ECC Wrestling championship begins tonight

The fun is just beginning in Eastern Connecticut Conference wrestling.
Waterford has won the first set of battles, but the war is far from lost for programs such as Bacon Academy and Ledyard going into this weekend’s ECC championship at Waterford High School. The tournament begins tonight and continues through Saturday with the championship finals slated to begin around 4:30 p.m., that afternoon.
The championship tournament counts toward the regular season standings and even though Waterford swept through the first six matches against its Large Division foes, the Lancers still haven’t won anything yet. The same could be said for the Small Division title as Montville and Killingly have one more opportunity to decide things.
“If we’re not on our ‘A’ game, we’re not going to be challenging for anything,” Waterford coach Chris Gamble said after his now-No. 7 Lancers upset the No. 5 team in the state, Bacon, last weekend in Colchester.
“I tell my guys what really matters is the ECC and state tournament because if you go there and fall on your face, all of a sudden that (6-0) record means nothing, because you don’t have anything to show for it.”
Waterford had a battle with both Ledyard and Bacon, needing a point to move past the Colonels and two to beat the Bobcats. Bacon had it a little easier with the Colonels in handing them a 35-21 loss on Jan. 29.
“I’m just hoping that Jason’s (Ledyard coach Lanoue) premonition of what’s to come, (Ledyard) not being counted out, actually comes true,” Bacon Academy coach Mike Voiland said after his team’s loss to Waterford. “But I hope we finish ahead of them.”
Just like Gamble was telling his team that it hadn’t won anything yet, Voiland was telling his team that it hadn’t lost anything yet either.
“It’s always a battle in the ECC (Championship) and we’re just hoping to place as many guys as we can in the top four,” the coach said.
In a tournament setting, it’s not always how many weight-class championships a team take, but rather, how many wrestlers place that determines a squad’s fate.
“Last year, we only had two champions, (Ryan) Quinn and (Sean) Burgess, and we placed second above Windham and were just a few (points) away from Ledyard,” Voiland said. “I don’t see anyone dominating it this year. I think it’s pretty open.”
One thing going against Bacon is that it doesn’t have a full complement of wrestlers, as it will have a forfeit in the middle of its lineup in the 135-140 pound range.
“That’s a gimme,” Voiland said. “We realized the second week of practice that it was a hole.”
Waterford had a hole of its own last week when Reggie Allen was out due to sickness. Mental fatigue, meanwhile, could plague all the teams involved this weekend.
“Wrestling is mental and there are probably kids right now that are cashing out, because it’s a grind, (and) it’s hard to go to practice every day now,” Gamble said. “You’ve been sick, coach has been nagging you and telling you that you have to hold it together. The mental part is huge right now.”
While the Large Division will be a battle between Waterford, Ledyard and Bacon with other teams and wrestlers having their say, the Small Division championship will likely come down to Montville and Killingly.
The teams have met twice this season and on neither occasion was there a clear-cut winner, although Montville was declared the winner twice by criteria. The Indians won, 40-39, at the Killingly New Year’s duals on Jan. 3 (which didn’t count toward the league standings) and, in the regularly scheduled league match, they beat the Redmen, 34-33, at home.
Montville senior Jessica Bennett will be making her final appearance at the championship and thinks the Indians are going in with high hopes.
“Our record for the ECC Small is looking pretty good,” she said. “Generally speaking, we’re a pretty good tournament team, although this late in the season we do have a lot of injuries and illness. It should be a great tournament.”