventry’s record drops to 8-4, as Cranston West improves to 9-1.

The Oakers’ schedule doesn’t get any easier the rest of the way. Their remaining three matches are at Cumberland (11-0), at Bishop Hendricken (11-0) and at East Providence (9-3).

“As the season has gone on, the competition has gotten tougher and tougher,” stated Buccaci. “But we’ll continue to help each wrestler optimize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.”

Results

103 - Tevin Briggs, CW, won by fall over Tyler Pierce, Cov., 1:19.

112 - Brett Lesuer, CW, won by default over Dylan Olson, Cov., 5-2.

119 - Nicholas Bottella, Cov., won by fall over Jake Riessen, CW, 0:39.

125 - Serge Bouyssou, CW, won by default over Christian Bottella, Cov., 2-1.

130 - Derek Patalano, CW, won by fall over Dylan Dupre, Cov., 5:19.

135 - Blake Pierce, Cov., won by fall over Evan Deluty, CW, 1:00.

140 - Ricondo Cole, CW, won by technical fall over Skylar Torborg, Cov., 5:59.

145 - Robert Shaw, Cov., won by default over Jesse Duran, CW, 11-9.

152 - Alex Pratt, CW, won by default over Greg Fusco, Cov., 13-5.

160 - Jared Wilson, Cov., won by fall over Joe Manni, CW, 4:23.

171 - Zack Wilson, Cov., won by fall over Graham Thorpe, CW, 5:36.

189 - Guillermo Mirambeaux, CW, won by default over Andy Maldonaldo, Cov., 6-1.

215 - Ed Caputo, CW, won by fall over Aaron Pennacchia, Cov., 4:39.

285 - Joe Nardolillo, Cov., won by fall over William Demers, CW, 4:09.