Flashback: Plymouth Wrestlers Make Noise at New England’s

Junior Dan Moskowitz (149 pounds), seniors Shaun Cleary (141 pounds) and Nate Kittredge (174 pounds), and freshman Brandon Black (157 pounds) all secured top six finishes, with Moskowitz taking first, to earn All-New England honors at the New England Championships held at WPI last February. Defending his 2003 title, second-seeded Moskowitz received a first-round bye with a 10-2 decision over Rhode Island College’s Luke Emmons in his first bout and proceeded to the final round with a 16-2 victory over Chris Wells of Johnson and Wales. After falling to top-seeded Dan Whelen of Norwich in the first final, Moskowitz came back with a backdraw win in his second bout with Wells, setting up another match against Whelen. After taking the match 8-4, Moskowitz fought Whelen a third time in a rubber match to deterimine the true champion. The pride of Panther defending his title proved to be too much for Whelen, and Moskowitz completed his comeback with a 9-6 victory. The win earned Moskowitz his second trip to the NCAA Division III Championship, but he was regrettably unable to compete after reinjuring his shoulder during practice. Moskowitz completed his successful year with a 25-6 overall record, improving his career totals to 70-30. Another defending champion of Plymouth at 184, Kittredge earned a fourth place seed in this year’s tournament. After defeating Shaun Darrow of Southern Maine 7-0 in the first round, Kittredge fell to Trinity’s David Bucco, 12-4. He then notched three straight victories in the backdraw to reach the final bout, but it was there he fell to Bucco again, finishing fourth in his weight class with an impressive overall record of 23-5. Freshman Brandon Black proved to be the key factor for Plymouth. Entering his first New England tourney, Black earned the fourth place seed at 157 and proved his strength, winning his first two matches over Devin Pomranky of Coast Guard and Jerard Melito of Springfield. Ironically, Black suffered his first loss to the younger two-time champion Joe Moskowitz of WPI. Black would come back with two victories in the backdraw before losing to Jake Rivers of Norwich. Shaun Cleary, ranked sixth in the tournament, won his first two bouts over Kevin Boyes of Johnson and Wales and Michael Gaeta of Springfield. After being stopped in the semifinals by Trinity’s Mark Foresi, Cleary went on to capture a decision win over Roman Walsh in the backdraw. The win brought Cleary to a rematch with Gaeta, but this time was defeated, ending his bout for the title. Cleary finished the season at 21-7, and marked his career with a three-year record of 79-24. Plymouth State suffered a great loss due to the injury of senior Rick Simula, who suffered a tragic spinal injury. Simula was forced to have surgery and was unable to provide his dominance on the mat in the heavyweight class for the Panthers. “There was one point where there were only four people on the mat for practice,” said Moskowitz. “Injury played a huge factor with this season’s turnout.” It is fortunate for the team that they will be losing only one star in Cleary. With next year’s team being all veterans, the Panthers hope to be an even bigger threat come next year’s New England’s.