For Athol High School’s Chris Waslaske and Merrick Decker, Friday’s opening day of the MIAA All-State Individual Wrestling Championships proved just how difficult the competition can be this deep into the postseason.
The Red Raider duo saw its impressive winter campaign come to an end in the event held at Reading Memorial High School, bowing out in the opening day of the two-day meet. Waslaske went 1-2 overall at the All-States meet at 170 pounds, while Decker dropped both of his matches at 120 pounds.
Waslaske, the No. 4 seed from Division III, opened his tournament with a Round of 16 loss to Braintree High School’s Anders Klass, the third seed from Division I. Klass pinned Waslaske 53 seconds into the opening round, dropping the Athol sophomore into the consolation bracket.
Waslaske rebounded in the next bout, bouncing back with a 6-1 decision over Saugus High School’s Dominic Clark. He earned a pair of first-round takedowns to set the tone, moving ahead 6-1 after the first two-minute stanza before holding on from there.
The All-State tourney came to a close in the next round, as Waslaske was beaten by Division I Springfield Central High School’s Dohnovin Harvey, 9-2.
Decker, the Western Mass. Division III champion, dropped a pair of matches in Reading. He opened his tournament with a first-round loss to Liam McAveney of Masconomet Regional High School via majority decision, 20-10, in a match where he actually took a 2-0 lead after an early first-round takedown.
In the consolation round, Decker’s season came to an end at the hands of Walpole High School’s Tyler Splaine. The fifth-seeded wrestler from Division II picked up a pinfall at 1:45 of the opening round.
Amherst 10, Turners Falls 2 — Powerhouse Amherst Regional High School scored six goals in the first period and pulled away for a 10-2 win over Turners Falls High School in Fay-Wright Division season finale action at Orr Rink on the campus of Amherst College Friday night.
Amherst (13-4-2, 12-2-2 Fay-Wright) led 6-1 after one period, as Nathan Masteralexis scored his team’s first three goals of the night en route to four overall. The Hurricanes led 2-0 before Turners got on the board, when Bryan Baumann lit the lamp with 9:09 remaining in the opening stanza to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Amherst scored the next 8 goals however, moving ahead 10-1 before Turners closed out the scoring with 1:25 left in the third period. Doug Hanieski tallied with a feed from Baumann to account for the 10-2 final.
Turners Falls finished its 2016-17 campaign with a 1-19 overall record (0-16 F-W). The team’s lone victory came earlier in the week against Mount Everett Regional School.