It’s been a season of revitalization for Rye’s wrestling squad as they enter the new year. Despite a challenging schedule that included numerous ranked opponents, the Garnets continued to post strong numbers in their early season tournaments and have garnered positive momentum for the regular season.
After posting a 4-1 record at Rye’s own Bernie Miller tournament in mid-December, the team advanced to the section quarterfinals for the first time in over 10 years at the Carlucci Duals Invitational, hosted by Port Chester High School at SUNY Purchase, going 5-0 in the first half of the tournament. Senior and football state champion Thomas Anderson grabbed a win over last year’s third-ranked wrestler Ruben Gray out of Peekskill, and senior Eamon Bagely won against another ranked opponent from Tappan Zee.
Rye wrestling coach Brian Scher, in his third season with the team, was pleased with the team’s early performance, but especially impressed with how younger talent had stepped up in a big way.
“I’m proud of the underclassmen and the freshman class in particular. They’ve really shined in the early part of the season,” he said.
Sophomore C.J. Luth and freshman Gabriel Chared-Sandstrom, for example, have combined for a 34-3 start to the season in their combined matchups, and all three of those losses were to top-ranked opponents in New York state. Other underclassmen off to strong starts include sophomore Ari Bisogni and another football state champion, sophomore Hunter Gillies, as well as freshmen Ewan Jones and Danny Huyhua.
“My assistant coaches have nicknamed our freshman ‘the puppies’ this season,” Scher said, “but they’ve been more like pit bulls so far this year.”
The team hopes to continue their winning ways this season, as they head into the “individual” portion of their schedule against John Jay, Sleepy Hollow, and Eastchester high schools this month.