Johnston Youth Wrestling travels to Maine for Marshwood Invitational

Johnston Sun Rise ·

It seems that no stage is too tough – or large – for the well-organized and coached Johnston Youth Wrestling team.

That theory surfaced eight-fold, in fact, as eight of 11 Johnston wrestlers won awards in the highly-competitive Marshwood Invitational Tournament in Portland, Maine.

“This is a tournament with over 1,000 youth wrestlers,” John Antonucci, the JYW’s head coach, offered. “Because youth wrestlers come from many states, the tourney is held in Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.”

Given that, Johnston wrestlers fared well, with Nick Baccala landing a first-place finish in his age and weight category.

Likewise, four other Johnston wrestlers – Dylan Martins, Alex Morin, Owen Polofskly and Zachary Berardis – all took home impressive runner-up awards. Three additional JYW entrants also had impressive showings, as Logan Martins and Preston Marshesseault both placed third and Sean Lavoie came in fourth.

“It was very awe-inspiring to see our young wrestlers in such a large venue,” Antonucci noted. “After all, they competed in high school gyms in Rhode Island during our regular season.”

Antonucci, who doubles as assistant wrestling coach at Johnston High, said “This is a very exciting trip for our kids. The club actually makes a fun overnight weekend at the Marshwood Invitational that’s recognized as one of the top youth events in the Northeast.”

The Johnston Youth Wrestling team, which is also coached by Roland Martino, Jay Baccala, Brett Polofsky, Paul Berardis and Peter Marchessault, traveled to Maine last Friday afternoon for the official tournament weigh-in and bracket assignments in a number of weight and age divisions.

Then, it’s off to a unique team dinner that Antonucci and JYW President Lisa Baccala said “is a valuable and fun-bonding experience for all our wrestlers.”

Moreover, because of the grueling day-long tourney schedule Saturday that extended into the evening hours, many parents that accompanied their youth wrestlers chose to stay overnight then head back to Johnston Sunday.

The entire JYW team included: Nicholas Baccala, Dylan Martins, Alex Morin, Joseph Castellone, Xander Polofsky, Owen Polofsky, Logan Martins, Sean Lavoie, Zachary Berardis, Preston Marschesseault and Kyle Almeida.

“We are pleased to have such well-behaved and respectful kids in our program,” Lisa Baccala said upon the JYW team’s return. “All of our kids have great parents who provide them important opportunities like competing in out-of-state tournaments like this.”