The playoffs are here for Franklin County and North Quabbin wrestlers as the hunt for Western and Central Mass. championships begins on Saturday for Franklin Tech, Mohawk Trail Regional, Mahar Regional, Frontier Regional and Athol.
A year removed from winning their first Western Mass. championship, the Eagles seem primed for another championship run. Franklin Tech begins that quest at Taconic High School in the MIAA Division 3 Western Championships.
Franklin Tech powered through its regular season, winning its third straight Suburban League championship. The Eagles finished their local schedule without a blemish for the second straight season.
“At times it wasn’t pretty, but we were able to get it done,” Franklin Tech coach Mike Aiken said. “We wrestled well when we had to. Our horses kind of carried us. It was a different kid in another weight stepping up and doing their part to make it happen.”
Beyond the local schedule, Franklin Tech wrestled all over Massachusetts against very stiff competition in an effort to better itself.
“With the schedule that we wrestle, it sometimes hurts us come postseason.” Aiken said. “We have losing records because we go out east, we go to Connecticut a little bit more. We wrestle more. I’ve seen everybody’s paperwork. I know that we’ve wrestled way more than everybody else.”
The extra workload can be a blessing but also a detriment.
“You can get a little worn out,” Aiken said. “Sometimes you have a little less success. That can hurt your mental game. You have be mentally strong to get over not winning all the time. But there can be a false sense of ability when you are wrestling lower competition…but it’s the coaching staffs job to get everyone ready.”
Seeds are released on Thursday night for the various tournaments. The Eagles had four wrestlers reach 100 wins for their career this season in Landon Purington (138 pounds), Carsten Couture (144 pounds), Jackson Morey (215 pounds) and Dillon Laffond (285 pounds). At 132 pounds, Maxon Brunette is a possible two-seed for the Eagles. Couture, Laffond and Purington are projected top seeds.
“I think we are going to have five or six guys that are top three seeds,” Aiken said. “A couple of our guys that are unseeded have potential.”
Frontier Regional will join the Eagles in Pittsfield. Konnor James is a wrestler to watch at 157 pounds for the Redhawks. Jacoby Merrill should make a deep run at 165 pounds. Working in a co-ed field, Jocelyn Antes will test the waters at 120 points for the Redhawks.
Athol and Mahar will compete in Holliston at the Division 3 Central Wrestling championships. For the Senators, Orion Whitehouse will attack the 132-pound weight class.
“He’s been wrestling really well. He’s in a tough weight class,” Mahar coach John Speek said of Whitehouse. “132 is tough across the state. He should be one to watch.”
Elias Roberts dealt with some injuries this season but is rounding into form now that playoffs have arrived. Roberts enters the 144 pound bracket. Eujeyn Smith (165 pounds) figures to wrestle deep into his respective bracket.
“He’s (Smith) been wrestling tough all year,” Speek said.
Another senior, Josh Mazza, enters the 157-pound weight class at the sectional tournament. Daniel Briand wrestled at 106 during the season for the Senators and performed very well. It will be interesting to see how he fares with tougher competition.
“It’s always weird with 106,” Speek said. “When you go out to these things and you think think you have a stud on your hands. All of sudden you wonder where all these other little guys came from. But we are cautiously optimistic about him. First time on a big stage. We’ll see how he does. We’ll get some wins out of him.”
The Bears have a heavyweight that is primed to make a possible run at a sectional championship in Nicholas LeBlanc at 285 pounds. The same goes for Adam Rodriguez at 126 pounds.
Mohawk has three wrestlers to watch at sectionals in Pittsfield. Derik Pazmino is an eighth grader who will compete at 150 pounds for the Warriors. Pazmino began wrestling in elementary school and does it year round. During his time outside of practice and meets, he is heavy into Jiu Jitsu.
“His parents will take him to Jiu Jitsu after he does two hours of wrestling,” Mohawk coach Mark Biagini said. “He just puts in so much time.”
Luke Read at 126 pounds and Matt Taraburca at 157 pounds are two other wrestlers to keep on the radar for the Warriors.