Mount Anthony wrestling edges Spaulding for 33rd straight title, closest race since 1991

HINESBURG - Earlier this month, Mount Anthony lost its first in-state dual meet in 36 years. And Sunday, Vermont's dynastic high school wrestling program came away with just two weight-class winners during the two-day state tournament.

Mount Anthony's reign stood on its shakiest ground in 30-plus years.

"It was a coin flip," MAU coach Brian Coon said.

But one emphatic pin from its heavyweight champion reaffirmed MAU's throne status.

Hayden Gaudette's victory at 220 pounds — the 10th of 14 finals matches — sealed the Patriots' 33rd straight state championship, adding another year to their national record streak.

Long live the kings.

MAU tallied 217.5 points to outlast Spaulding (212), which previously put a scare into the Bennington powerhouse in 2009 in 13-point difference. Essex, 24 points behind MAU in 2020's nip-and-tuck championship, settled for third place in 2022 with 193.5 points.

It was MAU's smallest margin of victory since edging Essex by 1.5 points in 1991.

[Full team scores and results below story]

"We just trust our training. At the end of the day, no one practices as hard as Mount Anthony does," said Gaudette, a three-time state champ with more than 150 victories. "That’s been the Mount Anthony way for years."

2020 revisit: MAU fends off Essex upset bid to win 32nd straight wrestling crown

Gaudette and Kyle Hurley, at 145 pounds, were the Patriots' lone individual winners. For comparison, MAU claimed six weight classes in 2020 and seven in both the 2018 and 2019 state-meet victories.

Instead, it was MAU's third-place finishers — Connor Bell (113), Alex Perez (120) and Sam Blackman (132) — who snagged crucial points to build a 19.5-point cushion before the start of the finals.

"That won us the tournament. Without those guys reversing losses they had throughout the year, we don't have a chance to win (Sunday)," Coon said. "Spaulding has a heck of a team. We are pretty even. If you go man for man, they are built really similar to us."

The Crimson Tide had six wrestlers reach finals, five of them winning: Coy Lyford (106), Caleb Hunington (113), Nick Pierce (126), Ryan Glassford (138) and Colton Perkins (285).

Perkins' title, defeating Essex's Sebastian Coppola 10-0, continued an undefeated season for the Spaulding standout. And Glassford and Lyford's late victories over their MAU opponents produced the loudest roars of the night in the CVU gym thanks to a large contingent of supporters from Barre.

"We were both exhausted and whoever wanted it more got it. I wanted it more I guess," Glassford said of his 3-1 triumph over MAU's Landon Davis.

But two matches before Glassford's turn on center mat, Gaudette knew he had control of the team race: Win vs. Sam Martin of Otter Valley and prolong MAU's state dominance for at least another winter.

"My coach came up and told me, ‘If you win, you will clinch a state title for the team,'" said Gaudette, bound for American International College in the fall to play lacrosse.

Ahead 10-1 as the third period came to a close, Gaudette put Martin on his back and for the pin with just one second on the clock.

"I love being that type of guy who puts his team on his back and finishes a tournament for them," Gaudette said.

The opening match of the finals saw Essex's Oliver Orvis rally from a 3-0 deficit with 45 seconds left to stun MAU's Aaron Johnson at 182. Orvis gained one point after Johnson's third caution, earned two points on a reverse to level the matchup and then won it with a cheap tilt.

"I looked at the scoreboard and I just remembered my coach telling me that I had to take it slow and relax," said Orvis, who helped Essex win the Division I football title in the fall. "Hornet pride, man. I said it Week 1 for football and I said it Week 1 for this: I’m all in for EHS and I’m going to win."

Orvis' teammates Kam Cyr (195) and Gill Stawinski (170) also notched titles in their weight classes.

Mount Mansfield sophomore Jack Arpey overcame a season-long shoulder injury to win at 160 with a tech fall over Ozzy Alsaid of St. Johnsbury. Arpey only yielded one point in his four matches this weekend.

"I had to work on a whole different style of wrestling. It’s been a lot of work," Arpey said. "Trying to stay out of neutral and stay top or bottom — that made a big difference."

Avery Carl of Middlebury was named the tournament's most outstanding wrestler. Carl pinned Essex's Anthony Matas in the second period.

Coon, a former longtime assistant coach under Scott Legacy before taking the reins ahead of the 2016-17 season, said this was "by far the most exciting tournament" he has experienced.

"And it’s better for our sport. We need more wrestlers. Our sport is hard and it’s hard to keep the kids out," Coon said. "But people seeing that Spaulding had the opportunity to beat us, all those teams saw that we were one match away from getting beat. Anybody can do it if they do the work.

"Spaulding did the work. That’s why they closed the gap. You don’t have to be the best athlete or the biggest or strongest. If you put in the work, you’ll get the award."

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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.

2022 wrestling championship results

At Champlain Valley (Saturday-Sunday)

Team scores: 1. Mount Anthony 217.5; 2. Spaulding 212; 3. Essex 193.5; 4. Middlebury 97; 5. Otter Valley 96; 6. Vergennes 90; 7. Mount Mansfield 74.5; 8. St. Johnsbury 66; 9. Springfield 56.5; 10. Burr and Burton 54; 11. Randolph 52; 12. Colchester 51; 13. Mount Abraham 50; 14. Fair Haven 37; 15. Champlain Valley 32; 16. Mill River 20; 17 Harwood 17; 18. Winooski 14; 19. Rutland 12; 20. Bellows Falls 10; 21. Mount St. Joseph 1; 22. Milton 0.

106 pounds: 1. Coy Lyford (Spa) def. Logan Davis (MAU) 6-3; 3. William Einhorn (Essex); 4. Noah Markwell (Spring); 5. Jackson Marks (OV).

113: 1. Caleb Hunington (Spa) def. Alex Sperry (Midd) 11-1; 3. Connor Bell (MAU); 4. Tennyson Miller (Essex); 5. Aiden Perren (Col); 6. Logan Pierro (MTA).

120: 1. Devan Hemingway (MTA) pin Noah Quigley (Col) at 5:10; 3. Alex Perez (MAU); 4. Lincoln Wilcox (FH); 5. Dillan Lacasse (Spring); 6. Keagan Stone (Midd).

126: 1. Nick Pierce (Spa) pin Trey Lee (FH) at :33; 3. Christian Stygles (Essex); 4. Eli Brace (Verg); 5. Austin Strang (SJ); 6. Jacob Underhill (CVU).

132: 1. Avery Carl (Midd) pin Anthony Matas (Essex) at 2:55; 3. Sam Blackman (MAU); 4. Elias Kalat (Spa); 5. Drew Best (Rand); 6. Jackson Keith (MMU).

138: 1. Ryan Glassford (Spa) def. Landon Davis (MAU) 3-1; 3. Caleb Whitney (OV); 4. Sebastian Krueger (MMU); 5. Matt Conant (MTA); 6. Kaleb Spencer (MR).

145: 1. Kyle Hurley (MAU) def. Noah Powell (Essex) 5-0; 3. Taylor Fletcher (MMU); 4. Quinn Smith (Har); 5. Chase Cram (OV); 6. Tyler Glassford (Spa).

152: 1. Taylor Stearns (Verg) pin Jordan Lavoie (Col) at :59; 3. Cameron Govea (Spa); 4. Spencer Boucher (MAU); 5. Tim Amsden (Spring); 6. Carbur Rousseau (SJ).

160: 1. Jack Arpey (MMU) def. Ozzy Alsaid (SJ) (tech fall); 3. Tom Murphey (CVU); 4. Shawn Gassaway (MAU); 5. Tucker Babcock (OV); 6. Tucker Kennett (Midd).

170: 1. Gill Stawinski (Essex) def. Liam Bradley (BBA) 11-1; 3. Calvin Kennett (Midd); 4. Isaac Preston (Verg); 5. Ben McLaughlin (MAU); 6. Cole Wright (Spring).

182: 1. Oliver Orvis (Essex) def. Aaron Johnson (MAU) 5-3; 3. Caden Howell (Verg); 4. Reagan Papp (Rand); 5. Tyler Terrien (Rut); 6. Alex Pouliot (Spa).

195: 1. Kameron Cyr (Essex) pin Landon Farnham (Spa) at 1:12; 3. JT Wright (BBA); 4. Simon Martin (OV); 5. Sanat Am (SJ); 6. Wyatt Allenson (MTA).

220: 1. Hayden Gaudette (MAU) pin Sam Martin (OV) at 5:59; 3. Bryan Stafford (Spring); 4. Kody Grout (Rand); 5. Jamison Couture (Verg); 6. Caleb Hill (Essex).

285: 1. Colton Perkins (Spa) def. Sebastian Coppola (Essex) 10-0; 3. Nick Sheldrick (Midd); 4. Graham Resmer (Winooski); 5. Trent Rumrill (BF); 6. Dominic Decker (BBA).

Coach of the year

Darren O’Meara, Spaulding.

100 win club

(*wrestlers who reached milestone this season)

Sam Blackman, Mount Antony

Landon Davis, Mount Anthony

Hayden Gaudette, Mount Anthony

Kyle Hurley, Mount Anthony

Colton Perkins, Spaulding

Nick Pierce, Spaulding

Gil Stawinski, Essex

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: VT H.S. wrestling championships: MAU survives for 33rd straight title