Is Ponaganset wrestling the state's best dynasty? After Saturday, it's hard to say no.

PROVIDENCE — The title was expected by everyone around them, but the team that won it wasn't going to act like it was getting handed over.

That’s part of what separates Ponaganset wrestling from the rest of the field and has made them the best athletic team — in any sport, any season — in Rhode Island.

The Chieftains didn’t just win the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Wrestling State Championship — they dominated. Ponaganset won an absurd eight gold medals, had three others finish second and totaled a state-record 306.5 points, beating second-place Coventry by 182 points.

“We’re definitely here to win every time,” Ponaganset’s David Perez said. “We’re wanted, so it’s pretty hard to perform, but we’re pretty good under pressure, so we stand out.”

“We know everyone hates us,” junior Jared Hood said. “It kind of pushes us to another level because we just like it.”

This isn’t an overnight success story or a team that’s had a good class carry them to the last two state titles. The program was rebuilt from the ground up by former coach Mike Joyce, who’s now the school district’s athletic director, and handed off to co-coaches Steve DiNobile and Steve Mineo. The latter two have kept the program’s expectation for excellence on track as the rest of the state lobs jealousy grenades usually reserved for private schools at them.

At this point, Ponaganset is more than a team or program. It’s a family that believes in hard work, trust and faith. Meets like Saturday’s are child’s play for the Chieftains, who grind in the wrestling room, weight room and during the season with an out-of-state schedule going against some of the best competition in the country.

“Everyone’s betting against us. All the hard work is showing,” Ponaganset’s Michael DiOrio said. “It’s crazy knowing everyone is against us and no one is on our side except the ones on our team.”

“It’s a brotherhood. You go into a room every day with people that want to work hard, getting each other better,” Ponaganset’s Preston Marchesseault said. “It makes it a lot easier when you have that group that just brings everyone together.”

Titles aren’t guaranteed and Ponaganset doesn’t take them for granted. The Chieftains know anything can happen on the mat, but everyone did their job in the two-day event, so much so that the state title was locked up before Saturday night’s finals started.

The focus didn’t change. Eleven Chieftains wrestled for gold on Saturday and eight won, starting with the newest members of the family in Cole Lemovitz and Apollo Bellini. The two freshmen were the top seeds at 106 and 113 and both left the PCTA with their first gold medals.

“I definitely felt a little pressure, but I definitely felt like I had it in me,” Lemovitz said. “All the work we put in during the season, I felt like all of us could get the job done.”

“This is pretty amazing. It’s my first year and was one of my goals — freshman champ,” Bellini said. “It was my second goal — the first one was just improving, which I’ve definitely improved since last year.”

Jared Hood was in search of his third straight state gold and really showed why the work during the season is so important. His bout at 120 pounds with Central’s Cameron Davis was not going his way, as Davis put up points early and had Hood on the ropes. But Hood wasn't flustered. He remained focused, got Davis on his back and came up with a pin in 4:13 to keep his record against in-state opponents perfect for his career.

“Next year, I’m trying to be a four-timer,” Hood said.

“When you’re working so hard every single day, you’re just going to set high goals for yourself because you’re not going to shoot low.”

While Hood could think about perfection, Perez was thinking about his first gold. After losing to Coventry’s Peyton Ellis last year, Perez wanted to prove something in his sophomore season. He quickly established himself as one of New England’s best at 132 and didn’t let his reputation take a hit Saturday. Cruising to the final, Perez was impressive in winning the title with a pin of South Kingstown’s Ben White in 3:29.

“It made me hungry. It made me want something this year,” Perez said about last year’s loss. “I definitely think it was needed.

“We have deeper goals than states, but it was definitely on the bucket list.”

If there was one Ponaganset wrestler with pressure, it was Joseph Joyce. The youngest son of the former head coach, with older brothers who helped turn the program into what it is, Joyce has already become one of the nation’s top sophomores.

Wrestling at 138, Joyce knew he was the favorite but also knew to keep his head so Coventry’s Sebastian Armstrong wouldn’t put him on his back. Joyce wrestled with a cool, calm head and looked in control the whole way in earning an 11-2 major decision.

“It’s not too much pressure. I’m kind of relaxed and surrender myself to God,” Joyce said. “But with the team atmosphere, we’re all relaxed.”

The scariest part of Ponaganset’s dominance? Of the 11 wrestlers who competed in Saturday’s final, only one was a senior. Andrew Reall, who will compete for Brown next winter, put a bow on his in-state career to win this third straight state title, this one coming in an 8-1 decision over East Providence’s Ferhat Baha Akdemir in the 165-pound final.

Juniors won Ponaganset’s final two individual gold medals.

Last year, Marchesseault battled tough before losing to Hendricken All-Stater Spencer Fine in the 182 final and this year, in the 175-pound weight class, Marchesseault became the wrestler to beat. He cruised to the finals and earned his first gold with a 7-2 win over Pilgrim’s Trevor O’Connor.

“There’s always a little bit of pressure knowing an upset can happen, but I just executed how I was supposed to and I got it done,” Marchesseault said.

“You have to say on your ‘A’ game no matter what. You look down on someone and you can get caught.”

At 215, with his entire team looking for an exclamation point to wrap up the team’s historic night, DiOrio came through. Up against top-seeded Andrew Alchihed of Cranston West, DiOrio came up with the performance he was looking for with a pin in 2:16 to win his first gold medal.

“Top three goes to New Englands, so that was the goal. Just top three,” DiOrio said.

“I reversed him in the second period and there were just a million things going on in my mind. It was crazy.”

Saturday's event wasn’t the end of Ponaganset’s season. In fact, the entire team treated the state tournament as a qualifier for the one it really wants to win. Next week, the Chieftains will be back at the PCTA as they try to win their second straight New England title.

“Just keep going, focus on one match at a time, scoring each point,” Hood said. “Just take it slow, don’t shoot. If you look at it as trying to be New England champ and skip over the light matches, you’re going to get caught up. Focus one match at a time, that’s all it is.”

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Ponaganset wrestling wins 2024 Rhode Island State Championship