The Foran wrestling team had a tough day at the Farmington duals on Saturday, dropping five matches and falling to 3-13 overall this season. The Lions dropped matches to Farmington (52-16), Maloney of Meriden (47-22), Haddam Killingworth (49-22), Fairfield Ludlowe (63-18) and Wilton (40-39).
“There were some individual matches I was pleased with,” Foran Coach Frank Peters said. “What hurt us was match-ups. Some match-ups were just not in our favor Saturday.”
Peters explained that the Lions are trying to build the wrestling program for the future and to remain competitive in all matches despite facing many strong teams this season.
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C.J. Luth, a sophomore co-captain, has had a strong season at 112-pounds. He has a 18-2 overall record and a 15-1 record at dual matches this season. Luth was an impressive 5-0 last Saturday, including three pins and a major decision.
“He is having a good year,” Peters said. “He continues to try to improve. He has been working hard to get stronger in the neutral position and has worked on riding on top and his escapes on the bottom. His two losses were from a takedown and from a takedown with back points awarded. In neutral form he is trying to improve on his feet.”
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Luth started the day with a pin of sophomore George Sticca of Farmington at 4 minutes and 59 seconds. He then earned a 5-0 decision over Alexander Tresselt of Maloney. Luth also recorded a 9-0 major decision over Matthew Revis of Haddam-Killingworth. He picked up a quick 52-second pin of Erick Kirchgasser from Fairfield Ludlowe. Luth then finished the impressive day with a pin of Wilton’s Brendan Sweeney in 2:37.
Rick Garcia, a Foran senior co-captain, fought back after a disappointing loss to James Paigo of Farmington at 140-pounds. Garcia lost a 12-7 decision and had beaten Paigo earlier in the season at the Farmington tournament on December 18th.
“He was not feeling well and for him individually he got off to a rough start,” Peters said. “He gave up some stupid points and it just was not a great match for him. He started to feel a little better and bounced back and got better as the day went on in his three other matches. Garcia is very focused on one move at a time and has been working on a variety of takedowns. He is a stronger wrestler on top and a tough wrestler to keep down.”
After the loss in the opening match Garcia picked up a 17-7 decision over junior Andrew Watson of Maloney. He then pinned freshman Zachary Roth of Haddam-Killingworth in 3:28. He finished the day with another pin of junior Charles Wong of Wilton at 1:36.
Sophomore Clay Callahan, finished 4-1 on the day at 145-pounds. He earned a 12-0 major decision in his first match over Michael Berlandy of Farmington. Callahan followed that with a 8-3 decision over Darin Bookey of Maloney. He then dropped his 3rd match to Jacobs of Haddam-Killingworth by pin.
“This was the only match he has been pinned in all year,” Peters said. “He did a high-risk maneuver and got put on his back. He also lost to Jacobs earlier in the season at the Farmington tournament. He just got stuck on his back. He took a big risk but it didn’t pay off.”
Callahan then picked up two victories in his final two matches. He pinned William Matson of Fairfield Ludlowe in 3:02 and Wyatt Cobb of Wilton in 1:13.
Peter Bassine, a junior at 171 pounds, continues to improve according to Peters and has a record that is over .500. Bassine finished with a 3-2 record last Saturday, winning his first three matches by pin. Bassine pinned Marcus Biggins of Farmington in 3:06. He then pinned Tyler Hand from Maloney in 1:01 and followed that with a pin of senior Kenneth Markwat of Haddam-Killingworth at 4:21. He dropped his final two matches to Stuart Devotie of Fairfield Ludlowe and Colin Lillis of Wilton.
“Last year was a mentally tough year for Peter,” Peters said. “He wrestled tough varsity kids at 160 last year. It is real tough to step into a varsity slot. This year he has worked real hard to improve his wrestling both mentally and physically. I hope he will peak at the right times for the tournaments.”
The East Haven match at Foran has been rescheduled to January 24th at 6:30 pm due to poor weather conditions. Foran will face cross-town rival Jonathan Law in a tournament on Saturday.
Looking ahead, Peters was philosophical.
“We have had a couple of kids sick and a couple of kids injured. This happens to teams and you have to adjust. Other teams face the same situations,” Peters said. “I’m not disappointed in the team as a whole. I would have liked our record to be at .500. We have dropped some matches I thought we could compete in and win. Having kids out can affect the outcome. I hope we continue to work hard and success takes off for us as the schedule gets easier.”
