FITCHBURG — Athol’s Joe Gray had himself quite a Day 1 at the MIAA Division 3 Wrestling Championships.
Gray — the No. 7 seed at 182 pounds — opened Friday’s action at Game On Fitchburg with a first round pin against Norton’s Ben Khokhlan to move onto the quarterfinals, where he faced Sabis’ Myles Brown.
The two went back-and-forth throughout the match, each racking up points throughout, but Gray was able to secure the pin in the third period to move on to Saturday’s semifinal round.
Gray held a 17-11 lead when he scored the pin.
“That’s one of the highest-scoring matches I’ve ever been in,” Gray said. “At first I wanted to get the first takedown and stay on top as long as possible. He ended up scrambling but I was ready for all his throws and rolls. My defense was timed well and it helped me get out of those bad spots. If I can eliminate those, I have a really good chance moving forward.”
Gray will face Gloucester’s Michael Toppan in the 182-pound semifinals on Saturday. Semifinal and championship bouts, along with the conclusion of the consolation brackets, will be held back at Game On. The tournaments are double elimination.
In his first state tournament, Gray said he’s just looking to take things one match at a time with his eyes set on taking home a title.
“It’s crazy being in the semis,” Gray said. “This is my first time being here but I’m trying to wrestle like I’ve been here before. My goal is to take it one match at a time. I have to focus on winning the semis before I can think about the finals. That was a big match and good confidence booster.”
Gray won’t be the only Athol wrestler still competing on Saturday. Caleb Cox won his opening match at 170 pounds, fell in the quarterfinal round but went on to defeat Duxbury’s Vincent Player to stay alive in the consolation round.
Like Cox, Nate Torres won his first match in the 185-pound bracket then lost in the quarters before winning a consolation match against Monument Mountain’s Westly Vansant to advance to Saturday.
It was a quick day’s work for Frontier’s Payton Sladeski on Friday.
The senior took just 11 seconds to pin East Longmeadow’s Gabrial Roman in the first round at 120 pounds and secured a first-round pin against Danvers’ Mark Haskins in the quarterfinals to secure a spot in Saturday’s semifinal round.
Haskins gave Sladeski some trouble early but in the end Sladeski’s speed proved to be too much.
“I was going at a really fast pace and not taking my time to take shots,” Sladeski said. “My hips saved me. After he got put on his back, he gave up. He didn’t try to get out of it so I had him.”
Sladeski will meet Melrose’s Sean Thomas in the semifinals on Saturday. He’s entering with confidence after a stellar Day 1.
“I can’t wait for [Saturday],” Sladeski said. “That’s when the real pressure kicks in. Only thing I’m nervous about is making weight.”
Fellow Redhawk Jake Mattson will have at least one match at 195 pounds on Saturday, picking up a pair of wins and a loss on Friday. He finds himself in the consolation Round of Four, where he’ll take on Norwood’s Ahmed Elalfy.
Frontier’s Wyatt Finch won his opening match of the day at 106 but dropped his next two. Ian Paciorek (113) and Miles Keefe (152) lost both matches on Friday to cap their state tournaments.
Mahar’s Abduli Gilmore knew getting to the semifinals of the 106-pound weight class would be a challenge after brackets were released.
The freshman had Mt. Everett’s Diego Cruz on his side of the draw, a Western Mass. champ who he had lost to not long ago.
Gilmore won his opening match against Scituate’s Will Hartwell via first round pin to set up a rematch with Cruz, and his second go-round saw much better results.
The freshman came away with an 8-4 victory over Cruz to move into the semifinal round of the 106-pound bracket. He controlled the match and amassed the necessary points to come away with a decision.
“He was really strong,” Gilmore said of Cruz. “I went against him a few weeks ago and he destroyed me. The first match we had, I wrestled a kid before who was really tough and I had no energy left. I was just trying to catch my breath when I had to wrestle him. Today I just put everything I had into it.”
Gilmore now has a confidence boost as he heads into Saturday’s semifinals, where he’ll meet Keefe Tech’s Kevin Ribeiro.
“It was an awesome feeling,” Gilmore said of beating Cruz. “I couldn’t believe I did it. Now I just have to keep it going. I enjoy these tournaments.”
Fellow Senator Domanic Cacciolfi will join Gilmore on Saturday. Cacciolfi opened Day 1 with a win at 138 pounds, lost in the quarterfinals but picked up a second round pin over Excel Academy’s Luke Etheridge to stay alive in the consolation bracket. He will take on Holliston’s Zachary Robinson on Saturday.
Franklin Tech’s Josh Brunelle also found a way to make it to Saturday at 145 pounds. He earned a pin in 47 seconds against Danvers’ Seth Fagone in the opening round but re-injured his shoulder early in the quarters against Norton’s Anthony Tripolone and ended up suffering an 18-3 loss by technical fall.
The senior recovered and toughed out a win over Taconic’s Louis Rhodes in the consolation round, securing a pin 40 seconds into the third round to stay alive. He’ll take on Tewksbury’s Hunter Johnson on Saturday.
John Santiago (106) and Will Rosenburg (120) wrestled on Friday but lost both their matches. Mohawk Trail’s Logan Moore (132) and Will VanVleet (220) both made it to the state tournament but lost both their matches on Friday to cap outstanding seasons on the mats.