South Side Wrestling Club has been very busy this past month traveling to seek the best competition along the East Coast.
On March 12th and 13th, South Side had 11 wrestlers compete in the Middle Atlantic Wrestling Association's (MAWA's) district wrestling tournament in Willimantic. Seven came home with medals and advanced to the Regional tournament April 23 and 24 in Bethleham, PA.
Dominick Spadaro, South Sides youngest competitor placed third, after losing his first match to win four straight to take home the bronze. Head clinician Brandon Fulco competed in the Open division, taking second place by going 5-1 on the day.
Over Easter weekend, South Side traveled to Wildwood, N.J. to take on some of the nation’s best wrestlers at War at the Shore. Twenty-three South Side wrestlers battled for a spot on the podium, with three wrestlers taking home medals.
Tristan Haviland, the 113-pound New England champion, placed fourth on the day going 6-2 for the tournament.
Hakim Fleming won the 285-pound division by going 3-0 for the tournament. He did not surrender a takedown in the tournament and only allowed his opposition only one point. He is also a 2016 New England Champion.
Fulco took home gold in the Open 170 pound division, winning both of his matches by pin.
The 2016 NHSCA High School Nationals took place in Virginia Beach, V.A. from April 1-3.
Thre3 South Side wrestlers competed in this tournament. Fleming defeated Bobby Heald (New Hampshire state champion) by a score of 5-1 in the round of 32. He suffered his first loss to Jared Snyder from California in the round of 16.
Fleming came back to defeat Josh Angels by pin and Michael Durfee from Ohio. He then lost in the All-American round to Jerrhet Lee, a two-time Texas state champion from Texas.
C.J. Shea competed in the Middle School division, beating the Florida state champion in sudden victory and finishing 2-2 for the tournament. Joe Accousti of Newtown placed sixth in the Junior division to All American, winning five matches over numerous state champions and former All Americans.
South Side Wrestling Club practices Tuesday, Thursday, Friday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m. in the Trumbull High School auxiliary gym. Registration for the second session starting May 17 has begun. Please email SouthSideWrestling@yahoo.com or refer to the Trumbull Wrestling website for more information.