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Canton wrestles tough but still falls to Avon

CANTON, Feb. 1 — Short on bodies due to illnesses, the Canton High wrestling team gave up 30 points before the first match began thanks to five forfeits in a 54-29 loss to defending NCCC champion Avon.
On the mat, Canton actually outscored the Falcons, 29-24 with four pins and a tech fall. Would Canton have won all five bouts if they had been held? It’s hard to say. The only thing for sure is that Avon had a 30-point advantage this evening.

Canton’s Rich Jones (160) earned his team-leading 26th win with his victory over Avon’s Ryan Pearson but he had to work for it. Pearson got the first two takedowns of the match to take a 4-1 lead. Late in the first period, Pearson turned Jones to his back to take a 8-3 lead. But Jones (26-2) rallied to tie the match at 8-8 and pin Pearson in 2:18.

Canton’s Steve Carpenter (125) improved to 23-2 with a first period pin while teammate Nate Getler (135) improved to 22-2 with a pin in less than a minute. Matt Grisevich (130) also had a pin and raised his record to 20-5. Matt White (119) won by technical fall to raise his record to 18-2.

The Warriors (6-15, 1-4 NCCC) actually had an 18-0 lead after three matches but forfeited five of the final 11 bouts and won one of the remaining six matches. Avon improved to 16-4 on the year and 5-0 in the league.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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