Varsity Wrestling vs Canterbury School

Score/Result: 61 pts, 9th out of 18

Although under-manned, we refused to be out-gunned at our opening tournament at Canterbury.  While there are 14 weight classes, we were only ready to field 8 varsity wrestlers, so we knew our team results would not be overly impressive.  Still, nearly every wrestler walked away with at least one win and 3 of our boys took home medals.

At 126 pounds, Reid Shafran had a tough draw.  His first match was against the defending league champion who went on to win this tournament.  Reid then earned an injury forfeit over a Brunswick boy before losing a close 7-2 match to a boy from Marvelwood.

Parker Fiske, who was filling in for us at 160 pounds, even though he really is a 152 pounder, lost his first match.  In his second outing, he dominated from the beginning and pinned a boy from Salisbury in the second period.

Will Pope (195) got a surprise match-up against a new Hotchkiss wrestler.  No one had heard of the Hotchkiss boy until this tournament, where he was 3 seconds away from being the champion.  Nevertheless, Will re-grouped to pin his Avon opponent in a mere 21 seconds in his second match.

Nicky Ganek (152) looked solid as he handled his first 2 opponents with great strategy.  He beat a Rye Country Day boy 5-4 and then knocked off a Brunswick boy 4-2.  In both matches, Nicky needed to use his wits as he carefully held on to his leads for victories.  In the semis, Nicky ran into the eventual champion from Hotchkiss, and then fell to a former league finalist from Brunswick in the consolations.

At 145 pounds, freshman Sean Sullivan faced the defending league champ from T-P for his first Taft match.  That didn't end so well, but Sean was determined to have a successful tournament.  In the consolations, he pinned a boy from Salisbury in the third period, decisioned on of Brunswick's top wrestlers 8-5, and then fought off his back to beat a Chase boy 5-4. With that victory, SEAN EARNED 3RD PLACE.

Jeff Kratky (170) scored a major decision 10-2 in his first match against Storm King.  He then won by forfeit against Hotchkiss to earn a spot in the semis.  Here, he faced a New England Champion from NMH.  In the consis, Jeff pinned his opponent from Trinity-Pawling with just 10 seconds left in the match.  Next, he wrestled a masterful match as he dominated a Brunswick boy (10-3) whom he only beaten by 1 point last year.  With that victory, JEFF EARNED 3RD PLACE.

Adam Parker was the second seed at 220 pounds.  After receiving a bye, Adam pinned a boy from Landmark in the second period.  In the semis, Adam needed only 1 minute to pin a Loomis wrestler and earn a spot in the finals.  Here he faced a highly touted grappler from Landmark (a different boy from the first opponent).  Adam went on offense right from the start and wrestled one of the best matches of his career.  Relentless in his attack and driving from side-to-side, Adam earned a fall with just under a minute to go in his match.  With that, ADAM WAS THE 2012 CANTERBURY CHAMPION ! ! !