Once again, the Upper Valley’s wrestling scene is led by its superstars.
First, the obvious. Josh Sharron and the Tigers are not as deep as they may have once been, but individual talent continues to find its way to Newport. Sharron is defending a individual title at 126 pounds; senior Gavin Lovely is on the redemption tour after being denied at title at 170, upset by second-seeded Junius Adams, from Monadnock, by a 11-10 decision. Fiirst year head coach Zachary Sharron is also high on lightweight wrestler Garrett Harold this winter.
Then, the unexpected. Joe Stone came out of nowhere and overcame a hip injury in the regular season to become the second Mascoma wrestler all-time to win an individual state title. It’s a new era for the Royals, who will have to deal with life after longtime heavyweight favorite and two-time 285 defending champion Tyler Bill has now graduated.
MASCOMA
Coach: Rick Simula (6).
League: NHIAA Division III.
Last Year: Tyler Bill and Joe Stone won individual state titles in their weight classes. Mascoma finished ninth out of 14 teams.
Returnees: Seniors — Joe Stone. Juniors — Raven Streeter, Jacob Rogers, Dylan Pelton, Lawrence Gibbs. Sophomores — Caleb Hobbs, Bryan Lowell, Kyle Morse, Cam Stebbins.
Newcomers: Seniors — Christian Rochay, Adidas Murphy, Alex Jenness. Sophomores — Logan Briand, Justin Brewster, Ryan Farewell, Matt Gerlack, Gabe Sperry. Freshmen — Noah Cook, Lance Dimond, Roman Farnsworth, Tyler Mekus.
Analysis: Royals senior Joe Stone returns after overcoming a scary injury to his left hip during the regular season to become the second wrestler in Mascoma’s three-year varsity history to win an individual title at last year’s NHIAA D-III state championship meet. But Mascoma must transition to life after Tyler Bill, the state’s two-time heavyweight champ that helped put Rick Simula’s newly formed program on the state map. A large returning squad, led by a defending middle weight champion in Stone, might be enough to keep the momentum going.
NEWPORT
Coach: Zachary Sharron (1).
League: NHIAA Division III.
Last Year: Josh Sharron won an individual state title at the 126-pound weight class; Dylan Palmer and Gavin Lovely each lost close contests in their state title matches. Newport finished sixth as a team at the state meet.
Returnees: Seniors — Gavin Lovely, Ben Gallagher, Josh Almstrom. Juniors — Garrett Harold, Mike Wilkinson. Sophomores — Jordan Warburton, Josh Sharron, Marius Edwards.
Newcomers: Freshmen — Hayden Patenaude, Luke Bartlett.
Analysis: Look out for every sophomore on this Newport team. Josh Sharron was the freshman phenom of D-III a year ago, winning an individual title at 126; Jordan Warburton and Marius Edwards are not too far behind him. Gavin Lovely is closing in on 100 career wins and is on the rebound path one year after the top-seeded Lovely was upset, 11-10, in his 170-pound title match. First year head coach Zakk Sharron is also hopeful that lightweight junior Garrett Harold will have a breakout year.
“We don’t have too many wrestlers this year,” coach Sharron said. “But I see a lot of potential in a few of the greener wrestlers.”