Wrestling Off to Strong Start

December 2, 2017

Fishburne Military School Wrestling Team Opens Season at Amherst Classic

Fishburne Military School Wrestling standout Mathew Farrar opened his senior campaign in fine fashion at the Amherst Classic. Farrar began the tournament with a first period pin and picked up a 20-6 decision in the quarterfinals.in the quarter finals. Coach Waters said, “that was a very physical match and I kept telling Mathew not to muscle with the kid as he was very strong. Mathew went upper body with him a few times but then settled down and fundamentally took the kid to school.” Farrar followed with a first period pin In the semifinals. Matthew ended another wrestler’s undefeated streak in the finals to take the gold medal, again, winning via pin fall.

Junior Silvio Dionisotti also opened his season with a first place finish starting with a pin in the first period of his opening match over. He also pinned his way through the quarterfinals and semifinals, both in the first period. In the Finals, Dionisotti found himself tied 0-0 going into the second period. Silvio got a quick reversal to go up 2-0 in route to a 10-3 decision and the Gold.

Logan Shifflett  and Jacob Fincham both  turned in a good performances with 4-1 records. Levi Smith finished 3rd and Grayson Garnett earn a 4th place finish in their respective weight classes. Tristian Difilippo and Adam Bowles both finished 5th.

“This is always a tough tournament as the competition is all 5 and 6A schools.” Waters commented, “We took our lumps at times but we competed well.”

December 9, 2017

Caissons Wrestling Travels to WV to Compete in Max Horn Border Wars.

The Fishburne Military School wrestlers traveled to Berkeley Springs, WV to do battle with some of the top teams in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. Senior Matthew Farrar and Junior Silvio Dionisotti brought home gold for the second week in a row while Junior Grayson Garnett earned a second place finish during the weekend.

Farrar won his gold medal when he put together 3 pins. Seeded first in his weight class, Farrar had a opening round bye. He saw his first action, picking up a pin in the quarterfinals. Matthew lead all the way before picking up his second pin of the tournament in the semifinals. In the finals, Farrar faced another undefeated wrestler who was seeded second in the tournament. Farrar lead 6-2 going into the last period when he continued his streak of pins to take first place. Waters said of Farrar, “Matthew wanted that pin, he was NOT satisfied with just leading, he wanted to show dominance and he did, he was focused and ready, that is the best I can come up with as he is wrestling very well, he works hard in the practice room and it shows.”

Dionisotti was also the top-seeded wrestler in his weight class. He opened with a first round bye and then picked up a first period pin in the quarter finals. In the semi finals Silvio was ahead by 4 before picking up the pin. In the Finals both wrestlers tested each others will as it was 1-1 with 5 seconds left. Dionisotti scores the takedown to take the championship in thrilling fashion. “I have been preaching to Silvio about movement and utilizing his speed.” Waters said of his heavyweight. “I saw him look over at me and I motioned to him to go, he looked at the clock saw it at 5 seconds and just hit a nice move and did a good job with the finish.”

Garnett opened his tournament with a first period pin, he then pinned in the quarter finals. In the semi finals, Garnett was tied 5-5 and went into overtime. Waters felt the second year wrestler came of age as he has never wrestled a overtime match. “I didn’t know what to expect, but we have drilled similar situations in the practice room and we told him there will come a time when you will be in this situation.” Waters said. Ten seconds into the overtime, Garnett got a take down at the edge of the mat, earning his trip to the Finals. In the Finals, Grayson was pinned, claiming the silver medal with the loss. Waters continued, “I couldn’t  be any prouder or ask any more from a wrestler then I am of Grayson this week. He wrestled better then anytime the past 2 years. When he finally puts it all together, good things are going to happen for him. he is the strongest on the team and works hard in practice.”

Junior Levi Smith lost his first match Friday then would not lose again the rest of the tournament, going on a 5 match win streak to claim the 3rd and the consolation Championship.

Senior Jacob Fincham earned the 5th place medal while 8th grader Tristian Difilippo claimed the 6th place medal.

“The kids wrestled hard after the first round, I don’t know, overall we had a poor first round, maybe it was jitters of a strange place, but they settled down and wrestled well the rest of the way. The competition was tough, but everything we do now, is geared to the end result in February.” Waters said of his team’s overall performance.

Fishburne Military School is the oldest and smallest of all military schools for boys in Virginia. Its college-prep curriculum is built on the structure of an Army JROTC program. FMS has been 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 that is accredited by US Army Cadet Command.