by Ryan Mosher
Once again this year, Coach Rick Ingraham took his wrestling team across the border to compete in the Mt. Greylock early duals. The first of two tournaments hosted by the neighboring school, this event pits teams against each other in scoring competition. Competing in the tournament against Berlin were Massachusetts teams Mt. Greylock, Southwick, Monument Mountain and Taconic, as well as Fair Haven, Middlebury and Rutland from Vermont.
For the second year, the wrestling team is made up of students from both Berlin Central School and New Lebanon Central School. After a small contingent of New Lebanon students competed last year, this year has an even larger turn out. The team’s top wrestler this year will be Zach Bazan of New Lebanon.
Bazan wrestled previously at Maple Hill High School before moving this year. The only other wrestler with a lot of experience this year is Berlin Senior Jordon Rathbun.
This day would be tough for Berlin as a team, as they took three lop-sided losses, and just barely missed out on a win. The team fell to Taconic 66-12, Mt. Greylock 66-12, and Fair Haven 60-18. Their close match came against Monument Mountain, when they fell 42-36. In that match Ben Tavares (112 pound weight class) took an early lead and pinned his opponent 1:06 into the match. Dylan Lee (130 pound weight class) also earned a quick pin in 1:12. In the very next match, Sean Atchinson topped Lee’s time with a pin in :48. Cory Chaudoin also picked up a pin in the match.
The top performer on the day was Zach Bazan. In the 189 pound weight class, Bazan drew two forfeits, and also two pins to go 4-0 on the day. His first pin came against Taconic when he ended the match just :25 in. His other pin came against a very tough Mt. Greylock wrestler. Bazan took a 3-2 lead in the first period and then in the second made quick work of his opponent, ending the match at the 3:28 mark.