Spartans Wrestling Ties On Senior Night

Hard-fought matches from all Spartan competitors willed themselves to a 36-36 draw against the Bombers.

A couple of lower-weight class forfeits, a first period pin by Matt Ferrero in 1:52, and a dominant 8-1 decision win by Gabe Roman gave a 21-0 upper-hand to East Longmeadow early on in the match before Westfield earned consecutive pins to get back in it.

Gathering momentum as the higher-weighted matchups approached, Westfield’s strides came to a halt as senior Josh Reilly pulled off a well-earned second period pin 1:22 in.

Another energizing win for the Spartans came from one of the captains, senior Dan Magiera, as he battled back from a 2-0 deficit and won his matchup 4-2 over the 152-pounder Tristen Conners. 

The other Spartans captain, junior Cole Johnson, also won his matchup by a first period pin 1:55 in against Westfield’s Jordan Hanechak.

Despite these efforts from the Spartans, three straight pins by the Bombers ultimately tied the match and East Longmeadow was unable to achieve the win. 

However, head Coach Rob Johnson is not worried about the team’s overall result, rather focusing on how the team performed as individuals. 

“We’re not worrying about the wins and losses, it’s how we grow as a team, as individuals, and starting to apply everything we do at practice,” Johnson said. “We’ll see our progression down the road at sectionals and states.”

Magiera’s individual win in particular is a promising sign for the future, but as for right now he is just happy to have gotten it done on senior night.

“You only get one match on senior night and to win that, it felt amazing,” Magiera said. “This has been the biggest crowd we’ve ever had and to have everyone come to watch and support meant a lot.”

The second Spartans head coach, Joe Ferrero, also took the time to give kudos to his senior group.

“It felt great to honor the seniors,” Ferrero said. “They’ve really worked hard and earned it all.”

His co-coach Rob Johnson added that the senior group they have this year has been “very important” to them and that they have “worked hard for the past three-four years, so tonight was a great turnout.”

Cole Johnson, though still a junior, has been another hard-worker for the Spartans squad, leading alongside Magiera and earning praise from both coaches.

“I couldn’t be happier with our captains,” Ferrero said. “Everyday they come in early, they keep the team motivated, they’re always the first ones on the mat, and they’re always encouraging their fellow wrestlers.”

“We have two leaders that are both great competitors and very hard workers,” Rob Johnson said. “They love the sport and they’re really special.”

Just like their coaches, both captains are already looking ahead to the rest of this season and the main area they look to improve on is, according to Cole Johnson, “more conditioning.”

Adding to his co-captain’s statement, Magiera broadened the improvement area to being better prepared for all upcoming matches.

“You have to go in knowing what you have to do, you can’t expect something to happen,” Magiera said. “If you go in there expecting something, whatever you expected will be thrown out the window. You have to get ready for whatever comes up and then go from there.”

The Spartans hope to incorporate these improvements as they compete tonight at 6 p.m. in Ludlow.