Winnacunnet High School Wrestling
New Hampshire High School Wrestling
31/05/2024
York, Winnacunnet wrestlers place at New England Championships
Brandon Brown
Portsmouth Herald
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island -- York High School's Will Orso and Winnacunnet's Jack McCann both had podium finishes at last weekend's 57th annual New England Wrestling Championships.
Orso, the Maine Class B state champion and Maine New England qualifying champion, placed fourth in the 285-pound weight class, while McCann, who won the New Hampshire Division II and subsequent Meet of Champions title, placed fifth in the 182-pound weight class.
Winnacunnet's Jack McCann, far right, placed fifth in the 182-pound weight class at last weekend's New England Wrestling Championships in Providence, R.I. McCann went 4-2 on the weekend.
"I was really happy with my performance," Orso said.
Orso joins Billy Gauthier as the only York wrestlers to place at the New England Championship. Gauther placed fourth in the 135-pound weight class in 2010.
"(Orso) had a fantastic tournament," York wrestling coach Bryan Thompson said. "I know he wanted to be on the podium with the top six; he made some history here."
McCann, who went 4-2 in the tournament, beat Timberlane's Bryce Parker, 6-4 in the match for fifth place.
"Obviously the two matches I lost, I want back," McCann said. "I think I could've definitely done better in those. Overall, I think while I was there, I did everything I could to win whenever I could. It was just a really cool experience."
Winnacunnet coach John Fordham was proud of McCann's efforts.
"He wrestled really well," Fordham said. "He wrestled really tough. He was very coachable throughout the day. We had a certain game plan and kind of stuck to that."
Orso, who went 4-2 in the tournament, was pinned by Massachusetts state champion Thomas Brown from Chelmsford High School, in his final match.
Orso, after a first-round bye, was pinned by Brown in his first match of the tournament. Orso then reeled off three straight wins, two by pin, to face Brown again in the third/fourth place match.
Orso pinned Thomas O'Brien from Reading (Mass.) High School in 3:29, and Dominic Silvia of Bridgewater-Raynham (Mass.) High School in 2:30. He also pinned Charlie Smith of St. John's Prep (Danvers, Mass.) in 1:33.
"Those guys I beat were huge, so it was cool to beat them," Orso said. "Just knowing I'm able to hold my on against the best wrestlers in New England, was cool to see."
Orso finished his career with 131 wins, the second most in York history. Gauthier is the leader with 147 wins.
"I know how much of a mark (Gauthier) left on this program, so it's nice to have my name up there next to his," Orso said. "It's always been a goal to be up there with him in York wrestling history; knowing I'm there now is really nice."
Orso lost his junior year due to the pandemic, and with a full season most likely would have broken Gauthier's record..
"I'm not disappointed at all," Orso said. "I know I did everything I wanted to do in my high school wrestling career."
"Our expectations for him, and his expectations for himself were fulfilled for sure," Thompson said. "Just being able to get back on the mat this year was a goal, but getting to the New England tournament for him, I think, he fulfilled a goal that he's had since he was a younger wrestler in the youth ranks looking up at some of our banners and seeing some of those names; being able to be that person was huge for him."
Orso will continue his football career at Wesleyan University, a Middletown, Connecticut Division III program in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. He also has a standing offer to join the Wesleyan wrestling program.
The Wesleyan wrestling coaches watched Orso compete at the New Englands via a livestream.
"We talked a little bit afterwards," Orso said. "It was just the coach showing his support for me throughout the season which was really nice to hear. It's a good feeling knowing they wanted to stay involved in my athletic career in the last year of high school."
McCann opened his tournament with a 16-7 win over Sammy Montovani of East Hartford (Conn.) High School. McCann then lost to Timothy Goodard of Algonquin (Mass.) High School, 7-2.
McCann responded with wins over Anthony Deicicchi of Seymour (Conn.) High School, 11-8, and Isaac Hainer of Mattanawcook Academy (Lincoln, Maine), 5-3. McCann was then pinned by Connor Smith of Fairfield Prep (Conn.) in 3:27.
York's Joe Neal was scheduled to wrestle in the tournament, but was a late scratch due to a knee injury. Neal won the Class B state championship in the 160-pound weight class, and then won the Maine New England Qualifier.
Photo: WHS Wrestler, Jack McCann placed 5th in New Englands. McCann pictured at far right.
31/05/2024
25/06/2023
awesome opportunity 🤼♀️💙
24/03/2023
Congratulations to all of the 2023 NCAA Champions 🏆
PC 📸 Wrestlers Are Warriors
19/03/2023
Penn State all the way!
Penn State wins NCAA wrestling championship | Penn State University The Penn State wresting team won the 2023 national championship on March 18. In addition two individuals — Carter Starocci and Aaron Brooks — were crowned individual champions.
30/01/2023
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WHS at Timberlane Jan 17, 2021
Mat dominance PLAISTOW — Nick Pallaria was not wildly excited Saturday morning.
22/01/2023
So true!
Heading out for my Snowy N**e Run 🏃♂️
Live Free or Die603BORN
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25/12/2022
Smooth Efficient Tournament!!!
https://events.flowrestling.org/event/e644e5e4-3b29-42a3-96a7-365e1e9423ca/summary
Home Varsity wrestling Match Cancelled for Tomorrow!!!!
07/12/2022
Our LIVE meeting and event coverage for this week. We're happy to kick off our MHS Winter Sports coverage with Merrimack Tomahawks Wrestling vs. Winnacunnet High School Wrestling this Wednesday evening! Friends and family can watch from anywhere in HD:
If you don't live in town (or don't have cable) our channels are accessible from anywhere 24/7 at merrimacktv.com and on Apple TV / Roku / Amazon Fire TV Devices via "Cablecast Screenweave" - a free app.
Thanks to Gary, Jeff, and Mike who will be returning to assist us to volunteer during our Wrestling coverage.
🤩
http://merrimacktv.com/online-video/live-stream/
Merrimack TV Online Video » Watch LIVE! Just another WordPress weblog
Open Mats tomorrow 3-4:30!!!
We are currently looking for a coach for our middle school program. If your interested please message me directly. John Fordham for details
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