By Kim Peters
Hunter Cameron, placed second in the J.V. State Championship meet.
By Kim Peters
RUTLAND — This past weekend, Feb. 20-21, wrestlers represented Rutland High School well at the J.V. State meet. Hunter Cameron, a freshman at RHS, weight class 145 pounds, won his first two matches beating a wrestler he had lost to earlier in the year. His two wins put him in the final match, where he was defeated, placing second overall. As a first year wrestler, he was pleased with this finish.
Casey Coughlin, another first year wrestler, also placed at the JV State Championship, finishing in sixth place overall. After two wins, Coughlin had a tough loss, which put him in the consolation bracket.
Mark Napolitano, a junior at RHS, also won his first two matches, but lost in the consolation brackets.
“I am very proud of Mark. Last year at J.V. States he lost his first two matches which put him out of the tournament. This year he was one match away from placing! His improvement both mentally and physically had helped his wrestling career,” said Head Coach Matt Tuscano.
This coming weekend, Feb. 26-27, all four wrestlers will be competing at Varsity States at Mill River High School.
Freshman Dakota Peters, with a record of 36-11 will have tough matches, but hopes to place in the top six.
“Dakota has the toughest weight class at 132 that I have seen ever in Vermont, which speaks a lot about Vermont wrestling. With Dakota being a freshman he will be going against upper Classman with more experience, but Dakota has drive and determination to place well,” said Coach Tuscano.
The Rutland wrestlers have been practicing five to six times a week. Over winter break the wrestlers would do double practices with other teams in Fair Haven, Otter Valley, and Mill River.
“It is good for the boys to have extra matches during practice with wrestlers from other schools to get a quality practice. We are fortunate to have surrounding schools wanting to help each other prepare for such a big tournament,” said Coach Tuscano.
