by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
Lancaster went 4-1 and captured three gold medals to finish as the runner-up in its own Lancaster Duals eight-team wrestling tournament last Saturday.
The Red Devils opened with a 42-27 win over Middlesex then routed Franklin, 51-9. Lancaster beat a Bandit team comprised of players from various schools, 67-6, then defeated Tabb, 55-12. Northampton handed Lancaster it’s only loss on the day, 45-35.
“Even though we have a young team, we have won nine out of our last 10 matches and brought home trophies from the last two tournaments,” said coach Craig Oren. “I am excited about this momentum we have going into the second half of the season and excited about the future of our program.”
Deandrae Wade (120), Will Parker (138) and Adam Wilmore (195) all went unbeaten at 5-0 to win gold at the duals.
“Will and Adam continue to look impressive on the mat, both physically and technically, as they continue their undefeated seasons,” said Oren.
The Devils had three silver medalists in John Martin (145), Dominique Veney (132) and heavyweight Cedrick Ward. All three went 4-1.
“Cedrick has a lot of potential,” said Oren. “As a freshman wrestler, he has a nice body awareness, which is rare in a heavyweight.”
Jacob Taft (152) and Matthew Bavuso (182) both went 3-2 on the day and Leanne Nguyen (106) was 3-1. Joseph Sheppard (138) and Ethan Eppihimer (106) picked up two wins each and Tyus Clayton (152), Richie Failmezger (160) and Alyssa Meadows (126) had one win each.
“Ethan continues to wrestle up in weight and wrestle competitively, especially in a big win against Tabb,” said Oren.
After a week off for the holiday, the LHS wrestlers will travel to Mathews on Wednesday, January 7, for a 5:30 p.m. match against the Blue Devils.
