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February 12, 2012
By Lynn Bloom

           Five Patriot wrestlers competed at the Division II State Tournament in Reading last weekend, but only Nico Calabria emerged with a berth to the All-State Individual Tournament. Calabria won an impressive five of six matches against the best Division II 106-pounders in the state.  Along the way, he pinned two opponents and teched a third 15-0.   He earned a major decision over Roni Baghdady of Belmont to reach the consolation finals and a 6-3 decision over Kevin Christie of Natick to take home the bronze medal.  Calabria’s only loss of the season came in the second round of the tournament at the hands of the eventual second-place winner. 

            Zach Bloom, who entered the tournament undefeated and seed first at 152 pounds, won a comfortable 10-3 decision in his opening round match.  But during a scramble in his second match, against 2011 State Champion Jason Ricketts, Bloom suffered a Gronkowski-like injury and was shelved for the day.  Ricketts went on to repeat as DII State Champion. 

Ricky Posner (113 pounds) and Nick Gravel (170 pounds) each won a match in the state tourney, and Gabe Arnold (120 pounds) lost his final match by a single point, completing a 2-point reversal just moments after the final buzzer sounded.

The Patriots graduate only Kyryl Reptushshenko at the end of the 2011-2012 season, and with the infusion of new talent at the upper weights C-C’s grapplers look to make noise next year at the state level.

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Wrestling at 152 pounds, Zach Bloom earned his second consecutive sectional championship, improving his record on the year to 18-0.  Bloom’s final was a nail biter as Hopkinton’s Jesse Shea executed a defensive strategy that took the match to OT, where Bloom prevailed by earning a reversal. 

 
In spite of drawing the two and three seeds in his first two matches of the day, Ricky Posner also reached the championship final and secured a spot at D2 States.  Posner wrestled with tremendous heart throughout the day, overcoming a 6-1 deficit against Marlborough’s Omar Vazquez in his semi-final match and battling an equally determined opponent from       Southeastern Regional in the championship final.  Posner exchanged points with Aiden Delgadillo until the clock ran out with Posner down 9-8.   

Gabe Arnold and Nick Gravel will join Calabria, Bloom, and Posner at States next week in Reading. Arnold won the consolation final at 120 pounds by avenging a first-round loss to Southeastern’s Zach Mitchell, and Gravel advanced to the semi-finals at 170 pounds before settling for fourth place.  Although Coach Rivera’s team hoped for greater success in the tournament format, prior injuries to Jake Lynch and Kyryl Reptushenko and forfeits at 132, 220, and 285 pounds prevented the team from amassing enough points to advance to the team state tournament in two weeks.

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January 14, 2012
By Lynn Bloom

The Concord-Carlisle wrestling team took to the mats four times this week, splitting their matches with DCL rivals Newton South, Boston Latin, Acton-Boxborough, and Wayland.  The Patriots opened the week on Wednesday with a decisive 50-27 win against Newton South.  Junior transfer from Phillips Exeter Academy Ricky Posner began the action with a major decision at 113 pounds, and Gabe Arnold followed, winning his sixth match in a row with a pin.  The Lions swept four consecutive matches to take a 21-9 before Concord-Carlisle went on a run of its own as Zach Bloom, Kyryl Reptushenko, Nick Gravel, Jacob Lasorsa, Jonah Randle, and Tommy Crowley all posted wins.  Sophomore Lasorsa, who continues to show promise, battled his way to a major decision in six grueling minutes of action.  In the final bout of the match, freshman Alex McNulty (106) added six more points to the Patriots tally with a pin.

On Saturday, the Patriots travelled to the Wayland field house for a DCL quad.  In their first match of the day, the Patriots met a much-improved Boston Latin team, which quickly went up 12-0.  Captains Bloom and Reptushenko put Concord-Carlisle on the board with a pin and a decision, respectively, to narrow the deficit to 12-9.  The match continued to see-saw at the upper weights, as Lasorsa scored a major decision at 182 pounds and Crowley earned a come-from-behind pin at 220 pounds and the Wolfpack claimed the 170 and 195 pound weight classes.  Still wrestling at a disadvantage without a heavyweight, the Patriots were forced to forfeit a costly six points to Latin but responded with quick pins by Nico Calabria and Arnold.  A major decision by Posner put Concord-Carlisle up 34-28, leaving the match in the hands of two youngsters who battled hard but could not bring home wins against their more experienced opponents.  Latin finished with 40 points to Concord-Carlisle’s 34.

The Acton-Boxborough match began at 152 pounds, and Bloom recorded a quick six points for the Patriots, pinning his opponent in the first period.  A forfeit and pins by Gravel and Lasorsa gave Concord-Carlisle a commanding 24-3 lead.  The Colonials, however, fought back with a pair of pins of their own and a win by forfeit at the heavyweight to narrow the score to 24-21.  Having just returned to the line up from an injury, Calabria brought strength and experience to the 106-pound weight class, recording his second pin of the day.  Matching Calabria’s effort, Posner and Arnold also recorded pins to seal the 42-39 win for the Patriots.

Finally, Concord-Carlisle took on the Wayland Warriors.  A traditional DCL wrestling power, the host club is in the throws of a rebuilding year, and the Patriots went up 24-0 on the strength of pins by Bloom, Gravel, and Lasorsa and a forfeit win by Reptushenko.  But Wayland roared back with the help of two forfeits of its own at 220 pounds, where the injured Crowley could not compete, and at heavyweight.  Calabria answered with his third pin on the day at 106 pounds.  When sophomore David Warner pinned at 120 pounds to put Concord-Carlisle ahead 36-22, the home team seemed to be in trouble.  But Wayland won the final four matches to 43-36 win and sent the Patriots home at 3-3 in the DCL.  

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By Lynn Bloom
December 8, 2012
 

The Concord-Carlisle wrestling team recorded its first win of the 2012 season on Wednesday besting DCL rival Weston High School 55-24.  The Patriots travelled to the storied “Pit” to face a confident Wildcat team, flush from a strong performance against perennial wrestling powerhouse Wayland High School.  Weston took the first bout (145 pounds) to go ahead 6-0, but in a battle of team captains, Zach Bloom (152 pounds) evened the score with a second period pin over Harrison Fontaine.  Kyryl Reptushenko put the Patriots up 12-6 with a pin of his own at 160, and Nick Gravel extended the Patriot’s lead with a win at 170.  Weston responded with a pin at 182 pounds to close the gap to just three, but then Concord-Carlisle took control with six consecutive victories.  Jonah Randle and Tommy Crowley started the run at the heavy weights, and the lightweights, Alex McNulty, Ricky Posner, Gabe Arnold, and David “Gator” Warner, followed suit.  The win was McNulty’s first as a varsity wrestler.  Jake Lynch, who returned to the line-up for his first match of the season, scored Concord-Carlisle’s final points with a pin at 138 pounds. 

On Saturday the Patriots competed in a sixteen-team field at the annual Brendan Grant Memorial Tournament in Belmont.  Bloom finished first at 152 pounds, beating Jarod O’Brien of Woburn 10-2 in the finals.  Arnold, who lost his first match to the eventual champion at 120 pounds, wrestled back to win an impressive five matches and to take third place with a convincing 9-2 win over his opponent from Arlington in the consolation finals. Posner earned 4^th place honors, Reptushenko placed 5^th, and first-year grappler Crowley won three matches on the day to finish 6^th.  

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The most significant changes in weight classes in high school wrestling in 23 years will take place in the 2011-12 season.

In its April 4-6 meeting in Indianapolis, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee approved an upward shift of the weight classes, beginning with the 103-pound class moving to 106 pounds, which resulted in new weights for 10 of the 14 classes. The changes in weight classes, along with 17 other rules revisions, were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

The 14 weight classes approved by the committee for 2011-12 are as follows: 106 (pounds), 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 160, 170, 182, 195, 220 and 285. Three middle weight classes – 145, 152 and 160 – were retained, although they are 7-8-9 in order now rather than 8-9-10. The largest weight class (285 pounds) remains unchanged as well.

“The change in weight classes resulted from a three-to-four year process utilizing data from the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Optimal Performance Calculator,” said Dale Pleimann, chair of the NFHS Wrestling Rules Committee and former assistant executive director of the Missouri State High School Activities Association. “The rules committee was able to analyze data from almost 200,000 wrestlers across the country, with the goal to create weight classes that have approximately seven percent of the wrestlers in each weight class.

“Throughout the process, each state association was kept completely informed and was provided multiple opportunities for input. The results of the last survey of each state association indicated that the majority of states favored a change, and the committee listened and acted accordingly.”

The last wholesale shift in weight classes occurred in 1988, when the lowest weight class was increased from 98 to 103 pounds. The only other changes since then were in 2002, when the number of classes went from 13 to 14 and the 215-pound weight class became mandatory, and in 2006, when the 275-pound class was increased to 285 pounds.

Among changes in wrestling holds, the Figure 4 around the head has been ruled an illegal hold/maneuver. Previously, the Figure 4 was illegal around the body or both legs.

“This move was being used by high school wrestlers more and more on the head, so to minimize the risk of injury, the committee voted to outlaw the Figure 4 on the head as well as around the body and both legs,” said Bob Colgate, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Wrestling Rules Committee.

Another significant change was made in Rule 2-1-3, which now makes the boundary line inbounds and, thus, expands the wrestling area. Previously, a wrestler was out of bounds if he or she was touching any part of the 2-inch-wide line which marks the wrestling area.

An additional exception was added to Rule 8-2-1 stating that if the second injury time-out is taken at the conclusion of the second period, and the opponent already has the choice at the beginning of the third period, the opponent would then have the added choice at the first restart after the beginning of the third period.

“Previously, at the end of the second period and before the third period, Wrestler A takes his or her second injury time-out, which now gives the choice to Wrestler B,” Colgate said. “However, it’s already Wrestler B’s choice by virtue of the original flip of the disk. Therefore, Wrestler B gains no advantage or benefit from Wrestler A’s second injury time-out. With this change, Wrestler B would now have his or her choice at the first restart after the beginning of the third period.”

In other changes, a revision in Rule 3-1-13 allows the referee the flexibility to determine his or her best position to monitor the clock and wrestlers during injury, blood or recovery time-outs. Also, language in Rule 6-2-2 was changed from “forfeit” to “disqualification” to reflect correct terminology.

The rules committee also devoted considerable time to developing rules for multi-team dual meets and team-formatted tournaments. Previously, the NFHS Wrestling Rules Book addressed only dual meets and individually bracketed tournaments. Definitions for individually bracketed tournaments, dual meet/team-formatted tournaments and combination tournaments will be contained in Rule 1-3.

“In recent years, high school wrestling has moved from dual meets and individually bracketed tournaments to tournaments incorporating a dual meet/team format,” Pleimann said. “The new Rule 11 will provide rules coverage for this type of tournament format.”

“High school wrestling is in great shape across the country as participation numbers continue to increase. The rules committee did propose 18 changes to the rules book, but approximately two-thirds of those changes resulted from incorporating the new dual meet/team format rules,” Pleimann added.

The final change is one that has been approved by the NFHS Board of Directors for use in all NFHS rules books regarding the meet referee’s jurisdiction. The rule extends the clerical duties of the referee beyond the end of the meet through the completion of any reports required from actions that occurred while the referees had jurisdiction.

Points of emphasis adopted by the committee for 2011-12 include communicable diseases, injury time-outs, coach/referee conference, and concussion recognition and management.  

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