SPRINGFIELD ― A dual wrestling meet kicked off on Wednesday night between the girls and boys teams of Putnam Vocational and Springfield Central, drawing large crowds and excitement on both sides of the mats.
In the end, the schools split the series as the Beavers bested the Golden Eagles, 36-26 in the girls meet, while Central took down Putnam, 68-6, in the boys meet.
The girls matchups started the meet off at the Golden Eagles home gym.
While the Beavers entered this season as the reigning D-II state champions, Central is only in its second year with a girls wrestling program. Despite the disparity, a competitive battle ensued between sides.
In the 126-pound weight class Solimary Cruz-Sedan quickly pinned her opponent in the first period to help Central establish a 14-12 lead.
However, Melanie Miles responded right away for the Beavers, and overpowered her opponent to take the 132-pound match with a first-period pin. Putnam pulled back ahead by four points.
In the next rounds, the Golden Eagles found some momentum surged ahead to create a 11 point deficit. Jazmine Batchelor (145) snagged a hard-fought six-point victory through a pin late in the third period while Central also earned a pin in the 138-pound match and a decision win by Yaraimyliz Ruiz-Huston (152).
Now faced with a deficit and three matches left to go, the Beavers found a late spark on its offensive attack and secured three consecutive victories via pins. Kedeisse Leslie’s win came in the third period for the 165-pound class, while Storm Pizzaro (185) and Leanna Watson (235) controlled their place on the mat, locking up their opponents to grab the quick pins in the first period.
“The last couple of matches definitely brought a lot of energy to the crowd with how quick they went and (showed) how much dedication and work that our girls had put in,” Miles said.
“I feel like my team did pretty good,” Miles added. “We gave it our all but we’re definitely gonna come back better next year.”
Led by clutch performances by Putnam, the Beavers earned a narrow seven-point victory.
Despite the loss, Central’s girls wrestling coach Anna Ernst was still proud of her team’s showing, noting the importance of the little victories.
“We fought hard, we fought to the last match,” Ernst said. “We didn’t give up, we won some matches that on paper probably should have gone a different way. A lot of these girls are first-year wrestlers and the fact that they came out and did this is amazing.”
On the other side of the dual-meet, the Golden Eagles boys team proved again how they’ve become a powerhouse in wrestling over the years.
In total, Central won 12 out of the 13 matches that hit the mat, while the team captured seven pins, including four straight to close out the night.
Those final victories came by Jadon Stewart (165), Kaiden Brown (175), Cqahni Dyer (190) and Joaxis Medina (285), as each wrestler got a win by the end of the first or second period.
“We’ve been working really hard as a team and tonight’s really a product of the hard work that we’ve been putting in,” Central boys coach Mike Rafferty said.
“We competed three times over break, so I think we were ready for this competition because we put in so much preparation over vacation,” Rafferty added.
The Golden Eagles also added some decisive battles on the mat as well, grabbing two wins through technical falls and two by major decision.
Both technical falls came early in meet. Jimmy James III in the 113-pound class and Jalen Streeter in the 120-pound class both dominated their opponents. Although neither got the pin, James III took the 22-6 win while Streeter went 21-5 in back-to-back matches.
Putnam’s lone six points of the night occurred during the 150-pound match. Roman Chapman bested his opponent in the first period, successfully pinning Central’s wrestler to the mat to avoid a scoreless meet for the Beavers.
With the win for the Golden Eagles, it marks their third victory this season in dual meets against Western Mass. teams. Since the start of the season, Central has continuously showcased its dominance during dual-meets and in wide-scale tournaments.
Moving ahead, both schools set their eyes on continuing to strengthen their skills to be ready for the postseason in February. But it was also evident between coaches and wrestlers what Wednesday’s dual-meet meant for the future of both girls and boys wrestling in the region.
“A great night for the whole city,” Rafferty said. “We’re really the pioneers of having girls wrestling and boys wrestling in the same night, so I think anytime we can do it, it’s really special, especially showcasing a lot of the talent in the city.”
