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01/31/2023 10:14 AMThe Guilford Grizzlies co-ed wrestling team has proven to have a solid mix of athletes on the roster this season. With an 8-5 overall record so far, they have faced challenges in the first half, just like any team, but they also feel that they have the pieces to succeed.
The Grizzlies are coached by Craig Vedrani, who has coached the team for 20 years. He is assisted by Neil Willis and Anthony Mancini on the sideline.
Three captains have helped lead Guilford to prominence this season so far: Liam Alberti (senior), Alejandro Colberg-Martinez (senior), and Brianna Seixas (senior), who is the only girl on the team.
Vedrani believes that the captains have worked very well together this season to fuel team success.
“Our captains have been good role models on and off the mat,” said Vedrani. “Our team is so young; they are trying to help mold the culture that I am trying to set for the team. They are doing a good job trying to set that culture for all of the new bodies that have not been a part of it.”
The Grizzlies currently sit at 8-5 and are 2-2 in the very talented Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC). Within the ranks of the SCC, Guilford competes in Division A, which includes Xavier, Morgan, and Jonathan Law.
There are 36 total wrestlers on the team, with 28 being freshmen and sophomores. Eleven out of the 14 that are on the varsity roster are freshmen and sophomores, as well.
With the wide variety of talent and experience levels on the team, Vedrani has had to adjust his coaching style to ensure everyone gets what they need from practices.
“I have experienced wrestlers and first-year wrestlers, so I have to cater to everyone’s needs,” said Vedrani. “We have all gelled really well; the team is progressing, although it is a younger team.”
Several athletes thus far in the season have contributed to the overall record for the Grizzlies. Alberti currently has an individual record for the 195-weight class of 19-7, Colberg-Martinez has a record of 21-4 in the 170-weight class, and Elijah McDermott, a sophomore in the 138-weight class, has a record of 17-9.
Between the experienced wrestlers who have developed their skills over time and the ones who are newer to the sport, Vedrani’s goal is to continue to get everyone as much experience and exposure as they can.
“We are trying to get the wrestlers as much mat time and experience as they can because we have been wrestling in a lot of individual tournaments this year,” said Vedrani. “We are hopefully preparing them for the qualifying tournaments at the end of the year, like the SCC tournament and the Class L tournament. We also hope to get some qualifiers for the state tournament and the state opens for the end of the year.”
The Grizzlies went to the Windham Tech Duals on Dec. 30, where they went 3-1 overall but lost in the finals to the Windham Might Tigers. The Grizzlies beat the East Lyme Vikings by 29 points, the Waterford Lancers 54-30, and the Fitch Falcons by 25.
With that being a bigger meet in which the Grizzlies had to face more teams, Vedrani highlighted some of the standouts from the day.
“I think we are carried by Alejandro and Liam, who have been winning matches,” said Vedrani. “Sophomore Logan Murphy, heavy-weight at 285 pounder, did well at that tournament. Sophomore Eli McDermott also did well, at 138 pounder.”
The other big meet that the Grizzlies competed in was the John Chacho Dual Meet on Saturday, Jan. 14, at Staples High School. Similarly to its meet in Windham, Guilford was able to produce strong results.
“We beat Fairfield Prep 41-27, Fairfield Ludlowe 48-30, Stratford 60-18, and lost in the finals 33-31,” Vedrani said.
On Jan. 11, the Grizzlies competed at home against the Notre Dame-West Haven co-op team and won the head-to-head matchup with a final score of 49-26.
Working day in and day out to improve is how you get better at any sport. Still, Vedrani believes that the more experience his athletes get in a competitive environment, the better off they’ll be in the long run.
“I think it’s all process of getting as much experience and mat time as you can. In tournaments, you can wrestle up to five times in a day,” said Vedrani. “The kids just have to keep preparing themselves after every match mentally and physically. It takes experience and making weight, maintaining weight, that is also a process and learning experience that the younger wrestlers are learning on the fly.”
Vedrani hopes that the younger wrestlers on the team can continue to grow on what they’re learning this season and can be valuable for the rest of their wrestling careers.
“We have a lot of athletic bodies that are new to the sport,” said Vedrani. “I think that we are going to be fine in the next couple of years to come.”
Although the team is primarily co-ed, Seixas is the only girl on the team, but she has certainly found her stride on the mat. She recently competed at the Queen of the Mat tournament on Jan. 29 and had a lot of success there.
“Brianna Seixas just won the 152 bracket at the Queen of the Mat Wrestling Tournament. It was the first-ever in-season girls’ tournament in Connecticut,” said Vedrani. “She pinned both of her opponents in the first period.”
As the Grizzlies look ahead to the latter half of the season, Vedrani hopes to see some state-qualifying performances.
“I think that would be a good goal for some of our younger guys,” said Coach Vedrani. “We have some sophomores in there; for example, Logan has a good record at 17-5, [and] Elijah is having a great year as well with a record of 17-9. Junior Timmy Hastings is at 13-9, and he is having a great year, also. Freshman Alex Uzzo, who is a 126 pounder, has a record of 11-11 and is doing really well.”
The Grizzlies roster includes Alberti, Colberg-Martinez, James Mahoney (senior, 182 pounder), Seixas, Ebrahim Toma (senior), Jean-Paul Meguerditchian (junior, 160 pounder), Henry Sedas (junior), Tyler Skapczynski (junior), Rocco Barbera (sophomore, 160 pounder), Richie Becker (sophomore), Dominic Bilskis (sophomore, 120 pounder), Alex Cieplik (sophomore), Colton Deboda (sophomore), Tim Hastings (sophomore, 220 pounder), Jonah Labbadia-Colon (sophomore), Garrett Mace (sophomore), Ahmed Majeed (sophomore), Amar Maula (sophomore), McDermott, Owen Moore (sophomore), Murphy, Michael Odonnell (sophomore), Owen Pelletier-Stephens (sophomore, 145 pounder), Kevin Smith (sophomore), Killian Thompson (sophomore, 113 pounder), Zander Vance (sophomore), Aaron Bergantino (freshman), Daniel Boyce (freshman), Bodhi Climie (freshman, 132 pounder), Aidan Connelley (freshman), Sam Martocci (freshman), Andrew Plancon (freshman, 106 pounder), Robin Roberts (freshman), and Uzzo.