Local grapplers head into intense state championships

It’s that time of the year.

 

The High School League will hold its individual state wrestling championships at the Anderson Civic Center on Friday and Saturday, and one slip up or one tactical error in a three-minute timeframe can wipe out a year’s worth of hard work and lifetime’s worth of dreams.

 

Bishop England High School will send seven wrestlers to the state competition in Class AA, while Philip Simmons High School will send four grapplers to compete in the Class AAA championships.

 

Wrestlers and coaches are working at a rapid rate in the final days leading up to the season-ending event.

 

“Right now, I’m juggling chainsaws,” BE coach Paul Spence said as he talked about the state championships this weekend and North-South wrestling which is on the calendar next week. “It’s going to be intense.”

 

The Bishops don’t have the depth to win a team state championship, because they usually forfeit three weight classes to give foes 18 immediate points. But they do have the talent to be one of the teams with the most state qualifiers, sending wrestlers in half of the 14 weight classifications.

 

Sam Cherichello is making his third trip to the state and will compete at 132 pounds. He claimed a gold medal last winter. The other wrestlers include Preston Cederquist, Sean Loughery, Dixon Hardy, Griffin Buss, Thomas Curl and Finn Randall.

 

The Bishops have one of the most storied athletic programs in state history, and one of the few teams that doesn’t have a state title is the wrestling team, which finished state runners-up in 1972 and 1998.

 

“This has been one of our better years as far as state qualifiers are concerned,” said Spence, who has been connected to the BE wrestling program for almost four decades. “It’s been a while since we’ve taken a number of wrestlers like that.”

 

Cherichello is one of a score of state champions Spence has developed. He has excellent work habits and works to get better. He doesn’t focus on winning. His goal is to get better at each practice or match.

 

The Iron Horses are sending a solid quartet including Alex Watson, Matthew Spignardo, Josh Gant and Bryce Smalls.

 

“All four are great competitors,” Philip Simmons coach Anthony Sardelli said. “All four have a shot to win. It’s going to be a great day for Philip Simmons.”

 

The Iron Horses are a veteran group with Watson, Gant and Smalls each making a third trip to the championships. Spignardo, who is only a sophomore, is making his second trip.

He claimed a bronze medal last winter, and this weekend he could ascend to the top rung on the victory stand. 

 

Sardelli says his young wrestler has the potential to be an All-American by the time he graduates.

 

The other Iron Horse wrestlers have the potential to medal, especially Watson, who is ranked No. 2 in Class AAA at 113 pounds. Gant is ranked fifth at 157 pounds while Smalls checks in at No. 4 at 190 pounds.