Baha Akdemir's second-place result was best for the East Providence High School wrestling team at the 2024 Rhode Island Interscholastic League State Championship Meet held over two days, February 22 and 23, at the Providence Career and Tech Academy Fieldhouse.

Akdemir, the Townies' junior standout, fell in the 165 pound weight class finale to Ponaganset's now three-time individual state champ Andrew Reall by an 8-1 score. Classmate Charles Phillips wrestled back to third place after losing to another Chieftain and eventual division champ, James Joyce, in the 138 semifinals.

Both Akdemir and Phillips are expected to the return to the PCTA Fieldhouse Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2, to vie in the 59th annual New England Wrestling Championships. The top three finishers in each weight class from Rhode Island join their counterparts from the five other states to compete in the regional event.

The victories by teammates Reall and Joyce were part of the Chieftains's record-setting score of 306.5 points, which lifted Ponaganset to its second consecutive state title. Coventry was well off the pace in second with 124.5 points. Scituate was third with 111.5. East Providence was 12th with 69.

Also of note, two wrestlers completed their outstanding high school careers as four-time state champions. Coventry's Peyton Ellis did not lose during his entire tenure with the Knotty Oakers, including his win Saturday for his fourth 120-pound crown. Scituate's Gabriel Bouyssou, likewise, also went unbeaten through his four years for the Spartans, the first three at 145 and this winter at 150 pounds following the RIIL's weight class changes in time for the 2023-24 season.

EPHS results
Akdemir received a bye to begin his state meet run then defeated Mt. Pleasant's Adrian Tejada by a 10-0 score in his bout. Akdemir followed with a couple of narrow decisions in the quarterfinals and semis, respectively, 5-4 over Scituate's Drake Dumont and 4-3 over Pilgrim's Donovan Watts.

The runner-up finish was a huge improvement for Akdemir, who went winless in just two matches at 170 pounds during the 2023 state meet.

Phillips won twice last winter at states. Last weekend, the junior won his first two matches by pin: at 4:19 of the second period over East Greenwich's Liam Levy and at 4:37, also in the second period, over Aquidneck Island Wrestling co-op's Jack Voute. Phillips met up with Ponaganset's Joyce in the semis where he fell by a 9-2 count. Dropping into the consolation bracket, Phillips rallied back to pin LaSalle's Thomas Lynch again in the second at 4:26 then shut out Lincoln's Kamel Dib in the third-place match, 7-0.

More EPHS notes
Two other Townies placed, falling in the their consolation round outings to finish sixth: junior Deacon McShane at 106 pounds and senior co-captain Simon Palumbo at 157. McShane did not wrestle in high school last season, while Palumbo improved upon his 2-2 record in 2023 to 3-3 this winter.

Other EPHS wrestlers to compete in the 2024 state championship meet included: Aydin Schifino at 120 pounds; Brady Deroy 113; Brendon Bernard 132; Jason Brown 144; Jonathan Raposo 126; Jordan Carl 190; Max Distefano 175; and X'avian Hopper 150.

JV/Freshmen states
A few weeks prior to the varsity state meet, East Providence competed in the junior varsity/freshmen championships February 10 at Coventry High, where the Townies placed third in the former and fourth in the latter.

LaSalle won the JV state title with 109 points, Hendricken was second with 98.5 and EPHS third with 77. Hendricken won the frosh meet title with 137 followed by Cranston West in second with 137, Mt. Hope third with 110 and EPHS next with 108.

Juniors Jayden Cabral and Jessie Clark won their respective weight classes. At 106, Cabral needed to win four times to claim the title, including a 6-3 decision over LaSalle's Collin Stravato in the final, while Clark needed three victories to clinch the crown at 120, including a win by pin at 3:22 in the second period over Narragansett's Grant Conrady. Two more Townies placed led by the runner-up result of junior Melvin Hernandez, who was pinned by Blake Riley of South Kingstown 54 seconds into the second period, and senior Steve Clark Jr., who wrestled back to place third at 190 with a no contest decision over Central's Thomas Newsom.

In the first-year meet, Schifino was the 120 champ after recording four victories, including a pin in the final at 1:14 over LaSalle's Emelio Wu; Hopper was the 150 victor with three wins, including a 6-0 decision for the title over Cranston West's Owen Polofsky; and Vitolo took home the 215 title also with four wins, including a pin in 1:24 over Hendricken's Vincent McAteer. Of note as well, DiStefano was the other Townie frosh to place, finishing fourth at 175.

— East Providence Post and eastbayri.com staff photographer Rich Dionne shot the accompanying gallery of photos.