Franklin County Technical School will host this weekend’s WMass Division 3 Wrestling Tournament and the home crowd will have two No. 1 seeds to cheer for after the seeds were released Sunday morning.
Frontier Regional School also picked up a pair of top seeds in the tournament, which is only a one-day tournament this year. Wrestling will get underway Saturday morning beginning at 10 a.m. and the finals are scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
“We are excited to host,” Franklin Tech coach Joe Gamache said. “It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a long time. Hopefully, we will make it a solid experience for everyone, but it should be a great experience for our kids.”
The Eagles had the most seeded wrestlers in the tournament with nine of 10 wrestlers entered getting top eight seeds. Kyle Brunelle, who recently earned his 100th career victory is the top seed at 145 pounds for the Eagles, while Frontier’s Jake Mattson picked up the No. 6 seed. Brody Wood, who joined Brunelle in the 100-win club earlier this season, picked up the top seed at 170 pounds. That weight could see an all-Franklin County final as Mohawk’s Mason Biagini earned the No. 2 seed, the highest of any Warrior wrestler. Frontier’s KC Mattson is the eighth seed.
As for Frontier’s top seeds, both come at the higher weights. Nate Austin earned the top seed at 195 pounds, while Franklin Tech’s Ayden Stacy was the fifth seed. Frontier’s Jackie Phong leads the field at heavyweight (285), while Franklin Tech’s Cameron Tuttle is the fifth seed.
Franklin Tech’s Walker Picard earned the No. 2 seed at 220 pounds, while Mohawk’s Ethan Bower is the fifth seed. Franklin Tech’s Josh Brunelle earned the third seed at 120 pounds, Frontier’s Ovidu Nichita is the fourth seed at 113, Frontier’s Tanner Finch is the fourth seed at 126, and Franklin Tech’s Colin Pettis earned the fourth seed at 132. Mohawk’s Quinton Romer is the fourth seed at 152 pounds, while Franklin Tech’s Noah Fuess is the sixth seed. Franklin Tech’s Tim Fritz earned the fifth seed at 160, and Mohawk’s Dylan Wooldridge is the sixth seed. Frontier’s Ito McMillan picked up the fifth seed at 145 pounds.
“The seed is just a number, the kids still have to wrestle it out,” Gamache said. “The higher the seed, the bigger the target is on your back.”
Mahar and Athol will both compete in the Central Mass. Division 3 Tournament. Seeds were unavailable.
Tech goes 4-1
Franklin Tech went 4-1 Saturday at the Eagle Duals in Turners Falls with wins over Shepherd Hill (42-19), Mt. Everett (39-16), Mt. Greylock (53-12) and Leominster (54-6), while falling to King Phillip, 56-21.
Brody Wood went 5-0 on the day at 170/182 pounds, while Joshua Brunelle (120/126), Kyle Brunelle (138/145), Noah Fuess (145/152), Tim Fritz (160), Ayden Stacy (195) and Walker Picard (220) each finished 4-1 on the day. Colin Pettis (132/138) and Cameron Tuttle (285) finished 3-2 on the day. Franklin Tech finished the regular season 14-2-1 overall.
Mohawk at Eagle Duals
With just six wrestlers competing on Saturday, Mohawk went 0-4 at the Eagle Duals in Turners Falls.
Mohawk lost to King Philip (75-0), Mt. Everett (24-18), Shepherd Hill (36-6), and Spaulding (72-12).
Dylan Wooldridge went 2-2 on the day at 160 pounds with a pair of pins, while Jaden Moore went 2-2 at 145 with one pin. Willian VanVleet (285) and Q