brad.spiegel@waylandpost.org
As arguably the most successful sports program at Wayland High School — with only one losing season since its inception during the 1967-68 school year — the wrestling team has high standards.
The Warriors lived up to expectations this year, posting a 24-2 dual meet record and three tournament championships, including a first-ever crown at the Framingham Tournament.
Even though he was hoping for better than a third-place showing in the Division 2 state championships, coach Sean Chase tempered his aspirations, realizing the finish was an impressive feat in the first year after moving up a division.
“We were certainly pleased,” said Chase, now in his 20th season as head coach. “We knew going into [the Division 2 Central sectional meet] that it was going to be difficult to punch our way out of the section.”
Host Wayland placed third in the Feb. 14 sectional meet that some experts ranked as the most difficult Division 2 section in the state and the third hardest overall. Thirteen of the 14 weight classes placed in the top six, with seven wrestlers qualifying for the Division 2 state meet.
Junior JoJo Cavallo (165 pounds) and senior Nathan Hartunian (285) both captured their weight divisions. Also coming up with a strong showing were juniors Trevor Rosser (third, 215) and Brajae Walton (fourth, 175).
At the States at Whitman-Hanson High School on Feb. 20-21, Wayland — the school with the smallest enrollment in Division 2 wrestling — saw Cavallo (seventh, 165 pounds) and senior Dan Flores (eighth, 138) place.
“We knew we had some tough wrestling ahead of us at states,” Chase said. “That is kind of how wrestling goes; if someone has a bad day, it can affect the team score.”
Cavallo was an alternate for the All-State Meet but did not end up wrestling.
Despite not placing and finishing with a 1-2 record at States, Hartunian, who will continue his wrestling career at Wesleyan University, still has one more meet remaining when he competes at Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va., March 27-29. It is an open meet he decided to test himself at.
“Going to nationals is really exciting for me,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to compete against some of the best wrestlers in the country and test myself at that level. I think the season was already successful with the progress I made and the results I had, but nationals is another chance to keep pushing and see how far I can go.”
The Warriors also had some impressive results during the regular season with big wins over Ashland, North Attleboro (second place in Division 2 meet), and Wakefield The only two losses came against Division 1 South Sectionals winner New Bedford and Woburn.
Individually, Wayland had five grapplers finish with 30 or more wins on the season: Cavallo, Hartunian, Walton, senior captain Ronan Flatley (144), and senior captain Mark Altreuter (132). This was the highest number of wrestlers with at least 30 wins in program history.
“We certainly have a lot to be proud of with our dual meets results,” Chase said. “We were able to reap the benefits of the hard work they put in.”
Hartunian pointed to strong wrestlers in every weight class as a reason for the success. “We really showed the depth of our team by performing so well in tournaments,” he said. “We came in first in three of the four, and second in the other. Our team, top to bottom, is very good and one of the more technically advanced teams we’ve had.”
Chase explained that a lot goes into having so much success year in and year out — most notably, familiarity. In addition to having two coaches roaming the WHS halls as teachers, there are coaches on staff who formerly wrestled for the Warriors, and there have only been three coaches in program history.
Chase added that having support from the school, such as a dedicated wrestling room, is imperative.
“[Athletic Director] Heath [Rollins] knows how important the sport is here and it is what you do in Wayland,” Chase said. The sport is considered cool in Wayland.”
