The capacity crowd at the Thomas M. Monahan gymnasium was treated to an amazingly entertaining and tense wrestling match Wednesday night that came down to the wire in determining the victor. The Lancers pulled out the final bout and in the process emerged with a 45-34 victory. It was a match that featured 8 pins, a match that saw momentum bounce back and forth from one side to another, a match that both teams could walk away from with heads held high.

The night began quietly, as Eastern’s Caleb Miller was awarded a forfeit at 182 lbs., and at 195, the Lancer’s Dylan Piazza won the first pin of the night at the 1:38 mark of the first period, and suddenly it was 12-0 BE on the scoreboard.

Any idea of a one-sided match ended in the next two bouts, as Central’s Gabe Buden and Jeff Labbe both grabbed first period pins, Buden at 1:30 and Labbe at 1:01. Suddenly, it was 12-12 and the match was turning to the light-weight section of the evening.

At 106, the Rams had to forfeit to BE’s Andrew Brown, then Eastern’s Anthony Silva executed another first period pin at 1:14, and the momentum was again on the Lancer side of the mat, 24-12.

Finally, after 6 bouts that had featured either pins or forfeits, a match went the distance. At 120 lbs., Mike Roalf of Eastern outlasted Julian Colon in a match that was dead even after 2 periods. Colon actually led by a point early in the 3rd, but Roalf got a takedown and two near-falls to pull away in the last minute of the match for a 10-7 verdict.

Eastern decided to forfeit to BC’s All-State grappler Will Hamilton, bringing the score to 27-18, and when the Ram’s Aiden Lamarre followed with a major decision at 132 lbs. (11-3), at 27-22, BC was still within reach of victory.

Central’s Lincoln Archibald then brought the Ram’s contingent to their feet with an emphatic 1st period pin that took all of 49 seconds, and the match now stood at 28-27 Bristol Central. The gym on King Street was ready to explode.

The tension only increased in the next two bouts, as Eastern’s Josh Aubin pinned his opponent in the first minute of the 3rd period (4:26), and BC’s Umar Malik matched that pin with one of his own at 152 lbs.. With two bouts remaining, the score stood at 34-33 Rams.

The Lancer’s Alex Marshall took only 38 seconds to pin, the place was going berserk, and it all came down to the final matchup of the night.

Eastern now led by 5 going into the 170 lb. bout with BE’s Kaiden Dionne and BC’s Jaiden Cologne facing off. Central needed a pin to win. Both grapplers fought valiantly, the match extended into the third, and finally Dionne was able to put his opponent on his back and got the pin at 4:43.

Eastern’s coaches, players, and fans spilled out on the floor to celebrate an exhilarating victory, and Central walked away with the knowledge that their performance was outstanding as well, especially since they were missing two of their better wrestlers due to injury. Landon Dion was out at 138 and Johnny Rios at 195, but Central’s head coach, Matt Boissonneault, never used that as an excuse for the loss.

Boissonneault was obviously disappointed with the loss but proud of his team’s effort. Some matchups stood out on the BC side, as Boissonneault thought the 132 and 138 matches really turned the tide for BC in the middle of the night. “At 132 that was a great match coming back. And 138 was probably key with Archibald getting that pin, that really changed the tide and put us in what was a winnable match. And at 152, Umar against Ella, who is a very, very talented wrestler, he kept his composure and didn’t press when things weren’t happening right away and was able to finally capitalize….I thought those were really key matches.” BC’s coach continued, “Everything had to be perfect. I knew coming into the night, there were eight matches that we could win…We had to win all eight and be pretty perfect to win the match. We were good tonight, but we weren’t perfect.”

On the Eastern side, it was the first Central-Eastern matchup for first year head coach Eric Sassu. He admitted to being nervous, but confident, going into the big night. “It was a little nerve-wracking going in, just because it was our first time, but I felt very confident about our team. They’ve continued to improve throughout the year, ao we knew if they were going to wrestle at the peak of their ability, it was going to be today.”

As far as key matches, Sassu highlighted the final bout of the night. Kaiden Dionne winning and clinching the BE victory stood out. Said Sassu, “Kaiden is a very solid wrestler. He wrestles with a bully-style wrestling. So if we knew anyone wasn’t going to get pinned or who was going to get a pin in the final match, I knew we could rely on him.” Another huge win for BE was Mike Roalf at 120. Sassu commented, “I think he’s a much better wrestler than he thinks, and he did a great job tonight. It was definitely a key match..”

Next up for both teams are the State Class L Championships in Wilton, on Feb. 18 and 19. Both teams have wrestlers who are potential state champions and who can go a long way.

Matchup Notes:

It was great to see another outstanding BC-BE wrestling matchup after last year’s season was Covid cancelled.

Both teams exhibited great sportsmanship throughout the evening. Wrestlers from both sides obviously knew and respected their opponent, and the matches were fierce, but fair. At the end of each match, wrestlers were gracious in victory and defeat. Great credit goes to the coaches and athletes on both sides.