High school notebook: Granby wrestling staying competitive early in the season
Published: 01-09-2025 4:20 PM |
Anthony DelValle has the Granby wrestling team in a good spot.
DelValle is in the midst of his first season as head coach of the Rams and his team has been competitive this season. Granby nearly upset Smith Vocational last week in a 31-30 defeat at home, a week after tying with Springfield International.
Parker Dufresne and Richard Sweet took victories by pin to lead the Rams against the Vikings and highlighted Granby’s ability to be a tough matchup within the Suburban League North.
“Simon Speek, Eliza Speek, obviously siblings, Parker Dufresne, Richard Sweet, he’s actually come out of the woodwork and he’s starting to put a lot of hard work in,” DelValle said on wrestlers who have stood out. “Honestly, [Sweet] has been putting in the work and it’s a far cry from last year. Last year he was doing well, this year he’s pulling out all the stops trying to make it work.”
DelValle added that Nate Benson is nearing the 100-win mark and is one of Granby’s top wrestlers.
High school wrestling, more so than other high school sports, is a numbers game. If a team doesn’t have a wrestler in a certain weight class and the opposing team does, that match goes down as a forfeit loss. There were a handful of instances of that in the dual meet between the Rams and Vikings, however Granby hopes to eliminate that as much as possible in the years to come.
“We lost a couple [wrestlers], we’re hoping to gain a couple back next year. Hopefully we can keep the team alive and kind of recruit more, with some young minds to come in and keep the sport alive,” DelValle said. “We got a small squad now, but I think if we put the work in recruiting, we might be able to make a decent size squad.”
The Rams have 15 wrestlers on this year’s roster. DelValle, who was an assistant coach with the Rams the past two years behind current Belchertown athletic director Kevin McNeill, appears eager to infuse even more talent into the program moving forward.
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