NORTHAMPTON – The Westfield wrestling team may have been down in their latest meet, but they were never out.
Westfield rallied from an 18-0 deficit, storming past Northampton on the road 54-24 to improve to 6-1 overall, 4-0 league.
Much of the credit for the comeback can be attributed to the Borodin brothers.
Younger brother Ed built a 14-0 lead in a 126 bout before throwing Northampton’s Sebastian Abend hard to his back and pinning the Blue Devil in 2:59.
Westfield High School wrestling coach Chris Malinowski and the Bombers show enthusiasm at a recent meet. The Bombers continued their successful season with another win Wednesday night. (Staff File Photo)
Older brother Vitaliy (145 pounds) avenged previous losses to Northampton’s Noah Brink with a thrilling victory Wednesday night.
After a scoreless first two periods, Vitaliy took a narrow one-point lead with an escape. The lead swung the other way when Brink responded with a two-point takedown. With 30 seconds remaining in the match, Vitaliy hit a multitude of switches, sit outs, and rolls, reversing his opponent and reclaiming a one-point lead. Westfield’s wrestler sunk in his legs and controlled Brink for the final seconds.
Mike Minchala (132 pounds), who has shown great strides of late, continued his fine efforts against Joshua Reinhart.
Minchala fought out of a hole, scoring an escape in the third period, chasing Reinhart around the mat and earning a stalling call as time ran out to force an improbable sudden death overtime. Minchala would not be denied, scoring an early take down in sudden death to come out victorious.
Westfield senior heavyweight Joe Raco was outstanding again, dominating Joe Kinnick with an 18-second pin. Sophomore Joe Lamere (113), freshman Eliandres Quinones (120), and freshman Mia Fellows also wrestled well for the Bombers.
In JV action, Westfield freshman Colby Clauson tore through his opponent, piling up points before winning by fall.
Westfield returns to action Saturday in a dual meet tournament at Ludlow.
Wood paces Rams
South Hadley 43, Southwick 30
Dakota Wood won one of Southwick’s lone contested matches, pinning South Hadley’s Jacey Rondeau in 5:37.
Ari Labrecque (113 pounds), Ben Cleland (126), Ryan Laferreire (120), and Peter Kirpichev (220) each won by forfeit for the Rams.
At 145, Southwick’s Chris Trusty lost a hard-fought battle to Jody Solzak, 16-14.
BOYS ICE HOCKEY
Rams battle, but fall
South Hadley 6, Southwick 3
Southwick continues to climb closer to win No. 1, falling to South Hadley in tightly-contested game on its home ice at Amelia Park Ice Arena. The Rams will look to bounce back Sunday against visiting Easthampton. The puck drops at Amelia at 3 p.m.
