Two from Mt. Hope, one from East Providence place at state wrestling championships

Thibaudeau, Lancaster and Hussey qualify for regional meet

By Nick Friend
Posted 2/26/17

PROVIDENCE — Mt. Hope High School wrestlers Devon Lancaster and Neil Thibaudeau both fell in their respective championship bouts at the 2017 state championship meet Saturday night, Feb. 25, at the …

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Two from Mt. Hope, one from East Providence place at state wrestling championships

Thibaudeau, Lancaster and Hussey qualify for regional meet

Posted

PROVIDENCE — Mt. Hope High School wrestlers Devon Lancaster and Neil Thibaudeau both fell in their respective championship bouts at the 2017 state championship meet Saturday night, Feb. 25, at the Providence Career and Technical Academy Field House.

“They both wrestled tough, but it was their first time being here,” Mt. Hope head coach Keith Mederios said. “It is always tough when it is your first time.”

After a long day of wrestling, Lancaster, seeded second at 170 pounds, was up first who would faced the first seed from Cumberland, John Hayes. Lancaster had cruised through the semifinals, where the senior met his toughest opponent yet but he eventually defeated Ponaganset’s Brandon Macomber by a reversal and takedown.

In the championship bout against Hayes, Lancaster would fall into a 2-0 deficit after a takedown just 20 second in. From there, two more points in the third and final period by Hayes sealed the loss for Lancaster after an impressive run.

With just one weight class in between, Coach Mederios found one of his players in a first place bout again, this time in the 195 weight class where Thibaudeau would meet LaSalle’s Dante Delbonis.

Thibaudeau’s lead up to the finale was an eventful one. After a first-round bye, he won his first two matches with ease before having to fight all the way into an extra-period, 6-4 win over Cumberland’s Kaream Sangar in the semifinals. Thibaudeau, who held a 4-1 lead late in the third period, eventually won on a takedown in the added session.

In the first place bout against LaSalle’s Delbonis, Thibaudeau fell behind early as a takedown in the first and an escape in the second put him in a 3-0 hole. A stalling violation and an escape led to Thibaudeau coming back, but it was too little too late as the clock hit zero with the score still at 3-2.

“If there was another minute on the clock, I think we would have won it,” Coach Mederios said.

Now as among the top three wrestlers to place in their respective classes, Lancaster and Thibaudeau as well as their coach turn their attention to the New England championship meet, which return to the PCTA Field House for the first time since 2014. The event takes place Friday and Saturday, March 3 and 4.

“We wrestled hard all year long and now we get to go to New Englands,” Coach Mederios said.

The Huskies had one other wrestler place Saturday as Bailey Taft wrestled back to finish fifth overall at 220 pounds. Taft wound up with a 4-2 record, including a loss by pin to eventual class champion Isaac Cayo of Tolman.

In the team standings, Mt. Hope finished 11th with 71 points. Cumberland won the title with 205. Ponaganset was second with 187.5 and Hendricken third with 145.5.

East Providence paced the local contingent by earning 97 points to finish eight. Five Townies placed at the meet, including Christian Hussey, who wrestled back after being upset early to secure third place at 120 pounds. Hussey, having battled injury and illness for much of the year, entered the meet as the top seed and reigning champ in his weight class.

Also for the Townies, Cam Bailey, at 195, and Zach Amaral, at heavyweight, each placed fourth. Nathan Vincent was fifth at 170 and David Sheldon sixth at 132.

Barrington High scored 27 points, finishing 21st in the team standings. Matt Leonard was the lone Eagle to place, winding up fifth at 120 pounds.

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