The Rhode Island Interscholastic League’s Middle School Wrestling State Championships took place last weekend at North Kingstown and plenty of locals made action, including six that took home individual titles. Warwick Vets finished in fourth place as a team while nearby Winman wrapped up 10th.
Peter Fontes (94 pounds) and Benjamin Taute (133 pounds) wrapped up titles for the Hurricanes, while Anna George repeated as champion and Hailey Hayes also earned a state title for Vets as well. Winman’s Sofia George and Payton George also captured championships to help Warwick cement its place as one of the top wrestling communities in the state. The Hurricanes saw 19 grapplers place in their respective divisions by tournament’s end.
Depth and numbers have helped the Hurricanes wrap up fourth-place finishes the past two seasons. With 70 wrestlers in the overall program, coach Kurt Keaney is proud of the team that he and his staff have assembled and was thrilled with the results in North Kingstown. “I was a little overwhelmed when I had over 100 people sign up for wrestling, but with the addition of five awesome coaches we got the job done. It’s great to see the sport growing in Rhode Island and it’s great to see the overall growth of our little state,” said Keaney. “Everybody gave us everything they had over the two-day weekend. We’re proud of their accomplishments and their efforts on and off the mat.”
Keaney praised his athletes’ mental toughness, competing in a grueling sport and showing up ready to work each day. He also credited his three captains in Taute, Alex Gemma and Jack Daigneault. The latter two also placed in their respective divisions.
“It’s the mindset as a wrestler. It’s one of the toughest sports in the world and you need to come in and grind it out every day. Everybody has come in and done that,” said Keaney. “I have three captains that were amazing leaders, helping out the younger guys and setting the example for them as well. Hats off to Iron Faith Wrestling in Warwick as well. A lot of our guys go there in the offseason and you can see the improvement.”
The emergence of girl wrestling continues throughout out the state as well, with the RIIL hosting girl state tournaments at both the middle school and high school levels. Vets had a state-high 12 female wrestlers on its roster.
“It’s amazing. It opens up a world of avenues for these girls and their futures. These girls are tough, hard working and are passionate about it. It’s nice to see the number of girls all over the state growing our sport and getting better, It’s fun to watch,” Keaney said.
With such a large volume of projected returners next season, the Hurricanes have their sights set on not only another top-5 outing at states, but a potential title altogether.
“It’s sustainable and we’re excited. Our coaches want to come back, we have kids telling us that they are coming back. I’m hoping to see an even bigger number next year because here at Vets that’s something we can handle. I would like to see the program grow as much as possible,” said Keaney, who gave one final shoutout to his eighth graders. “This was one of the best eight grade groups I’ve had. They were unbelievable for our program, their hard work, leadership as mentors. We would not have had the success we had this year without our eighth graders. I look forward to going to watch them in high school.”