The Trinity-Pawling wrestling team was young this year, both in terms of wrestling experience and age, with only two seniors on the team. However, after a slow start to the season, the boys improved markedly and ended up placing 3rd out of the 17 teams competing in the Western New England tournament — an accomplishment of which they should be very proud!
Captain Christian Tacogue ’23 led the way this season by posting an undefeated dual meet record. He placed 2nd at Western New England’s and qualified for the national tournament at New England’s! Christian’s leadership, maturity, and daily approach were key to the overall success as a team, but also contributed to his individual growth as well.
Perhaps for the first time ever, all of the 14 wrestlers competing in the Western New England tournament won at least one match. Not only that, but 10 out of the 14 placed. In addition to Tacogue, Joe Tumolo ’25 placed 2nd while John Berlandi ’27 and Axel Caramico ’26 each placed 3rd. These three wrestlers, along with Christian Tacogue, are All-New England Wrestlers this season.
Some other noteworthy finishes in the Western New England tournament were Maxx Miller ’25, Angus Deely ’24, Bradford Remsburg ’26, and Kweku Arthur-Mensah ’25 who placed 5th and Asa Caramico ’24 and Grady Collins ’27 who placed 6th.
The team will have a strong nucleus returning next year, as all those who competed at Western New England’s this year return with the exception of Tacogue. Many opposing coaches noted that the team they saw compete in the WNE’s looked nothing like the one they had seen earlier in the year — a testament to their hard work and commitment this season.
Head Coach Bill Dunham said about the team: “While I have had teams that produced stronger results, the improvement these boys made over the course of the season was as significant as any I have observed.”
The wrestling team ended their season with a dual meet record of 10 – 6, and with a core group of boys returning next year, Trinity-Pawling is excited to see what that team will have in store for them. We wish the wrestlers the best of luck in the future and in their respective spring sports next season!
by Kyle Miller ’18