Mount Anthony wrestlers win 21st straight Vt. championship
Toolbox
By Dennis Jensen Staff Writer - Published: March 1, 2009
ESSEX – The Tide was rising on Friday but Mount Anthony pushed it back late Saturday.
Spaulding came close from knocking Mount Anthony from its 20-year reign as state wrestling champions but wound up short as the Patriots came on in the later rounds to win the 40th Annual Vermont State Wrestling tournament in Essex.
Mount Anthony won its 21st consecutive championship with 229.5 points. The Crimson Tide was second with 216.5 points.
Unlike so many previous state championships, where the only mystery was who was going to finish in second place, this one was filled with drama right to the end.
The 13-point win by the Patriots made it the closest state championship in 22 years.
It began on Friday when, after one day of wrestling, Spaulding closed in on the Patriots like no one had in two decades.
The Crimson Tide team turned in that night trailing Mount Anthony 100 to 92.5.
Then, after a stellar performance in the semifinal round, Spaulding did what no other team has done since 1989 – it took the lead. Spaulding was ahead 188.5 to 182.5, but the Patriots had a bunch of kids competing in the wrestle-backs and that keyed a big turnaround, giving them a 223.5 to 204.5 lead over Spaulding with only the finals remaining.
Spaulding sent eight wrestlers to the finals Saturday night, with three emerging as champions.
Spaulding's Kyle Edmunds, at 119 pounds, took a 5–0 lead in the first period, then coasted to a 10–5 win over Kyle Beane of Mount Mansfield.
Teammate Steven Rich, at 160 pounds, methodically broke down Mount Anthony's Cole Frost to pull out a 12–4 victory.
Reuben Stone, at 189 pounds, had a tougher time with his opponent, Damian Strona of Vergennes. Stone led 3–2 after two periods, then wrapped it up with a 5–3 win.
Spaulding's Damian Mason, at 125 pounds, Zack Rillo at 130. Brett Tremblay (140). Bryant Cleveland (171) and Jeromy Anderson (285) also made it to the championship round, but both lost.
Spaulding co-coach Dave Fournier said that, coming into the two-day tournament, he was thinking of the possibility of knocking off the Patriots. But Fournier said he never expected to get as many as eight grapplers in the finals.
"All we talked about was how there is no pressure on us," he said. "We just needed to do our jobs."
With its stellar performance at Essex, the Crimson Tide will send nine wrestlers to the upcoming New England Wrestling Championships at Hill House High School in New Haven, Conn., on March 6 and 7. Spaulding won the New England crown in 1995.
"I'm very happy with the way the tournament went," Fournier said. "We knew we had to score 200 points to be in the race. We won 95 percent of the matches that we should have and won a couple that we shouldn't have."
Harwood's Josh Kernan won the 135-pound class with a pin at 4:24 over CVU's Sherman Wood.
Mick Kerin, another Crimson Tide coach, said the subject of beating Mount Anthony in the states was not something the coaching staff was concerned about.
"We never talked about the states with the boys because of the pressure," he said. "It's hard enough to do this sport without looking over your shoulder."
Kerin said he tought the state tournament was a fitting end for the team's seven senior wrestlers.
"We're very, very happy for our seniors," he said. "It was good for those seniors who have been with us for a while to make it to the finals."
Mount Anthony had six wrestlers in the finals and only one took home one championship medal. Otter Valley sent three wrestlers to the championship round and three emerged as champions.
That was enough for the Otters to win third place with 145 points. Harwood was 10th with 46.5 points and Randolph finished 12th with 31 points.
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