Printer Friendly Version - Walsh Wrestling Reaches 100-Win Milestone

The Walsh Intermediate School wrestling team recorded win No. 100 in program history by posting a victory against Ledyard last month. Head Coach Tom Ermini’s squad now gets ready for a packed schedule of matches throughout the rest of the season. Photo courtesy of Jenn McCulloch

The Walsh Intermediate School wrestling program has continued its winning ways in the 2017 season as the team earned its 100th win in program history with a victory over Ledyard on Dec. 12. Coach Tom Ermini, now in his 11th year at the head of the program, is thrilled with his team’s success.

“It’s nice to know we’ve done so well on a consistent basis. One-hundred wins is kind of overwhelming and makes me think, ‘How long have I been doing this?’” said Ermini. “The kids were really excited. We’ve now won our first seven dual-meets, as well as the East Haven Holiday Tournament.”

In addition to the team reaching the 100-win (and counting) milestone, 8th-grade captain Gianni Liguori broke the school record for career victories by earning a win against Wilson. The previous record was 74, and Liguori now holds 85 wins to date. Liguori lost in the state finals when he was in 6th grade, but then won the state championship in his division last year.

“It’s hard for people to understand that number, but he’s averaged 20 wins a year since 5th grade,” Coach Ermini said of Liquori. “The big question now is if he’ll get to 100, and that’ll be something. He’s really something special.”

Despite having its first two meets of January canceled due to snow, Walsh’s calendar is packed for the rest of the season. In addition to practices and meets, the Walsh wrestling team also supports the Branford High School wrestling team, and many of the high school wrestlers have come back to watch Walsh compete.

“It’s starting to help the transition, and we’re starting to see much more of a bridge between the two programs,” said Ermini. “We have to have kids who want to keep going. The kids are seeing what they do before they get to high school is going to help them a lot later on, because the sport doesn’t change. By learning now, we’re seeing a lot start as varsity wrestlers their first or second year in high school.”

Ermini also runs his practices in a similar way to the high school program by hosting wrestle-offs to win a spot on the mat during meets. He not only likes that it helps the athletes be more prepared for high school, but that it also rewards hard work with more time competing on the mat.

In addition to stacking up the wins and building the bond between the middle school and high school teams, Ermini has also seen his program’s popularity continue to increase. This year, for the first time, Ermini had to hold tryouts as nearly 80 students came out for the team with 40 making the roster. When Ermini started in 2007, there were 13 athletes on the team. Now, athletes from that first group are graduating from college.

Another key component to the program’s success is the support it receives from the wrestlers’ families, the community, the school and administration, as well as assistant coaches Tony Le and Max Warner. This was the second year that Walsh hosted the Duals on Damascus, a full day of wrestling that saw five schools and about 150 wrestlers compete on four mats.

“That is our largest fundraiser and is going to pay annually for the kids to have their warmups and apparel to take the burden off of the parents,” said Ermini, who is in his first year teaching at Walsh. “We had a lot of parent involvement and so much support from the community and local businesses like Campus Customs and Hornets Nest. A lot of people came together to make it a positive experience.”

Making the experience even more positive was that Walsh took wins over the four visiting teams that day: East Haven, East Hartford, Berlin, and Haddam-Killingworth. The H-K match was the closest of the day, and Walsh needed pins to pull off the win. Walsh came up big with three pins in a row, including Drew Schwartz in the 152-pound weight class, Logan Linley at 160, and Billy DellaCamera at 175—a comeback that was “awesome,” according to Coach Ermini.

At the East Haven Holiday Tournament, Walsh saw some of its toughest competition of the season as Newtown joined the tournament this year. Newtown is the state’s largest youth wrestling program with more than 100 athletes. Despite the challenges, Walsh took first place at the meet.

“Newtown has a lot of really talented kids who have wrestled for year, and I can’t teach experience, but it’s nice to get those challenges early in the year,” Ermini said. “I want our kids to get those tough matches. It’s what’s going to make you better.”

Just before the holiday break, Walsh hosted East Haven under the mat lamp in front of a record-breaking crowd. Ermini loved seeing many of his former students at the match to support the program, and he hopes to continue drawing crowds at the team’s upcoming meets.

“I cannot believe how many kids showed up. It was really packed in front of the mat, which was exciting for me and for the kids,” said Ermini. “The support here is really starting to grow at the school. January is going to be awesome, so I’m looking forward to that and what goes on from there.”