2nd ANNUAL
BRENDAN GRANT WRESTLING TOURNAMENT

Held Saturday, 4 January 2003 in Belmont, MA


The Second Annual Brendan Grant Wrestling Tournament was held at Belmont High School all day on Saturday 4 January 2003.  Wintry weather greeted all participants and supporters for this particular tournament, and despite the challenges of the weather, the event was a great success.

This year the format was similar to that of last year's, when seventeen high school teams were invited to this extensive tournament.  The invited teams were from the following New England area high schools: Arlington MA, Belmont MA (host team), Belmont Hill MA, Catholic Memorial MA, East Providence RI, Hamilton-Wenham MA, Hingham MA, Lexington MA, Malden MA, Marlboro MA, Melrose MA, Nashua NH, New Bedford MA, Newton North MA, Savio Prep MA, Wakefield MA, and Wellesley MA.  All the team scores and winners brackets can be found on the Belmont Wrestling Website.

As a fact that all attendees will likely long remember, heavy winter weather cast a significant snowfall across the greater Boston metropolitan area Friday night into Saturday, with Belmont right on the rain/snow dividing line.  Communities to the South received only rain, while Northward the snowfall measured well over a foot.  The tournament site itself in Belmont received about 6 inches of the slushy mix.  As a result, the contending teams from Marlboro, MA and Nashua, NH were unable to attend, although individual wrestlers from Marlboro did make it and subsequently placed in the final matches.  The team from Brookline MA joined at the last minute and brought the final number of full competing teams back to sixteen.   Despite the cancellation of many other local events on this day, the tournament was never in question, and this in itself serves as testimony to the hearty will and fortitude that wrestlers are known for.

At the end of the day, the first place winners in each weight class were as follows: 103 - Rollie Peterkin, Wellesley; 112 - Mike Petralia, Wakefield; 119 - Mike Abel, Catholic Memorial; 125 - Matt Martin, East Providence; 130 - Kevin Mahoney, Savio Prep; 135 - Kevin Doyle, Catholic Memorial; 140 - Greg Kahn, Hingham; 145 - Greg Amoroso, East Providence; 152 - Scott Lashmit, Marlboro; 160 - John Ferrante, Hingham; 171 - Mazen Hunedy, Belmont; 189 - Greg Diamond, Wellesley; 215 - Tom Cloonan, Newton North; 275 - Ron Slayman, Wellesley; and Heavyweight - Matthew Martin, East Providence.

The most successful team at the tournament this year was Newton North.  The final overall team scores at the end of the tournament, in terms of total team points, were as follows: 1) Newton North - 162;  2) Belmont Hill - 152;  3) Hingham - 148;  4) New Bedford - 147;  5) Catholic Memorial - 127;  6) Melrose - 114;  7) Savio Prep - 111.5;  8) Wellesley - 109;  9) East Providence - 105;  10) Wakefield - 94;  11) Belmont - 68;  12) Brookline - 65;  13) Arlington - 58;  14) Lexington - 51;  15) Marlboro - 25; and   16) Malden - 15.

Previously referred to as the Belmont Invitational Wrestling Tournament, this event has for the last 22 years been one of the premier High School Wrestling gatherings of its kind in the Northeast region.   Brendan Grant was a devoted member of the Tournament's host wrestling squad during all four of his high school years, and during the 1999-2000 season he was one of the team captains that led the squad to one of their more successful seasons in years.

Overall, this year's invitational tournament event was once again a great success.