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Vermont H.S. wrestling: 2023 state championship seeds, preview

jacob rousseau, burlington free press
·3 min read

If this year's wrestling state championships are anything like last winter's ... buckle up.

Last season Mount Anthony extended its nation-leading win streak to 33 years in a row, but in its slimmest margin since 1991 (MAU 217.5 points, Spaulding 212). This meet, hosted by Vergennes, the Patriots have just two No. 1 seeds — opposed to four a year ago. Essex leads the field with three top seeds, while Spaulding and Colchester enter with a pair.

Colchester was the top Vermont team in the Michael J. Baker Classic, a meet that included Essex and Spaulding, in mid-January. The Lakers also won the NVAC title, edging Spaulding 36-34.

The hosts also have two top seeds at 132 and 195.

But any title chances for the 53rd state tournament will have to go through Mount Anthony, which has top 3 wrestlers in 5 of 14 classes.

Vermont high school playoffs: 2023 VPA winter tournament pairings

2023 tournament schedule

Friday, Feb. 24

4 p.m.: Opening Ceremonies

4:30 p.m.: Matches begin

Saturday, Feb 25

11 a.m.: Semifinals

12:45 p.m.: Consolation matches, third- and fifth-place matches

6:15 (approximate): Start of finals

2023 tournament seeds

* - Prior state champion

106 pounds: 1. Coy Lyford*, Spaulding; 2. Mason Sheltra, Colchester; 3. Noah Markwell, Springfield; 4. Hannah Keithen, St. Johnsbury; 5. Finn McMahon, Essex.

113: 1. Cahota Lafond, Colchester; 2. Duncan Harrington, Mount Anthony; 3. Conner Meacham, Mount Abraham; 4. Thomas Given, Otter Valley.

120: 1. Devan Hemingway, Mount Abraham*; 2. Alex Sperry, Middlebury; 3. Logan Davis, Mount Anthony; 4. Camden Ayer, Champlain Valley; 5. Jaden Coppins, Colchester; 6. Austin Strang, St. Johnsbury.

126: 1. Alex Perez, Mount Anthony; 2. Trey Lee, Fair Haven; 3. Dillan Lacasse, Springfield; 4. Leo Johnson, Spaulding; 5. Tennyson Miller, Essex; 6. Karter Morey, Lyndon; 7. Logan Stearns, Vergennes.

132: 1. Eli Brace, Vergennes; 2. Avery Carl, Middlebury*; 3. Lincoln Wilcox, Otter Valley; 4. Tyler Monick, Mount Anthony; 5. Sebastian Krueger, Mount Mansfield.

138: 1. Elias Kalat, Spaulding; 2. Caleb Whitney, Otter Valley; 3. Asa Reis, Mount Anthony; 4. Kingston Cotter, Mount St. Joesph; 5. James Ripkey, Mount Mansfield; 6. Drew Best, Randolph.

145: 1. Noah Powell, Essex; 2. Matt Conant, Mount Abraham; 3. Taylor Fletcher, Mount Mansfield; 4. Shawn Gassaway, Mount Anthony; 5. Michael O'Callaghan, Colchester; 6. Quinn Smith, Harwood; 7. Carter Giles, Otter Valley; 8. Liam Robinson, Fair Haven; 9. David Rigney, Springfield; 10. John Marcellus, Spaulding.

152: 1. Anthony Matas, Essex; 2. Jordan Lavoie, Colchester; 3. Tucker Babcock, Otter Valley; 4. Spencer Boucher, Mount Anthony; 5. Max Laperle, Spaulding; 6. Colby Grout, Randolph; 7. Paityn Delong, Fair Haven; 8. Wesley Husk, Mount Abraham.

160: 1. Cam Katon, Colchester; 2. Jack Arpey, Mount Mansfield*; 3. Ozzy Alsaid, St. Johnsbury; 4. Payton Lavoie, Vergennes; 5. Chase Cram, Otter Valley; 6. Zane Cooper, Randolph; 7. Landin Larrabee, Spaulding; 8. Jacob Underhill, Champlain Valley.

170: 1. Aaron Johnson, Mount Anthony; 2. Simon Allen, Randolph; 3. Gabe Bache, Fair Haven; 4. Skylar Lamphere, Colchester; 5. Coalby Reid‐Lamonda, Spaulding; 6. Drake Felkl, Otter Valley; 7. Tyerell Lavoie, Vergennes.

182: 1. Thomas Murphy, Champlain Valley; 2. Isaac Preston, Vergennes; 3. Isaac Whitney, Otter Valley; 4. Brody Coppins, Colchester; 5. Ryan Marsden, Mount Anthony; 6. JT Wright, Burr and Burton.

195: 1. Jamison Couture, Vergennes; 2. Josh Martel, Colchester; 3. Sanat Amantayev, St. Johnsbury; 4. Simon Martin, Otter Valley; 5. Rieley Lyford, Randolph; 6. James Murphy, Mount Anthony; 7. Hunter Ferland, Springfield.

220: 1. Chris Folsom, Essex; 2. Caden Howell, Vergennes; 3. Colton Delong, Fair Haven; 4. Carson Herzfeld, Mount Anthony; 5. Keevon Parks, Otter Valley; 6. Trent Rumrill, Springfield; 7. Owen Fullerton, Colchester.

285: 1. Cole Wright, Springfield; 2. Nick Sheldrick, Middlebury; 3. Gramham Resmer, Windsor; 4. Schylar Francis, Mount Anthony; 5. Derek Li, Otter Valley; 6. Jonathan Hayward, Essex; 7. Miles Kaplan, Burr and Burton.

Become a member of the Vermont Varsity Insider Facebook group at https://bit.ly/2MGSfvX.

Contact Jacob Rousseau at JRousseau@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter: @ByJacobRousseau

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont H.S. wrestling: 2023 state championship seeds, preview