Fishburne Military School Wrestlers Take 4 State Medals, Send 3 to Nationals

Four Fishburne Wrestlers medal at State Championships, three advance to National Tournament

Richmond, VA —  Fishburne Military School Wrestling had an exceptional weekend at the VISAA State Wrestling Tournament, in Richmond Va last weekend. Mathew Farrar (Waynesboro, VA), Tyler Allen (Weyers Cave, VA), Silvio Dionisotti (Sudbury, MA) and Levi Smith (Fayetteville, NC) led the way for the Caissons, each earning a medal in their weight class.

Smith, a sophomore wrestling at 113 lbs., opened the tournament for FMS with a disappointing 4-3 loss but bounced back to win four matches and earn his way into the medal rounds. Smith then won his 5th straight match before falling short in a decision to take Sixth-place in the state.

Junior Mathew Farrar, at 145 lbs., opened his tournament with a first-period pin and would go on to pin his next two opponents, advancing to the Saturday morning semi-finals.  In the semi-final round, Farrar dropped a hard-fought 7-4 decision but would bounce back with a pin and 5-3 decision to claim Third-place in the state.

Senior Tyler Allen, at 146 lbs., opened the Friday action with a first-period pin. Allen would pin his next two opponents and advance to the semi-final where he dropped a highly controversial match in overtime. Coach Terry Waters, VIC Coach of the Year, noted that “Tyler had beaten the same kid earlier in the season and it was once again a close match. I think the official missed a crucial call, but those things happen.” Allen recovered from that loss by pinning his next opponent and then pulling out a thrilling 6-4 win. Allen scored a take down with 8 seconds left in that match and claimed Third-place in the state.

Sophomore Silvio Dionisotti, wrestling at 285 lbs., opened his tournament with a quick pin. Dionisotti then held the lead in his quarter-final match before getting pinned. “Silvio got careless and I think was looking ahead to the semi-finals. He had beaten the same wrestler two weeks earlier,” Waters noted. But, Silvio would not lose again, using a late-period take down to win his next match and then pinning his next two opponents (including Hargrave) to advance to the consolation finals. There he had a rematch and chance for revenge against his quarter-final opponent. Dionisotti recorded a 6-2 decision and claimed Third-place in the State.  In doing so, Silvio punched his ticket to join Allen and Farrar in to the National Prep Championships at Lehigh University.

The winning wasn’t over for Fishburne Military School, however. The Caissons also brought home a Team Award for Exemplary Performance by a Mid-Sized School.

Waters reflected later, “Over all, the entire team wrestled well, falling just one match short of a state medal were Jacob Fincham (Fredericksburg, VA), Jacob Randall (Stafford, VA) and Bo Branham (Fishersville, VA). Bringing home a team award was exactly that, an entire team effort. It’s the first time in school history, to my knowledge that the wrestling program earned team recognition at the state tournament.”

Major Bryan Greene, FMS Athletic Director, praised Waters and the Fishburne Wrestlers explaining, “This Caissons Wrestling team essentially just won the DII State Championship. Although there are no official divisions in wrestling, Fishburne Military School was the highest-finishing DII school at the State Tournament.”

Waters and the Caissons Wrestler aren’t getting hung up on the semantics, however. They still have work to do and have already shifted complete focus to preparing fully for the National Prep Championships. The 2017 National Prep Wrestling Tournament will be held Friday and Saturday February 24-25, 2017 at Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University.

“National preps will be very very tough … it’s the best private school wrestlers in the country with the top schools in the country being represented there. I am as proud of this team as of any that I have coached over the last 40 years.”

Fishburne Military School is the oldest and smallest of all military schools for boys in Virginia. Its college-prep curriculum is built upon the structure of an Army JROTC program. FMS is designated as a JROTC Honor Unit with Distinction and may nominate qualified candidates to the United States Service Academies. Fishburne hosts one of only four Summer JROTC programs in the nation, accredited by US Army Cadet Command. For more information visit www.fishburne.org.