Thursday, February 4, 2010

Pin in final match seals wrestling victory for Lions

By Justin A. Rice/Daily News correspondent
Posted Feb 04, 2010 @ 03:29 AM

Everyone in the gym joined in the chant as the South wrestling team trailed Waltham High 31-27 in the final match of the night in the final dual meet of the season.

While Cascino couldn't entirely decipher what the South supporters were chanting, as another 30 seconds went by before the buzzer to end the first round, their words didn't fall on deaf ears. It only took the South freshman 11 seconds to pin Rogers in the second round to give his team the 33-31 victory.

``You really can't hear through the head gear, it's just a massive noise,'' Cascino said after his teammates mobbed him in the middle of the mat. ``It's the encouragement that really counts.
``I just had to adjust to get his shoulder blades on the mat because at first it wasn't working. At first, I thought I landed a little too hard on him. I was on him the whole time, but I couldn't get his shoulders down. ... When I took him down in the second round, I landed on him right.''

The dramatic victory was the fifth time this season South (10-8) was in a meet that came down to the final match, and the first time it came out on top.

``It's nice to win one, this definitely helps,'' said South coach Alan Rotatori, noting that the win gives his team momentum going into the postseason.

Cascino's pin came after Charley Kalotkin got South back within striking distance by pinning Fritz Sylvester in the 215-pound match.

``We knew it was going to be close,'' Rotatori said. ``Waltham has been wrestling some very good opponents during the season. We've also wrestled some good opponents. And it's all about matchups. It was nice to have the younger guys at 215 and heavyweight step up. It's a lot of pressure. It's tough sometimes.''

Rotatori said he had five seniors in his lineup for the first time all season.

``A lot of it has to do with the senior leadership, the seniors helping the freshmen,'' he said. ``But it was really, to be honest, the younger kids that stepped up and solidified the win.''

After Waltham (10-8) freshman Laban Christenson defeated South sophomore Sam Caggiano 6-3 in the opening match at 103 pounds, South got back-to-back pins at 112 and 119 from sophomore Dana Cohen-Kaplan and senior Peter Franco, respectively, to take the 12-3 lead.

Waltham tied the meet 12-12 after Chris Annunciata got a pin at 130, and took the 18-15 lead three matches later after senior Joey Catino beat South senior Tamir Singer 15-2.

After losing the lead in the next match, Waltham regained it, and eventually took a 10-point lead, 31-21, after the 189 bout when Bobby DiPronio pinned Evert Yeaw. Just before that, Kevin Smith won at 171 and Kevin Pike-Fisher gave Waltham the 22-21 lead after the 160 match.

``I had a big comeback win - it was nice,'' said Pike-Fisher, who defeated Ben O'Leary 4-2 in overtime. ``It boosted my confidence, and then Bobby had the pin, and I thought we were going to win it. And then it slipped away.''

As hard as it was for Waltham to watch the final bout, it was equally as intoxicating for South.

``It's really a testament to how hard we've been working in the practice room,'' Franco said. ``We do a lot of conditioning and it pays off, that's where it pays off.

``It was amazing. Honestly, partway through this meet I didn't think the chances were great. I was thinking about how badly I wanted to win this meet. When Lucian pinned that kid, that was great, oh man, so great.''

Franco and his cohorts couldn't have been more grateful to have been bailed out by a freshman on Senior Night.

``It's something new I guess,'' Cascino said. ``It's fun, it really is. It's a good feeling to be able to help the team.''

At the Dual County League meet on Saturday, Waltham edged out South for fourth place after senior Jimmy Coutoumas' 140-pound victory over South's Gabe Turetsky. Yesterday, Coutoumas, who is ranked No. 2 by MassWrestling.com, managed a minor decision against Turetsky, who is ranked No. 5, to cut South's lead down to 18-15 after six matches.

Waltham won eight of the 14 minutes, but it was South's ability to pin that gained it the victory.

``It's tough, they're home so they have the momentum going,'' Waltham coach Jeff Cincotta said. ``They're a tough team. I wish it didn't start at 103 because I've got a couple young guys at the end of my lineup, and it put a lot of pressure on them.''

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