PITTSFIELD — A sectional wrestling title is coming back to Holyoke for the first time in 13 years. The Purple Knights rampaged their way through multiple brackets to earn the MIAA Division 3 West championship at Taconic High School on Saturday.
“There was not a single moment where we couldn’t rely on someone else to pick up someone who was down,” Holyoke coach Vincent Silano said. “It was a tremendous feat obviously to win this, but we would have been able to do it without each other. They have embodied that all year long.”
The final team scores were as follows: Holyoke (198 points), Mount Greylock (186), Monument Mountain (149 points), Franklin Tech (137 points), Southwick (123 points) and Frontier (110 points). Mohawk Trail and Gateway were 12th and 13th respectively.
Holyoke had three individual champions in Steven Santiago (120 pounds), Jesus Morales (215 pounds) and Parker Brunelle (285). Morales won a 10-4 decision over Mount Greylock’s Logan O’Connell in the finals.
“This was a special team off the rip,” Morales said. “Players like Steven Santiago. Just naturally good at the sport. I left for a while. When I came back, I noticed we were ready for this. Every day in the practice room working hard, pushing each other. Wins or losses. Doesn’t matter. We made sure today that we mark our name in history.”
Brunelle won by fall (1:42) over Monument Mountain’s Ryan Murray. As soon as Brunelle left the mat the celebration began for the Purple Knights. Brunelle outlasted Franklin Tech’s Dillon Laffond in an absolute war in the semifinals. Brunelle won by decision (7-5).
Santiago defeated Frontier Regional’s Jocelyn Antes by major decision (10-0). Antes won by fall (3:28) over Za’Qare Ryan to get to the championship match for the Redhawks.
“I think I wrestled pretty well,” Antes said. “I tried really hard to stay in good position. I tried to make sure I left it all out on the mat. He’s (Santiago) strong, he knows what he’s doing. He’s experienced. I am experienced. He was just trying to work around what I know and what I can do. It didn’t end up working out in the end.”
Santiago’s record is 45-1 for the season.
After winning their first sectional championship in program history last season, Franklin Tech had multiple wrestlers make the championship round. The Eagles fell short in their repeat attempt, but are primed for state competition next week.
“That’s part of the sport,” Franklin Tech coach Mike Aiken said. “Sometimes coaching is painful. We had a lot of potential and missed opportunities. But we took advantage of some others. That’s just a part of it. All of it balances. But we have seven kids moving on to states. Just keeping winning and keep moving on.
Landon Purington won an individual championship at 138 pounds for the Eagles. Purington pinned (1:24) Taylan McColgan of Hampshire Regional in the championship match.
“He was pretty strong,” Purington said. “I just started to work my moves, and he did what I wanted him to do.”
Hampshire Regional’s Robert Zononi won by fall (1:00) over Zaire Burton-King of Holyoke to bring a 126-pound individual championship back to Westhampton.
“I wrestled pretty strong,” Zononi said. “I got all my pins in the first period. My finals match I thought was going to be a lot stronger and more competitive. But once I got my single leg up, I was able to get him to his back and get the win.”
The following matches were all in the championship round. Eli Willard of Hampshire Regional lost to Monument Mountain’s Mason St. Peter by fall (1:04) at 106 pounds. Franklin Tech’s Paul Giard lost to Monument Mountain’s Chris St. Peter by fall (2:48) at 113 pounds. At 132 pounds, Franklin Tech’s Maxon Brunette lost to Southwick’s Amadi Ezeugwu by fall (1:04).
In the 144-pound match, Franklin Tech’s Carsten Couture lost a 4-3 decision to Matt LeMay of Duggan Academy. Points in the final seconds of the match were the difference for LeMay.
Frontier Regional’s Konnor James lost a 10-5 decision to Maximus Soto of Mount Greylock at 157 pounds. Jacoby Merrill of Frontier lost a 12-10 decision to Ian Lanoue of Mount Everett at 165 pounds.
At the Division 3 Central championships in Holliston, Evan Ke upset the top-seed in the tournament at 157 pounds. Ke pinned (3:25) Noah Simard of Ludlow to get to the finals. The sophomore lost to Ethan Anastasia of Holliston in the finals, earning a second-place medal.
Athol’s Nicholas LeBlanc made the semifinals before taking a loss by decision (10-5) to Keefe Tech’s Caio DePaula. LeBlanc rebounded to win the third-place match by fall (1:39) over Holliston’s Warren Greer. Teammate Adam Rodriguez placed fourth after taking a loss in the third-place match at 120 pounds. Rodriguez lost by fall (1:35) to Dedham’s Matt Salas by fall.
Mahar Regional had a third-place finisher in Orion Whitehouse at 132 pounds. Whitehouse won a decision (6-3) over Ryan Lachance of South Hadley in the third-place match for the Senators. The Senators had a host of medals coming back to Orange.
“We had a pretty good day,” Mahar coach John Speek said. “We wrestled tough. I don’t think we’ve ever gotten this many medals.”
Luke Read of Mohawk took third with a 11-8 decision over Mount Everett’s Yaritza Cruz-Bravo in the third-place match.