Wrestling Wrecks Competition at NMH Invitationals

Exeter’s wrestling team crushed the competition at the Northfield Mount Hermon Invitational this weekend. Despite the long two-hour drive to Gill, Mass., Big Red showed no signs of fatigue. Of all the schools competing in the invitational—Wyoming Seminary, Hyde, Choate, Long Island, and Wilbraham—Exeter outscored all but one. After finishing the weekend, Big Red wrestling is now ranked number one in New England.Among the competition at the invitational, only wrestling powerhouse Wyoming Seminary who traveled all the way from Kingston, Pennsylvania, was able to challenge Exeter’s talent. Big Red fought hard to win, but in the end, lost against the school 45-30. However, Exeter did not hang their heads, defeating Wilbraham 66-12, Choate 44-30, Hyde 60-15, and Long Island 42-30.Post-graduate Stone Hart had the biggest matchup of the day. “Stone had a great match with a kid from Choate. He hadn’t really been challenged much before that much, so it was awesome for him to win. Every time one of them shot, it felt like the gym shook, it was crazy,” senior captain Curran Sullivan said. Overall, Big Red found great success at the invitational.“The whole team just wrestled confidently, and wrestled well,” Sullivan continued. “Everyone on the team, even those who lost their matches, had great matches, losing by a point or two at most. We’re looking really good this year, and we’re so happy that we’re ranked #1 in New England.”This year, the team has worked to maintain the work ethic necessary to succeed in the sport, and have been met with great triumph. “The intensity of the team is a lot better, the new members have really come along,” lower Josh Hemintakoon said. “The coaches this year have picked it up a lot, so overall as a team we have seen a great improvement.”Driven by their intensity, Big Red wrestling has produced four undefeated wrestlers this year: Hemintakoon, Hart, prep AJ Pedro and prep Isaiah Bailey. “AJ and Isaiah are doing great as freshman on the team. AJ is already seeded first at [weight class] 152 for New England’s,” Hemintakoon said. “Isaiah is looking really good so far as well. He is ranked #2 in New England at [weight class] 113, and is looking forward to having a good match against the number one seed in his weight on Saturday." With a talented young core, the team knows they can continue their success this season into the future.Now 11-2 this year, Big Red has no intentions of slowing down. To keep ahead of their competition and top the rankings, the team knows they need to keep up their focus. Exeter’s next meet is Saturday at Belmont Hill where they will compete against Belmont Hill, Pomfret and St. Sebastians. As favorites to win the New England Tournament, Big Red wrestling refuses to disappoint.