Wrestling: Captains Mistry (182) and Wells (220) lead Concord to 2nd at Keene Minickiello Tournament

Concord’s Austin Wells (right) prepares to grapple with Portsmouth’s Charlie Turner in the Minickiello Wrestling Tournament 220-pound final at Keene High School on Saturday. Wells pinned Turner in the first period to win the bout, helping Concord finish second overall out of 24 teams. Courtesy of Crystal Haskell
Concord's Rumi Mistry (right) attempts to pin Otter Valley, Vermont’s Isaac Whitley in the 182-pound final at the Minickiello Wrestling Tournament at Keene High School on Saturday. Mistry won a 15-9 decision to claim the 182 title and helped lead Concord to second-place overall out of 24 teams. Courtesy of Crystal Haskell
Concord's Griffin Norwalt (bottom) prepares to wrestle against Keene’s Peyton Gowell in the 120-pound final at the Minickiello Wrestling Tournament 220-pound final at Keene High School on Saturday. Norwalt lost a 4-3 decision to Gowell to finish as the 220 runner-up, and helped lead the Tide to second-place overall out of 24 teams. Courtesy of Crystal Haskell
Concord captains Rumi Mistry (left) and Austin Wells pose with their prizes after winning the 182- and 220-pound titles at the Minickiello Wrestling Tournament 220-pound final at Keene High School on Jan. 7, 2023. Concord finished second out of 24 teams. Courtesy of Crystal Haskell

Monitor staff

Published: 1/8/2023 1:51:26 PM

Modified: 1/8/2023 1:48:18 PM

Senior captains Rumi Mistry and Austin Wells both won titles, and junior Griffin Norwalt was a finalist as the Concord High wrestling team finished second overall at the 24-team Minickiello Wrestling Tournament at Keene High School on Saturday, Concord’s best finish in a tournament this season.

Keene defended its home mats with 248 points, followed by the Tide with 209.5. Spaulding, Vt. (186.5), Otter Valley, Vt. (174) and Bow (155) rounded out the top five teams, while John Stark (98) finished 11th and Kearsarge (79) finished 13th.

Wells won all four of his matches at 220 pounds by pin, including a pin just 38 seconds into the final bout against Portsmouth’s Charlie Turner to claim the title.

Mistry advanced to the 182-pound finals via three pins and defeated Otter Valley’s Isaac Whitney with a 15-9 decision in the final.

Norwalt won a huge 5-3 decision over Bow’s Adler Moura in the quarterfinals and pinned three other opponents to advance to the 120-pound final before dropping a narrow 4-3 decision to Keene’s Peyton Gowell in the championship.

Nathan Feudner (third 285), Levi Madison (fourth 132), Isaiah Brien (fifth 106), Jeydon Wilson (fifth 152), Sawyer McCready (fifth 138) and Wesley Thompson (sixth 145) also placed for Concord.

Bow senior Nick Wray pinned Keene’s Alexavier Waters in the third period of the finals to claim the crown at 145 pounds. Wray was the top performer for the fifth-place Falcons.

Moura (third 120), Hollis Jones (third 195), Jackson Hall (third 182), Joe McDowell (fourth 170), Josiah Funches (sixth 160) and Ben McDowell (sixth 152) also placed for the Bow.

Deltyn Williams (182) and Stephen Johnston (170) finished fifth, and Alex Descoteau (195), Isaac Coker (285) and Lukas Boulanger (220) finished sixth to place for John Stark.

Dylan Selby (152) and Colby Cummings (220) both finished third for Kearsarge.