WILLIAMSTOWN -- If Ross Jackson had it his way, all his matches would be quick.
That's the way he likes it and he proved that at Saturday's Mountie Invite. The 182-pound senior fought his way into the title bout by recording pins in his first three matches. He wasn't able to get the pin in the title round, though.
North Providence's (R.I.) Sebastian Dziadkiewicz forced Jackson to go the distance, but the Mountie was still able to get the victory on his home mat, winning 7-5.
"I don't like going six minutes," Jackson said after the final. "But I do it anyway, when I have too."
Jackson was the only Greylock wrestler to take home a title. Mitch Graves reached the title bout at 145 pounds and seventh-grader Jude Rorke advanced to the 100-pound final. Mount Everett's Bradley Lupiani was the only other Berkshire County wrestler to win a title, winning the 113-pound weight class.
The final match challenged Jackson in a way he wasn't challenged all day. Until the title bout, nobody was able to hold on past the first period. He topped Monument Mountain's Steson Moore in just 16 -- the fastest pin of the tournament -- in the first round. Before the title round, his longest match was a 52-second pin over Southwick's Blake Tetrault.
"[Dziadkiewicz] was just able to take me
The senior found a way to fight through it. It's the type of match that will benefit Jackson in the future.
"Not every match is going to be a pin," Greylock coach Ray Miro said. "You have to be able to go six minutes, and he's not used to that. At times his gas tank can be questionable.
"A match like that will help him. It helps you gain confidence."
Graves made his run to the finals in impressive fashion, as well. He recorded a pin over Colonie's Zach Bomba. His closest match was a 5-0 decision against Reed Nelson of Narragansett.
Rorke, a seventh grader, wasn't expecting to end up where he did. He entered the tournament focused on finishing in third or fourth place. He recorded two pins, including a 19-second win over Logan Symmons of Southwick.
"I was aiming for third or fourth so I was really pumped that I got to the finals and got second," Rorke said.
Rorke lost to Enrique Lopez of Colonie (N.Y.).
Overall, it was a pretty successful day for the Mounties. Seven Greylock grapplers reached the semifinals. CJ Lillie, Travis Hilchey, Dave O'Brien and Johnny Colon all earned trips to the semis. Cayman Mead finished fifth for the Mounties, who finished fourth overall as a team with 121 points. Colonie ran away with the team title, earning 209.5 points.
"Looking ahead to this tournament, I wouldn't have thought we'd have seven guys in the semis," Miro said. "Some kids wrestled real well. Johnny Colon, CJ Lillie, Jude is young so you never know what he's going to do, but those guys were really good."
With just one week left in the regular season and two weeks left until the Western Massachusetts meet, it was a good weekend to learn some lessons. Rorke was able to learn some things against tougher competition as was Colon.
Rorke said he'll be watching the tape of his matches and looking to make adjustments for the Western Mass. tournament. But overall, the Mounties are in good shape.
"I think we had a really productive day," Jackson said. "Some matches were a little iffy, but for the most part we all did really well."
To reach Sam Monroe, email
smonroe@thetranscript.com.
On Twitter: @NAT_DigitalSam
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