BY MATT STOUT

As the Daniel Gionet Memorial Tournament kicked off on Saturday, Jan. 13, 11 teams packed their wrestlers, coaches, parents and fans inside the Pelham High gymnasium. Yet, for Pelham coach Derek Warshafsky and his Pythons, the day was “a fresh of breath air.”

After struggling through the early part of season without some of its top wrestlers, Pelham placed sixth among a competitive field of mostly Division II schools. D.J. Sweeney took home the individual title at 125 pounds to lead the team, while freshman Mike Peruccio placed third at 103 pounds and junior captain Billy Sullivan finished fourth at 130 pounds.

As importantly, Warshafsky said he got a number of strong performances from his younger wrestlers, a group he’s had to lean on through the first month and a half of the season; injuries have claimed several of his top performers. Besides Peruccio, R.J. Riddinger and Phil McColgan also enjoyed solid days, Warshafsky said.

Hollis-Brookline took first at the tournament with 209.5 points. John Stark took second with 146 points, and White Mountains finished fourth with 120 points. Pelham, with 89 points, beat Souhegan, Franklin and Winnisquam among New Hampshire teams.

“I think we took a step forward,” Warshafsky said. “We’ve been struggling and my younger guys wrestled well, and Billy Sullivan wrestled real well. He only had two losses and one was in overtime and one was real close (in a 5-2 loss).”

Also perking up the spirits of the Pythons was the news that senior 152-pounder Mike D’Avanzo is set to return this week after missing nearly a month with an ankle injury.

The immediate future is unclear, however, on sophomore 145-pounder Bruce Vieira, who has missed the majority of the season with a broken clavicle. Warshafsky said Vieira’s expected return date is very close to Feb. 17, the day of the Division II championships.

“It’s tough early in the season to rely on young kids,” said Warshafsky, whose team owns a 5-3 dual-meet record. “They’re wrestling better now so it’s making it easier.”

Tourney notes

The tournament, in its third year, according to Warshafsky, was named in honor of the Pelham native and 23-year-old Army specialist killed during a tour of duty in Iraq earlier this summer. Gionet helped start the Pythons wrestling team prior to his 2001 graduation from Pelham High.
Members of the champion Hollis-Brookline team gave the first-place trophy to the Gionet family.