Once a 'dead' program, Colchester wrestling now vying to end Mount Anthony's 34-year reign

COLCHESTER ― About a decade ago, the Colchester High School wrestling program flatlined.

Participation bottomed out. Interest waned.

"Colchester (wrestling) was dead," coach Scott McPherson said.

With the revival complete, the Lakers are tasked with an even tougher assignment: Halting the Mount Anthony Patriots' unmatched championship run. The kings of Vermont wrestling have captured a national-record 34 consecutive state titles.

Runner-up a year ago to the Patriots, Colchester appears to be a serious contender to MAU's throne when the state's best converge in Otter Valley for this upcoming weekend's state championship. The two-day event wraps Saturday night with 14 weight-class finals under the spotlight.

"Ever since I got into high school wrestling, that’s been my goal. And I know that’s been the team’s goal, too," Colchester senior Jordan Lavoie said. "As most people know, the 34-year streak is a big thing and I feel like being a part of a team that has a chance (to win), it’s going to be talked about all year long."

McPherson: "Every program should want to (win a state title). If you’re not trying to, then I don’t know what you are doing here."

How Colchester wrestling rebuilt its program

McPherson, an Essex High School graduate, and Jason Lavoie, a Colchester wrestling alum and father of Jordan Lavoie, focused their attention on the community's youth wrestling club, the Cobras, to build up numbers and keep them once they matriculated to high school.

The key, McPherson said, was continuity: McPherson has coached the Cobras for 25 years; Lavoie for about a dozen years. When they restarted the high school team, wrestlers saw familiar faces and teaching methods, making the transition to the next level an easier sell. Wrestlers became bought in.

"I coached high school wrestling for 10 years and swore I would never do it again," said McPherson, who also singled out assistant coaches Nick Eddy and Zach Joseph for the program's growth. "But these kids are great. They keep their grades up, there’s no outside noise, they wrestle hard all the time and they wrestle the style we coach."

Colchester also took advantage of the Lakers' proud football program to snag additional numbers. More than half of this year's wrestling squad played football at Colchester, including Jordan Lavoie, the starting quarterback for this fall's Division II state finalists.

"I really think the football players are a huge part for why we have a full room and every weight class filled. No doubt about it," McPherson said.

Incrementally, the Lakers saw progress: They finished 18th at the 2018 state championship, 14th in 2019 and seventh in 2020. After COVID forced the cancellation of the 2020-21 season, Colchester settled for 12th in 2022 before last year's run to the second-place trophy.

"Something about wrestling … it’s just a bond that no other sport has. That’s what brought me back," said Skyler Lamphere, a senior who was fourth in the 170-pound division last year.

Colchester wrestling's success during 2023-24 season

The Lakers have entered six bracketed tournaments this winter, winning two of them and taking runner-ups in two others. They own a 20-6 dual meet record and repeated as the NVAC dual meet champions

Headlining the squad are Mason Sheltra (48-2 record in 2023-24), last year's runner up at 106 pounds, Cahota Lafond (41-3), the reigning state champion at 113, Jaden Coppins (34-10), who recently qualified for the New England girls championship at 120, Brody Coppins (26-5) at 157, Lamphere (47-5) at 165 and 215-pounder Jordan Lavoie (45-8), who surpassed 100 career wins this winter.

"Everybody in here is a leader in their own way in my view. Everybody contributes in their own way," McPherson said.

More: Full team scores, individual results of the 2024 Michael J. Baker Wrestling Classic

Colchester wrestlers are taking advantage of the team's offsite training facility.

"I'm constantly in the room making myself better," Lafond said. "Coaches push us to be the best we can possibly be."

Lamphere: "Honestly, everyone just has fun in here even though the sport is really hard. That’s what drives everybody."

Can a team dethrone Mount Anthony this weekend?

The dynastic Mount Anthony Patriots are no stranger to nip-and-tuck championship battles. In 2020, MAU pulled away from Essex for a 24-point victory. Two years ago, Spaulding came within 5.5 points of MAU for the Patriots' smallest margin of victory since 1991.

"Historically, Mount Anthony always does what they needed to do," McPherson said. "Even when there’s another team on their heels, they just always perform at states."

With wrestlers in every weight class, the Lakers have the depth to make a run at MAU's undisputed reign. Spaulding and Otter Valley are also among the contenders, according to wrestling insiders.

"Just like any tournament, it’s going to be won in the trenches," McPherson said. "It’s not going to be won in the finals, it’s going to be won in the consolation rounds.

"All we can hope for is, everybody in this room does their job those two days. And we’ll see where the points lay when it’s over. That’s all we can do.

Either way, the Lakers return to relevance has been a big win.

"There’s nothing that really breeds success than having a bunch of animals in the room like we do," Jordan Lavoie said. "The amount of work we put into it bonds us together."

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

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont high school wrestling: Colchester chases Mount Anthony's reign