'I just wanted to be best version of myself': Ellis aims to cap perfect wrestling career
Peyton Ellis’ favorite title match is likely yet to come.
But certainly, his best high school wrestling memory arrived two winters ago when Coventry ended a title drought that stretched to the 1997-98 season.
Ellis took gold in the 113-weight class in his sophomore campaign to lead the Oakers to their 20th overall title and a return to prominence for one of the state’s most storied programs. But before winning that individual and program title, Ellis, just seven months prior, embarked on his high school grappling stardom with a first-place finish at 106 in the summer after his freshman year.
The Oaker, now a senior, boasts a 111-0 in-state record and aims to become a four-time champion on Saturday at the Providence Career and Technical Academy.
“Winning states individually is super cool and obviously it means a lot to me, but winning states as a team is just a different experience,” said Ellis, who is wrestling at 126 this year. “Everybody being equally as happy and everybody just having the same goal in mind is really cool.”
Ellis figures to follow Dan Smith, a 1989 Coventry graduate, who finished his career a perfect 115-0 with 103 victories via pin, as the only Oakers to go undefeated. Smith was a four-time Providence Journal All-State wrestler and was inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame in 2010.
As well as being a standout grappler in a long lineage of Oaker stars, Ellis guides the future of the program as much as he does his own personal success.
"He's a big leader in the room and he cares a lot about the kids," Coventry coach Charles Gaffney said. "He's always working with the underclassmen trying to get them better."
Ellis, who has earned All-State honors from The Providence Journal each year, is ranked as the 13th best wrestler in New England and third in Rhode Island, according to The Schwartz Report, an in-depth wrestling column. Schwartz has Ellis topping the 126 division and called it the “deepest class in the region.”
“I just wanted to be the best version of myself, the best I possibly could be,” Ellis said of his high school career goals. “And if it was undefeated, it was undefeated, and if it wasn't, it wasn't. I just wanted to be as good as I possibly could be.”
Said Gaffney: "I'll remember how naturally good he is, and how he's had a whole bunch of coaches and how he absorbs everything they say. Say he doesn't do something and then a whole new coach will show him a move, he will instantly put it into his arsenal of moves."
“Wrestling plays a big part in my life, but obviously the main goal of my entire life is just to be an overall good person,” Ellis said. “Winning that championship with my friends and everyone around me being in a positive attitude was just a great feeling, but the goal is to just be a really good person.”
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Along with Ellis, Coventry has four wrestlers seeded in the top-two in Stone Farnsworth (120), Sebastian Armstrong (138), and Ason Jones (285).
Here are the top-six seeds for every weight class:
What to know for RIIL wrestling state tournament
∎ Date: Feb. 23-34
∎ Time: Friday's matches begin at 5 p.m. and run through approximately 9:45. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday and conclude with championship bouts, tentatively slated for 5:15 p.m.
∎ Where: Providence Career and Technical Academy
∎ Brackets: Flosports
RIIL wrestling state tournament top-6 seeds
∎ 106: 1, Cole Lemovitz, PNGT; 2, Connor Coro, NP; 3, Michael Quinn, BH; 4, Deacon McShane, EP; 5, Damien Setaro, LINC; 6, Robert Newton, SCIT.
∎ 113: 1, Apollo Bellini, PNGT; 2, Charles Ford, NP; 3, Sean Ruo, LSA; 4, Nicholas Nelson, NK; 5, Jordan Lally, EG; 6, Caden Hughes, SCIT.
∎ 120: 1, Jared Hood, PNGT; 2, Stone Farnsworth, COV; 3, Aydin Schifino, EP; 4, Ryan Price, CHA; 5, Sean Cantino, SK; 6, Cameron Davis, CTLR.
∎ 126: 1, Peyton Ellis, COV; 2, Robert Douangmala, PNGT; 3, Seth McGrew, BH; 4, Benjamin Jawharjian, CHSW; 5, Scott Nicoll, LINC; 6, Logan Martins, JOHN.
∎ 132: 1, David Perez, PNGT; 2, Ethan Martel, MTHP; 3, Nathan Giusti, NP; 4, Braydon Wilding, BH; 5, Ethan Uttley, WOON; 6, Benjamin White, SK.
∎ 138: 1, Joseph Joyce, PNGT; 2, Sebastian Armstrong, COV; 3, Thomas Lynch, LSA; 4, Charles Phillips, EP; 5, Jack Voute, AIW; 6, Kamel Dib, LINC.
∎ 144: 1, Colby Vital, PNGT; 2, Andrew McCarthy, MTHP; 3, Tyler Schartner, NK; 4, Logan Neishel, NP; 5, Nathan Corona, WW; 6, Aziz Mian, CTLR.
∎ 150: 1, James Thibaudeau, MTHP; 2, Carnell Davis, PNGT; 3, Gonzalo Pool, NP; 4, Matthew Pappas, BH; 5, Landon Mahar, Toll Gate; 6, Gabriel Bouyssou, SCIT.
∎ 157: 1, Ryan Currier, CHAR; 2, William Leischner, PNGT; 3, James Rocco, BARR; 4, Sam Dempsey, NP; 5, John Nicoll, LINC; 6, Raymond McConnell, NARR.
∎ 165: 1, Andrew Reall, PNGT; 2, Ferhat Baha Akdemir, EP; 3, Logan Ross, BH; 4, Andrew Pappas, CHSW; 5, Jefreel Rivera, CTRL; 6, Donovan Watts, PILG.
∎ 175: 1, Preston Marchesseault, PNGT; 2, Zachary Laciofano, LSA; 3, Seamus Rooney, NK; 4, Dante Richardson, CHSW; 5, Benjamin Johnson-McMahon, SMFD; 6, Trevor O'Connor, PILG.
∎ 190: 1, Spencer Fine, BH; 2, Zachary Rocchio, PNGT; 3, Ethan Delehanty, MTHP; 4, Josiah Garcia, LSA; 5, Aaron Bolduc, LINC; 6, Jack Giannetto, NARR.
∎ 215: 1, Andrew Alchihed, CHSW; 2, Michael Diorio, PNGT; 3, Mathew Zimmerman, BARR; 4, Dason Jones, COV; 5, Aidan Rodrigues, LINC; 6, Benjahmin Wilcox, WOON.
∎ 285: 1, Kaz Morosetti, NK; 2, Ason Jones, COV; 3, Derek Case, MTHP; 4, Tyler Bergeron, PNGT; 5, Alex Herrera, PNGT; 6, Hadrian Duncan, NARR.
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
On X: @ByJacobRousseau
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Coventry's Peyton Ellis aims to capture his fourth wrestling title
