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01/12/2017 11:00 PMThe Guilford wrestling team looks to have one of the most well-rounded rosters in the Southern Connecticut Conference with quality competitors throughout its lineup this winter. Thus far, the Indians are using their balanced attack to pin down plenty of opponents while locking up a slew of victories.
Last year, Head Coach Craig Vedrani’s squad went 22-8 for the dual-meet season before finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively, at the SCC and Class M State championships. This season, the Indians are mastering the mat to the tune of an excellent 12-3 record. Recently, Guilford earned a 38-37 home victory versus defending SCC champion Foran on Jan. 10. Coach Vedrani said that even though the Indians have a smaller roster compared to recent seasons, the spots on it are occupied by a cast of strong grapplers.
“We are smaller with our numbers this year. We have about 23 versus 35, 40 in past years. We have also been healthy, which is good and gives us our best chance to win,” said Vedrani. “We are a very balanced team. We have a couple of holes. We are giving up points [in the 195-pound weight class], but all the way through, we have better-than-average wrestlers in each weight class. They are kids that love to work hard and it’s great working with them.”
The Indians feature three athletes leading the way as their captains with senior McKayd LaRose in the 152-pound weight class, senior Steven Napoli at 113, and junior AJ Moscato in the 170 class. LaRose sports an 11-4 record and Moscato a 13-3 mark, plus Napoli is 4-4. Coach Vedrani said that each member of the trio features the work ethic that’s needed to succeed.
“McKayd was fifth at states last year and is a great leader that brings discipline to the team. AJ leads by example and does all the things a captain should and he was fourth last year at states. Steven also leads by example. He is always the first one to arrive and the last to leave and is an honest guy,” Coach Vedrani said. “The three have been doing a great job working hard with the team and helping us accomplish our goals.”
Rounding out the Indians’ lineup are additional standouts in sophomore Keldon LaRose, who wrestles in the 120 ranks and is 11-0; along with sophomore Vinny Mascola (132 class, 11-4 record), junior Christion Swan (138, 9-7), junior Carter Cox (145, 11-3), senior Jon Bartlett (160, 8-5), junior Charlie Andrus (182, 13-2), and senior Jack Six (220, 13-2).
In its recent matchup versus Foran, the Indians toughed out a 38-37 win behind victories from freshman Michael Walters (106 weight class, pin at 3:04), Keldon LaRose (pin at 1:47), Mascola (pin at 2:29), sophomore Joey Santino (145, 20-5 decision), Moscato (4-1 decision), Andrus (pin at 2:39), and Six (pin at 5:11).
Later in the week in a quad-meet on Jan. 13, the Indians lost to Ledyard 37-36 and Middletown 39-24, but defeated Conard 44-27. Against Ledyard, the No. 10 team in the state, Guilford was down by 12 points going into the final two bouts at 120 and 126. Keldon LaRose and sophomore George Sanderlin (126, now 7-4) both pinned their senior opponents from Ledyard to tie the match 36-36. Ledyard ended up winning on the sixth rule of criteria for most technical falls in the match.
Guilford will certainly see its fair share of SCC and state stalwarts throughout the remaining month of the regular season. However, Coach Vedrani knows that all the stiff tests are for the best because they can only help the Indians work toward their ultimate goal of achieving postseason prominence.
“We have teams like Foran, Ledyard, Conard, and Middletown ahead. They are all good teams, so we’ll be testing the troops,” said Vedrani. “We want to be in the top three for the SCC and state tournaments. We know giving up weights will make it tough to beat teams like Xavier. Our dream goals are to win SCCs and states, which can happen if all of our guys wrestle to their best abilities.”
From the Sidelines
Craig Vedrani has been the head coach of the Guilford wrestling team since the 2003-’04 season.
Kyle Lundberg and Anthony Mancini are serving as the assistant coaches for the Indians this year.
The SCC Wrestling Championship is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11 at Wilbur Cross at 9 a.m. The Class M State Championship will be held on Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18 at Guilford.