Anthony DelValle has the Granby wrestling team in a good spot.
DelValle is in the midst of his first season as head coach of the Rams and his team has been competitive this season. Granby nearly upset Smith Vocational last week in a 31-30 defeat at home, a week after tying with Springfield International.
Parker Dufresne and Richard Sweet took victories by pin to lead the Rams against the Vikings and highlighted Granby’s ability to be a tough matchup within the Suburban League North.
“Simon Speek, Eliza Speek, obviously siblings, Parker Dufresne, Richard Sweet, he’s actually come out of the woodwork and he’s starting to put a lot of hard work in,” DelValle said on wrestlers who have stood out. “Honestly, [Sweet] has been putting in the work and it’s a far cry from last year. Last year he was doing well, this year he’s pulling out all the stops trying to make it work.”
DelValle added that Nate Benson is nearing the 100-win mark and is one of Granby’s top wrestlers.
High school wrestling, more so than other high school sports, is a numbers game. If a team doesn’t have a wrestler in a certain weight class and the opposing team does, that match goes down as a forfeit loss. There were a handful of instances of that in the dual meet between the Rams and Vikings, however Granby hopes to eliminate that as much as possible in the years to come.
“We lost a couple [wrestlers], we’re hoping to gain a couple back next year. Hopefully we can keep the team alive and kind of recruit more, with some young minds to come in and keep the sport alive,” DelValle said. “We got a small squad now, but I think if we put the work in recruiting, we might be able to make a decent size squad.”
The Rams have 15 wrestlers on this year’s roster. DelValle, who was an assistant coach with the Rams the past two years behind current Belchertown athletic director Kevin McNeill, appears eager to infuse even more talent into the program moving forward.
Granby’s league slate began with a dual meet loss on the road at Frontier on Wednesday. Next up is a tournament in Quabbin on Saturday.
The Wildcats are currently winners of seven straight and have been dominant during that stretch.
Williston has outscored its opponents 37-3 during the seven-game win streak and have taken two tournament titles in the Harrington Invitational Tournament and the New Year’s Prep Puck Drop Tournament.
Nora Curtis recently surpassed 100 career points and became the 10th player in Wildcats program history to do so.
Williston looks primed for another deep postseason run this year. The Wildcats fell in the Chuck Vernon Elite Division championship for the first time in three seasons last March and are already building their resume as a top team in the NEPSAC once again.
Williston hosts Tabor Academy next on Saturday. Puck drop is planned for 4:45 p.m.
Addie Mager earned second place for the Hurricanes Nordic Ski Team during their first race of the season at Prospect Mountain in Woodford, Vt. last weekend.
Mager was one of four girls Amherst skiers that finished in the top 10. Mager’s time clocked in at 16:45, then was followed by Ella Workman in fourth (17:19), Elizabeth Sawicki in fifth (17:40) and Zoey Candito in seventh (17:47).
The Hurricanes compiled 18 points as a team, which was better than Mohawk (44 points), Lenox (45 points), Mount Greylock (48 points) and Wahconah (87 points).
Calvin Miller secured the best finish for the Amherst boys team, completing the race in seventh place in 14:36.
