Ephs 3rd After Day 1 of New England Championships
Portland, ME - In the first day of the New England Wrestling Association Championships seven Ephs guaranteed themselves All-New England honors, putting the team in third place going into the final day. Tri-Captains Ethan Cohen '09 and Nic Miragliuolo '08 earned spots in tomorrows finals at 125 and 149, respectively.
Cohen went 3-0 on the day, defeating third seeded Dan Bloom of Wesleyan in the semifinals for the second time in a row. Miragliuolo also defeated the third seed, Kevin Sutherland of Rhode Island College in the semifinals to garner his spot in the finals.
Freshmen Corey Paulish, lost his first match at 133 before winning three straight, to earn All-NE honors. One of his three victories came over the number one seed and seventh ranked wrestler in the country, Stephen Valastro of the University of Southern Maine. Sophomores Dylan Rittenburg and Carl Breitenstein also earned All-NE honors both going 2-1 on the day. Breitenstein defeated Mark Moyer in his final match of the day with a five-point move in the final minute of the match.
At 165, Senior Doug Washington battled through a number of injuries to earn All-NE honors for the second year in a row. At 174, Drew Gatewood "wrestled the best he has all season", according to Coach Dan DiCenzo, going 2-2 on the day. Gatewood got a big two points for the team with a pin over Greg Bergmann of USM.
Junior Kyle Ayer, the second seed at 197, cruised through his first match with a 15-0 tech fall, on his way to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Ayer was riding out his opponent, leading in the final seconds of the match, before ending up on the wrong side of a highly questionable defensive pin, eliminating his chance at becoming NE Champion. Despite the unfortunate call, Ayer is guaranteed a top 6 finish and All-NE honors.
The NEWA Championships continue tomorrow morning at the University of Southern Maine.
