Perhaps never before has the Johnston Indoor Recreation Center – which opened its doors on May 11, 2017 and did not cost the town’s taxpayers a penny – shined as brightly as the spacious facility located at 1741 Atwood Avenue did Sunday for inside of some six hours.
That was all courtesy of the ever-expanding Johnston Youth Wrestling Club which hosted its annual invitational tournament Sunday that attracted 260 youth grapplers – ages 5-13 – who represented mat groups from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
“This is an excellent example of just how valuable this (Indoor Recreation Center) is for our town,” assessed John Antonucci, who serves as head coach for the JYWC and is in his first year as head coach of Johnston High School’s varsity wrestling program. “Just look at all the activity and excitement!”
There was wall-to-wall excitement – literally – as the tournament featured ongoing matches in eight age divisions on eight different mats.
When the impressive competition was complete, a total of eight Johnston youth wrestlers emerged as either the individual champions or runner-up titlists in their respective age and weight divisions.
“We’re proud of each and every wrestler in our program,” Antonucci offered. “It’s always nice to win; but we are proud of what our kids do when their on the mat.”
Thus, Antonucci announced that Sean Ruo (11) and Nick Nugent (12) wrestled their way to championship medals in the Novice 80-83 and 122-128 weight classes respectively.
Likewise, the Johnston wrestlers who captured second place honors were: Carter Palardy (age 6, 38-41); Steven Palardy (age 10, 87-91); Owen Polofsky (age 11, 100-102); Logan Martins (age 12, 86-91); Dante Cerbo (69-74): and Ricardo Camarena (87-97).
Johnston also had third and fourth place finishers and that list included: Santino Cerbo, Gavin Polofsky, Benton Small, Trace Dumont, and Diego Mendoza. Those JYWC entrees landing fourth places were: Rocco Melise, Brody Melise, Zoey Molina, Knox Borden, Walter Borden, Ashleana Dumont, Caden Amaral and Sianna Molina.
“We are proud of each and every one of our wrestlers and the dedicated coaches who volunteer their time to our program,” said Lisa Baccala, the long-serving, highly-respected president of the well-organized Johnston Youth Wrestling club. “It’s not an easy sport by any means and that’s why all our coaches are valuable; they each take pride in teaching our wrestlers all aspects of this great sport!”
Those Johnston coaches are: Scott Amaral, Jay Baccala, Erik Martins, Brett Polofsky and Megan Ruo.
Baccala, whose son Nick has become one of the top wrestlers in the state in his age and weight level, along with his son and former JYWC friend Joe Castellone, also had a hand in the success of Sunday’s invitational tournament, as they served as referees for a number of matches.
Anyone who’s like more information about the JYWC should email Baccala at johnstonwrestling@gmail.com.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here