2005 began on a positive note for the Wrestlers of Avon. After a week of intense training and conditioning to mitigate the softening that occurred over the Christmas Vacation, the team boarded the bus for the hour-long drive to Watertown. While still in the visiting locker room and prior to the beginning of the match, Coach Righi gave an inspirational “pep talk” that even left Coach Bourgault with goosebumps. After hearing those motivating words, there was no way this team was going to settle for second place in a dual meet!

We began the match with a dynamic performance by senior and team co-captain, John Beniot (the Technician) at 140 lbs. John quickly pinned his opponent and scored a valuable 6 points for the team.

Senior Tony Tello wrestled next at 145lbs, but was disqualified when the referee called “unnecessary roughness” after Tony initiated a take-down with his head. Fortunately the Taft wrestler was not injured and Tony apologized to his opponent, the Taft coaches and the referee after the match.

Senior Stefan Seitler, who had been battling “the crud” all week, wrestled a tough opponent at 150 lbs, but even in his physically weakened state, Seitler was able to pull out a stunning victory, showing once again that the mind dominates the body. Excellent job Stefan…Strength, Attitude, Character!

Senior and team co-captain, Adam Beeble, had an impressive match at 160 lbs. After his initial take-down, there was never any question as to who the “Alpha male” was on the mat. Adam pinned his opponent in the second round.

Junior Sam Patterson demonstrated just what strength and technique can do when properly applied. After six minutes of grueling battle at 170 lbs., the referee held up Sam’s hand in victory. Great job Sam and we’re looking forward to your return next year.

Parker Tiernan, 189 lbs, wrestled well but lost his match in the third round, after dominating his opponent during the earlier periods. Weighing in at 204 lbs. when returning from Florida after the Christmas Break, Parker dropped an impressive 15 lbs in four weeks. (Kids, don’t try that at home!) Even though Parker is disappointed with his results on the mat, he can be proud of what took place to get him there. Great job Parker! We all look forward to your performance this coming Wednesday.

Senior Dan Righi made his wrestling debut against a tough opponent at 215 lbs, but the Taft wrestler was unable to contend with Dan’s unique combination of strength, speed and aggressiveness. Righi’s first round pin added another 6 valuable points to the win column. For those who have not seen Righi in action, it’s well worth the price of admission.

Postgraduate Tony Purpura, 275 lbs., wrestled for his first time with Avon after returning from a knee injury sustained earlier in the year while playing football. While injured, Tony came to EVERY practice and has been an integral part of the team since Day One. After aggressively shooting an early take-down, the outcome of the match was never in question. Tony pinned his opponent in the first round.

Sophomore Carter Franks had a disappointing day on two counts. Struggling to make weight at 103 lbs, he was 1/5 of a pound from making weight. He opted to cut his own hair with a pair of scissors in the men’s room and just barely made weight prior to the match. After an exhausting match, Carter lost, but in the team’s eyes, Carter Frank became something of a hero for his efforts.

Sophomore Phil Cassidy, who has been working hard all season, easily made weight at 112 lbs, but when it came time for him to wrestle, Taft forfeited. But through his personal discipline of making weight, Phil earned the team a valuable 6 points.

Junior Ryan Thompson made the decision to cut weight and wrestle at 125 lbs. After a week of hard work, his efforts paid off and he made weight. Anxious for his Varsity debut, Ryan was a bit disappointed when he took the mat and Taft forfeited the weight-class. But once again, because he made the personal decision to lose eight pounds, and had the discipline to follow through, his efforts netted Avon another six points for the team.

Senior and team co-captain Mo Weeks was the last man to wrestle in the Varsity match at 130 lbs. Facing an intimidating-looking opponent, Mo kept to his game plan and began to run the score up in his own favor. Late in the third round, the Taft wrestler reversed Mo and almost had Mo pinned, but fighting hard as he always does, Mo rolled through, quickly regained control of the match and won by decision. A very exciting final match to round out a very exciting meet! Final score for the Varsity Squad: Avon 45, Taft 30.

Taft was very accommodating and provided wrestlers for our JV team. Freshman Richard “Woodbeetle” Woodwell wrestled first at 125 lbs. After a hard-fought match, Rich lost, but gained valuable experience.

Sophomore Aaron Gittleman was next on the roster at 150 lbs. In his first year as a wrestler, Aaron is an instinctive grappler and very aggressive. After three rounds of very exciting action, the match went into overtime, as the score was tied at seven apiece at the end of regulation time. Under the rules of competition, the first man to score a point in the overtime period wins, and unfortunately, the Taft wrestler was able to score first, thus winning the match and breaking Gittleman’s undefeated streak. Great match and the team is looking forward to great things from him in the future.

Junior and first-year wrestler Roy “Mother” Hubbard wrestled next at 189 lbs. Weighing in at only 175 lbs, Roy is used to wrestling bigger and stronger opponents, as his training partners usually include Fabian Dominguez, the Brothers Tiernan and Big Dan Righi. During Roy’s match, he once again proved the adage; “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog”. After three periods of intense action, Roy pinned (yes, pinned) his larger and stronger opponent.

The final match of the JV meet was the Heavyweights. Freshman Sears Tiernan surprised everyone, including himself, when right of the initial whistle, he shot in cleanly with a low-single and took his opponent to the mat. From that point on, Tiernan dominated his opponent and ended the match with a second round pin. “Feels good, don’t it”. JV won 12-9.

Overall, a very impressive day for Avon Wrestling. Now, we must just keep the feeling alive.

Special thanks to Coach and Mrs. Benoit, and their very lovely daughter, for making the treacherous, hour-long drive to support the team. As always, we welcome any and all support, and please know that your presence made a huge difference in our collective performance.