Only a short two years ago, the Granby wrestling team celebrated a league championship. The Rams have graduated almost every contributor from that team, and have since been building to get back to the top of the Suburban League North.
Last year, Granby worked on the basics. Head coach Kevin McNeill had a very young team in his first season at the helm, a team compiled of wrestlers anywhere from seventh grade up to its one senior. McNeill knew it would be important in the long run to hammer home simple teaching points so that by time the team ages and matures, it will be ready for the big stage and tough competition.
While the Rams’ record may not have been great last year, they have basically everybody back – both older and stronger.
“We’re a young team, but the good thing is we do have quite a few returning kids,” McNeill said. “We’re looking to build on what we started last year with this group, and just trying to improve on the basics and keep teaching these younger kids the right things to do. We’ve got a handful of juniors, and we got a couple eighth graders in the lineup. We’re a pretty young group, but they’re practicing hard and wrestling tough. They’re off to a good start to the year.”
The lone senior is Johann Bishop, who comes over from Amherst thanks to the co-op between the two schools (Amherst does not have a wrestling program). Also switching from maroon to blue is Junior Ramsey. Ramsey joined the Granby team last year, and made an instant impact thanks to his strength and athleticism.
McNeill appointed him as a captain as a sophomore, and again this season as a junior. Alongside Ramsey as captain is junior Nathan Benson. The two of them are leaders in the practice room even as juniors, and McNeill leans on them to bring energy to the mat each and every day.
“Those two guys are off to a great start, and they work really hard every day,” McNeill said. “They’re good leaders, and they’re doing the right things at practice. They’re both really talented, and I expect them to both have a terrific season for us.”
Ramsey placed third in the Western Mass. tournament a year ago, which qualified him for states – and the goal is to get back there again in 2024. He’s one of the better wrestlers returning in Hampshire County, and a lot of it can be attributed to his dominance on the football field. Ramsey was a force for Amherst this fall, helping the Hurricanes to one of their best years in a half-decade.
Football and wrestling go hand-in-hand, and McNeill knew Ramsey had potential based on his football background alone.
“For every football coach out there: wrestling makes every single kid a better football player, without a doubt,” McNeill said. “Wrestling translates so well to being a great football player, and vice versa. Football players come in, they’re used to that one-on-one battle, whether it be on the line or wherever they’re playing – if they’re trying to shed blocks, trying to make tackles. And then they come in the wrestling room, they already know how to football tackle, so we just tweak it a little bit. Junior is a force on the football field, and he’s figuring out wrestling. He’s a very coach-able kid, he wants to learn and he wants to work hard.”
Comparatively speaking to numbers across the area, Granby is fortunate to have 16 kids on the roster this season. The co-op certainly helps, but the Rams still do have some gaps in their lineup – and they will be forced to forfeit some weight classes in duals because of it.
But McNeill has emphasized the importance of building from the ground up since he took the job as coach, which means he’s starting all the way down with the youth program. Quite a few young kids have signed up looking to start their journey in the sport. McNeill is hoping to get some of those wrestlers on the Granby team in the future, and he knows it begins with those on the team this year. If they can turn the program into a winning, successful one, the youth will be inclined to hop on board when the time comes.
“We’re kind of like everybody else, we’re looking to get more kids on the mat,” McNeill said. “We have a nice little youth program that’s started up, and we’re trying to develop some interest there. We’re doing everything we can to try and grow the sport and draw kids on to the mat.”
Despite not having a full team, there is still plenty of talent on the roster. Winning the league might not be realistic for this year’s team because of the inability to field a full lineup, but having several athletes qualify for the state tournament is something McNeill can definitely see happening. Simon Speek placed sixth last season as an eighth grader, and was one win away from making states. As a freshman, his expectations are to get back in that position, hopefully with a different result this time around.
With the strides that Benson – who wrestles at 113 or 120 pounds – has taken in the offseason, this could be his year to get over the hump as well. And, of course, Ramsey should be in the mix at the 190-pound weight class.
“Winning dual meets might be a little bit of a challenge for us, but I think a good expectation for us is to qualify more kids for states,” McNeill said. “We had a couple kids who were just a match away from qualifying. We’re real close to sending a handful of kids to states, and that’s kind of the goal. If we can get more to qualify, that’s a great goal for us to have.”
The Suburban North is likely to run through Athol this year, but it isn’t going to come without a fight from Granby and the other teams in the league.
“Athol, from what I hear, might be the team to beat in the league this year,” McNeill said. “They’re supposed to be pretty good. They were good last year, and we had a close match with them. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out this year.”
Below is an in-depth look at each Hampshire County team and their expectations for the 2023-24 wrestling season.
COACH: Kevin McNeill
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Suburban North/Division 3
ROSTER: SENIORS — Johann Bishop; JUNIORS — Nathan Benson, Quinn Speek, Jonathan Malone, Junior Ramsey; SOPHOMORES — David Radkowski, Frank Partida, Leo Inoue, Daniel Hackett; FRESHMEN — Finnegan Sheehan, Parker Dufresne; EIGHTH GRADE — Simon Speek, Theseus Doherty, Eliza Speek, Richard Sweet
COACH: Vin Silano
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Valley Wheel/Division 2
ROSTER: Zaire Burton-King, Jackson Nbonihamkuye, Steven Santiago, Jayden Molina Santanta, Elijah de Jesus Torres, Bella Guzman, Manny Rivera, Cecilio Sanchez, Manny Fernandez, Antwon Navarro, Luis Rivera, Ezequiel Vasquez, Dereck Concepcion, Jeremiah Charles, Jonathan Rivera, Abinadab Garay Cintron, Jack Perez, Jacob Rosa, Jossue Adorno, Felix Marrero-Cruz, Ian Rivera-Soler
OUTLOOK: The Purple Knights are turning to familiar faces to help guide their wrestling team this year. Holyoke head coach Vin Silano is in his fifth year as head coach of the program, and this season he decided to call upon talented alumni for assistance.
Silano has four assistant coaches on staff, all with deep wrestling backgrounds, and he also asked Juan Santiago and Russell Rivera for their mentorship as well. Santiago is one year removed from his Western Mass. championship at the heavyweight weight class.
Between those six coaches, seven including Silano, Holyoke has no shortage of knowledge and experience in its practice room. This bodes well for wrestlers like Steven Santiago and Elijah de Jesus Torres, both of whom Silano expects to have huge years for the Purple Knights. Santiago wrestles in the 113-pound weight class, and Torres competes in the 126-pound weight class – two of the more talented classes across Massachusetts.
Aside from those two wrestlers, Silano hopes a handful of Holyoke participants can earn a trip to the state tournament, and with a roster consisting of 21 wrestlers, the Purple Knights should be competitive in almost every dual meet they have this year.
COACH: Brian Bagdon
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Suburban North/Division 3
ROSTER: Wyatt Finch, Edward Mieczkowski, Javion Cabrera, Jocelyn Antes, Max Hunter, Benjamin Baker, Ben Calhoun, Konnor James, Nathan Wagner, Zachary Brown, Jaxson Byrne
OUTLOOK: Finch and Cabrera are the top returning Redhawk wrestlers. Finch placed third at Western Mass. Div. 3 sectionals at 113 while Cabrera took third at 285. Finch is the lone returning senior while Cabrera is the lone returning junior.
The rest of the Frontier roster is littered with young athletes, though they have experience. Baker, Calhoun, James and Warger are all just in eighth grade but were on the team last year.
Antes, a sophomore, took third at the St. Paul’s Women’s Tournament in Concord, N.H. earlier this season, winning five matches to do so.
COACH: Chris Gilbert
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Tri-County/Division 3
ROSTER: Elijah Gilbert, Lucas Gilbert, Calvin Crevier, Adam Forgue, Caiden Walker, Jacob Johnson, Logan Papillion
OUTLOOK: Elijah Gilbert is the top returning wrestler for the Gators, as the senior captain is coming off an impressive third-place finish at the D3 west sectionals, and a fourth-place finish at the state tournament.
Gilbert wrestles in the 165-pound weight class, and barring anything unforeseen, should notch his 100th career win this year.
Elsewhere, Lucas Gilbert and Calvin Crevier are captains as well, and both of them are sure to have strong individual seasons. Lucas Gilbert took sixth place in the 126-pound weight class at the D3 west sectionals, which left him one spot out of qualifying for states due to a medical forfeit. He’s out for revenge this time around.
Gateway has a small team, so dual wins are unlikely. But at tournaments where individuals thrive, the Gators have talent from top to bottom to bring home several podium finishes.
COACH: Joshua Bialek
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Suburban South/Division 3
ROSTER: Theo Law, Lief Knechel, Felicity Horton, Ezequiel Torres, Jesse Bourdeaum, Jack McKinney, Kiichi Como, Sam Stanton, Levi Morin, Ian Paradise, Robert Slysz, Sky Van Stee, Theo Kholodar-Smith, Jasper Haines, Gabe Marrero Gonzalez, Cam Richardson
OUTLOOK: The Blue Devils are in a rare position as the winter season unfolds. Northampton has zero wrestlers on its roster with any varsity wrestling experience prior to this year, meaning it’s likely to be a season full of learning and growth, according to head coach Joshua Bialek.
One wrestler was around varsity practices all of last year, and that’s Jasper Haines. Haines was on junior varsity a season ago, but he at least has a feel for how dual meets and tournaments play out given he was alongside the varsity team. Bialek expects Haines to be a leader for the young team.
Bialek also understands that he’s going to have to be patient teaching the basics and working with an inexperienced group, but recognizes the potential to be tapped into. In some ways, it’s more exciting because of how much room for growth there is.
“There is a lot of athletic potential to work with in the practice room, and I’m very excited to see where it could lead,” he said. “We’re hoping to get enough skills and experience under our belts to possibly sneak a wrestler or two into qualifying for States this year.”
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Tri-County/Division 3
ROSTER: N/A
OUTLOOK: Information was not sent before press deadline.
COACH: Byron Joy
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Suburban North/Division 3
ROSTER: PJ Lavelle, Rowan Joy, Grace Drew, Will Drew, Logan Luis, Jackson Erali, Shenniel Rosado, Adrian DeBeer, Eli Yakovlev, Brayden Koske, Josh Willette, Jasiel Ramos, Renzo Carrara, Caden Peterson, Luis Jusino, Gabriel Zarare, Roberto Melendez, Dallas Wilson, Jamie Medina, Michael Cebula, Matt Drobiak
OUTLOOK: The wrestling program at South Hadley is back in the swing of things, and for the second straight year, Tigers wrestlers will be suiting up in orange and black. This season marks the second that South Hadley has its own team, no longer combining with other teams in the area.
And South Hadley has plenty of talent returning under Byron Joy, with three wrestlers who qualified for the state tournament a year ago primed and ready to make another run at a state championship. Logan Luis placed fourth in the 120-pound weight class at D3 west sectionals last year, Jasiel Ramos earned fifth place in the 170-pound weight class, and Caden Peterson also placed fifth in the 220-pound class – all punching their tickets to the big stage.
Those three – all sophomores – will undoubtedly be the leaders of this year’s team again, as the young South Hadley group follows suit hoping to send a plethora of wrestlers to the 2024 state tournament in February.
COACH: Don Willard
LEAGUE/DIVISION: Suburban South/Division 3
ROSTER: Luke Johndrow, Adin Clifford, Gavin Gorman, Cody Gaida, Owen Roch, Finn DeWitt, Tristan Somes, Efram Korytoski, Kason Fellows, Emil Chase, Harrison Farrar, Jackson Provost, Ja’Kihh Christy, Samuel Mathews, Taylan McColgan, Nikita Bukhova, Ethan Moulton, Jax Williams, Robert Zononi
OUTLOOK: The Raiders have 19 wrestlers on the roster this year, but only four of them are upperclassmen. Hampshire has one senior, three juniors, and the rest are 7th-10th graders. Luke Johndrow comes over from Easthampton as the lone senior on the team, and he proves to be the leader both on and off the mat for this young Hampshire team.
Johndrow went 2-2 at the 2023 Bears Invitational earlier this month, and went 4-1 at the 2023 Knighthawk Classic last week to take home third place in the 165-pound weight class.
Elsewhere, junior Adin Clifford is another talented wrestler for the Raiders, and he’s showed it early on this season just like Johndrow. Clifford wrestles at 150 pounds, and he finished in fourth place in both of the two aforementioned tournaments in December.
Hampshire certainly has the ability to send multiple wrestlers to the state tournament down the line, and while doing so, the Raiders hope to build confidence and get some valuable experience for the young guys coming up.
