10 - December 23, 2011 Pythons Compete at Big Red Invitational; Medeiros Wins Outstanding Wrestler Award
by Marc Ayotte The Pelham Wrestling team had a busy week of competition with a dual match on the road at Campbell High on Wednesday followed by being part of the 16-school field at the Big Red Invitational at Tyngsborough (MA) High School on Saturday, December 17. With teams from Maine to western Massachusetts, the annual event featured an overall talent level and wrestling style diversity that is not generally experienced by Pelham during the course of their New Hampshire regular season, divisional schedule. Saying that he “saw a lot of good things” from his Python wrestlers, coach Bob Riddinger’s squad turned in a ninth place finish in the team standings, spearheaded by strong, day-long performances from Josh Medeiros and Tom Gleason. The nearly 10 hour long wrestling marathon
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saw Medeiros lead the way for Pelham when he capped his day off with a first place medal in the 120 weight class of the championship bracket. The stellar Python senior also received the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler Award (for the lower weights division of 145 and under). The award was reflective of a coach’s poll where one coach from each participating team voted for who they thought was the best overall wrestler in the designated weight class. Moving up a few divisions, Pelham’s Tom Gleason (182) wrestled very well, making it all the way to the finals match in the championship bracket before ultimately falling to Nate Ashe of nearby Hollis-Brookline. For his efforts, Gleason received a second place medal as well as contributed important points to Pelham’s team score. As a number two seed in his weight class for the tournament, Medeiros received a first round bye. Josh’s first action of the day saw him emerge with a 9-1 major decision win in a quarter-finals match against Chris Rojas from South Hadley, MA. In the semis, Medeiros disposed of Hollis- Brookline’s Zach McPherson at the 2:36 mark with a win by fall. Steamrolling along, Medeiros faced Marshwood’s Tyler Davidson in the finals.
The Hawks, from South Berwick, ME, were ultimately perched atop the team standings, by way of their 10 top three finishes. However, the Python wrestler was not going to add to the Hawk’s feeding frenzy of six first place finishes;” It was an awkward match,” recalled Medeiros, “it was hard to adjust to his style, he was good at riding.” But it was Medeiros who would ride his way into the championship circle, as the PHS senior methodically cruised to 7-1 victory. Tom Gleason also received a first round bye in the 182-weight division. He took advantage of the early morning free pass with a second round win by fall over Reid Billings of Montachusett Tech at 2:20. In semi-finals action, Gleason pinned his Whittier Tech opponent 43 seconds into the second period, advancing him to the finals. However, that’s where Gleason’s day came begrudgingly to an end. Nate Ashe, yet another Hollis- Brookline Cavalier in the mix, defeated Gleason by fall at 2:25 of the match. Other notable Pelham wrestlers were Muhanned Bagegni (152) and Matt Blanchard (170), each recording two wins on the day. Bagegni won a match in the consolation bracket’s first round as well as quarter-finals before falling to Burlington’s Joe McCourt in the semis. Matt Blanchard contributed with another strong showing as he picked up the first Python win in an early morning preliminary bout. A quarter- finals loss in the upper bracket dropped Blanchard into the consolation bracket where he advanced with a :32 win by fall over Darren Beltrandi of South Hadley. Although Blanchard lost his next match, the Python junior while being significantly outscored, came within a second of pinning his opponent as time expired. Reflecting on his match and individual progress as the season moves on, Blanchard offered; “I got a reversal- I could have sworn I had him. I thought I had his shoulders on the mat. It’s disappointing, but I’m pleased overall with my improvement”. A few days earlier, the Pythons traveled to
Litchfield to compete in a dual match against host
Campbell. Once again, Pelham was victimized in the team scoring due to the low number of wrestlers they have competing. Of the seven actual matches that took place, the Pythons were victorious in five of them. However, it was the five Campbell wins by forfeit that proved to be venomous to Pelham, allowing the Cougars to squeeze out a 36-30 win. The meet got off to a tremendously quick start as the first three matches were decided in a combined time of less than two minutes. Ryan Goss (160) got Pelham off to a good start with a pin of his Cougar opponent, just 34 seconds in. Matt Blanchard (170) fell victim to Campbell’s Jared Saunders at :22 of the match before the Pythons rebounded with a Tom Gleason pin win at 1:02 of his 182 pound division match. Matt Koch (120) opened up an early 5-2 lead on his way to a 7-4 decision over Kian Fuertes. Head coach Bob Riddinger commented on Koch’s performance; “he wrestled a good match” adding “he has potential to be a very good fundamental wrestler.” Similarly, Josh Medeiros jumped ahead of CHS’s Ben Billings 7-1in their match before pinning his Cougar combatant at
Python Tom Gleason defeated Whittier Tech’s Jerimiah Fix in a 182 bout, advancing to the finals in the championship bracket
1:34 of the first period. Kevin DeAngelo picked up the final win of the night for Pelham when he defeated Keegan Tanguay with a pin at 3:57 of the match. DeAgelo, who continues to wrestle with one hand in a cast, drew praise from Riddinger; “he’s finding a way to go out and win some matches.” The Python coached added; “once his cast comes off, he’s going to continue to be that much more of a force.” The Pelham wrestlers compete in the Lowell Christmas Tournament at the Tsongas Arena on Wednesday, December 28, starting at 9 a.m.
by Chris White Not every high school team can say it has the same opportunity the Windham High boys basketball team has this season. Windham not only has seniors on its roster for the first time, but also returns a strong nucleus of players who have played together over the past two years.
EXCAVATING G.E.
Jaguars Look to Capitalize on Opportunity in 2011-12 Season “This is a special group,” Windham head coach
Todd Steffanides said. “With only a couple new faces, there’s a lot of familiarity and solid team chemistry. That combination makes it exciting to step in the gym every day.”
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A couple more exciting aspects for a young team like Windham are its ability to improve and potential to succeed. With that, the Jaguars will focus on taking advantage of the opportunities that come their way this year and continue to build on their foundation. The Jaguars took their lumps
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last year, achieving a 6-15 overall record in their first season of varsity competition (without seniors). Two years ago, the Jags advanced to the Division 2 junior varsity championship game and lost to Pelham. The Jaguars have always been very team-oriented and it will take another true team effort to get better this season. “There’s no standout on our
team,” Steffanides said. “Each player has bought into the fact that everyone needs to pitch in every night and contribute if we’re to be successful.” This season, the Jaguars will be led by two returning seniors – Scott Priestley, Jr. and Mike DiOrio. The two seniors are part of a tri-captainship along with returning junior Jeff Trovato. Other returning juniors include
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guards Alex Whitehead, Dan Cannone, and Matt Shamon. Returning to Windham’s front court are juniors Joe Lorenz and Conor Redmond, as well as sophomore Andrew Lowman. Newcomers to this year’s team include junior
John Hennessey and sophomore Jeff Peterson at the forward position, and sophomores Tucker Lippold and Tyler Masone in the back court. Freshman David Carbonello also joins the Windham backcourt this season. With nine out of 14 varsity players returning, the Jaguars will focus on being competitive in Division 2.
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“I’m looking forward to our players playing basketball with confidence this season,” Steffanides said. “Their hard work and dedication over the past couple years should lead to our players playing with the belief that they can compete with anyone we play against this season.” The Jaguars opened their season at home last week on Friday, December 16. The Jags fell to Lebanon 52-40.
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