Westfield wrestling coach Chris Malinowski gives some pre-match instructions to his wrestlers at the Western Massachusetts championships Saturday at West Springfield High School. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
WEST SPRINGFIELD – Five Westfield wrestlers qualified for the state tournament with impressive outings at the West Section Division 1 wrestling championships at West Springfield High School.
Westfield senior captains Ed and Vitaliy Borodin (126 pounds, 145), senior heavyweight Joe Raco, and juniors Nick Clauson (152) and Cam Foster (160) all finished in the top four in their respective weight classes to qualify to compete against the best wrestlers in the state next weekend Methuen High School.
Ed Borodin finished fourth with impressive wins over Central’s Mike Paul 19-5 and Putnam’s Dwight Paton 4-2.
Vitaliy Borodin had a 4-2 win over Northampton’s Noah Brink in the final second of the match, pinned Ludlow’s Michael Gilrein in 1:58, and eventually beat Brink again 4-2 for third place. Borodin’s only loss came against eventual champion Cquari Bacote, of Central.
Cam Foster works to pin Ludlow’s Jaiden Giza-Bilodeau at the Western Massachusetts Division 1 championships Saturday at West Springfield High School. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
Clauson pinned Ludlow’s Gab Simard in 3:45 and won by tech fall 15-0 over Longmeadow’s Mike Conners en route to a fourth place finish.
Foster pinned Ludlow’s Jaiden Giza-Bilodeau in 3:33 and Chicopee Comp’s Ezequiel Perez in 1:58, and beat second-seeded Alex Alvarado (West Springfield) 3-0 to take third place. Foster’s only loss came to eventual champion Cesar Alvin (Central).
Raco pinned Chicopee’s Chase Colina in 37 seconds and third-seeded Joquam Wright (Putnam) in 2:33.
Junior Carlito Serrano (182) and senior Doug Rogers (220), also made the podium with sixth-place finishes. Serrano had a 14-second pin over East Longmeadow’s Mitchel Aarons. Rogers had pins over Chicopee’s Nate Iannotti and Agawam’s Ahmet Topcuoglu in 54 and 28 seconds, respectively.
