Wrestling Programs Still Going Strong

In early March, two local Rhode Island middle school champions won their New England Wrestling titles, as they defeated the best in New England, while two high school wrestlers plan to take on the nation.

James Sauro and Chris Storti, eighth graders at Narragansett Pier School, won the 147 pound and 190 pound weight classes respectively. A handful of other youths also placed or wrestled well in the New Englands.

NHS freshman Alex Millen and sophomore Michael Gallagher will take part in the High School Coaches National Tournament in Virginia Beach, Virginia during the last week of March.

Sauro is the Rhode Island USA wrestling champion and beat Ian Austin of Mountain Valley, ME, 6-4 in the semi-finals. It was his third match of the day, with Sauro beating Andrew D’Amic of New Farifield, CT en route to the finals. D’Amic was the Connecticut champion and Sauro defeated him 9-3.

Storti is the Rhode Island USA wrestling Champion and beat the Connecticut runner-up, Andrew Craig of Meridan, by a pin in the first period. In the third and final match of the day for Storti, he defeated the 190 pound Connecticut champion, Noah Cruz, of Bristol, by a 5-0 decision.

Locally, several other past and present members of the South County Youth Wrestling Club did well in the New Englands. Nate Williams, Cameron Anderson, and Alex Storrs all placed third at their respective weight classes. Montaner Fressilli placed fourth, and Matt Lindenberg and Joshua Monteiro placed fith in New England. Jackson Bridge, Jaydon Olivier, Brady Ianneilli, Cole McGill, and Tyler Duckworth all wrestled well Sunday.

Millen, the Rhode Island freshman 220 pound state champion, will test himself against other freshman from across the United States. While Alex wrestled well all year, it was against mainly seniors that he had a 33-12 record.

Gallagher, the varsity state runner-up at 160 pounds, will compete in the sophomore nationals at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Gallagher is one of the leaders of Narragansett High School wrestling and went 45-2 this year.

Release courtesy of Mike Millen, the father of Alex Millen, and the coach of the Pier School wrestlers and the athletic director of the school.

HSTN Will Capture Action at 23^rd Annual NHSCA National High School Wrestling Championships

EASTON, PA – The High School Television Network will be producing a live webcast of the 23^rd Annual NHSCA National High School Wrestling Championships in Virginia Beach, VA from March 28 to April 1 on NHSCA.com.

 According to Mike Millen, Gallagher should be on Wednesday's telecast, Alex Millen and Gallagher should be on Thursday's, and if they excel, hopefully both will wrestle Friday. Several Chariho and other Rhode Island wrestlers will also be competing.

The High School Television Network will perform a live webcast on all 28 mats at High School Nationals for all divisions for a full event pass (5 days) of $24.99. Day passes can be purchased for $9.99 per day. 

“We are proud to come back to the NHSCA’s High School Nationals for the 3^rd consecutive year. We plan to webcast every bout live so thousands of parents, friends, and coaches will be able to watch wrestling live as it is happening. With the technology we’re able to webcast every mat live at one time which is unheard of in this industry,” Bobby Ferraro, Executive Director of the NHSCA said.

“We are pleased to have them back for this year’s event. Last year, we received great reviews from parents who were unable to make the trip down to Virginia Beach, but were still able to watch their sons wrestle live at work or at home.   Viewers can navigate to the HSTN production by going to the front page of our website, www.nhsca.com, and click on the scrolling banner or on the press release under Headlines.”

Full Pier School Wrestling Team Approved

At the Narragansett School Committee meeting Wednesday night, a full Pier School wrestling team was approved by a 5-0 vote.

According to Millen, the team cost will range from $2,000 to $3,000 each year. The funds will not come from the existing school budget – Instead, the team will fundraise and pay its own way.

Millen also noted that the team would balance out the female and male athlete numbers at the Pier School. Currently, for winter sports, boys' basketball is the only male option, whereas girls have basketball and cheerleading. He said he didn't anticipate any issues with gym space.

For the past decade, the Pier School has not competed in team competitions. Instead, up to three wrestlers were allowed to compete at individual and state tournaments.

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