The Phoenix spent the night in South Windsor, CT (Thank you Team Ingalls!), before making the short drive to Enfield on Saturday morning to compete in the 20th annual Doug Parker Invitational Wrestling Tournament.  This tournament features some of the top public schools in CT as well as many New England Prep Schools and has always been a wonderful opportunity for Hyde School.  Hyde School was well represented at the tournament and each of the wrestlers had a standout performance.

There were several “matches of the day” worth mentioning:  Alex Merkin earned a tough come from behind win, down by 5 or 6 points in the third period before locking up a cradle to score a pin with time running out.  Tierra Williams wrestled an outstanding match against her Northfield - Mt. Hermon opponent, winning with a pin in the second period.   Mike Ingalls squared off against a very accomplished Tabor Academy post grad in the semi finals and lost on a takedown in overtime.  It was a great match and the victory came down to one small mistake by Mike.  I guarantee he won’t make that one again, and should there be a rematch, I also guarantee it will be one to watch.

By far, the Wrestler of the Day for Hyde had to be senior 285 Tyler Works.  As mentioned, Tyler won his first match ever on Friday night against Williston Northhampton.  On Saturday, he entered the Doug Parker tournament unseeded (and currently the backup heavyweight on Hyde’s team).  Tyler proceeded to fire off two big wins by pin, one against Belmont Hill School (the top ranked Prep team in New England)!  In the championship semi finals, Tyler lost a tough match to the eventual runner up from Killingly High in CT, though he wrestled well and didn’t stop trying to score despite his opponent’s considerable weight advantage.  In the wrestle backs, Tyler once again faced his Williston Northhampton opponent from Friday night, and once again locked up the victory with a pin.  In the consolation finals, Tyler wrestled a tough opponent from The Middlesex School and ended up in fourth place despite a great match.  Tyler’s fourth place finish was outstanding for a guy wrestling in the first matches of his career.  What is more outstanding about Tyler is his learning attitude and his great improvement from match to match.  The wrestle off in the Gary Kent Wrestling Center is going to be a barn burner!

At the time of this report, tournament results were unavailable.  I will send those along when I receive them.

Hyde School Wrestlers:

103     Zoe Dorian        1-1, withdrew due to inclement weather

130     Alex Merkin      2-1, withdrew due to inclement weather

135     Tierra Willaims  1-2, dnp

140     Luke Locatell    1 - 2, dnp

152     Ryan Sunshine   1 - 2, dnp - outstanding job in his first matches!

160     Alex Demarco   1 - 2, dnp

215     Mike Ingalls      3-2, 4th place in toughest weight class in tournament

285     Tyler Works     3-2, 4th place

The Phoenix return to action on January 13th, hosting Phillips Exeter in a tough Class A League matchup in the Gary Kent Wrestling Center in Bath.