Northeast wrestlers shows resilience with rare back-to-back Public League championships over Central
“It felt amazing,” said Northeast senior Xavier Rivera, who competes at 152 pounds. “The best thing ever is that we’ll be known as that team to do it. We’re that team.”
It was a trend the Northeast wrestling team wanted to buck. No matter how hard they tried, the Vikings could not beat Central to win back-to-back Public League wrestling championships. Not in 2014. Not in 2016.
The alternating titles began in 2012 with Central taking the crown. Then, from 2013 through 2017, the teams took turns hoisting the championship trophy.
Then came the 2018-19 championship match last month, and Northeast turned the tables. With both teams boasting three championships in the previous six years, the Vikings tripped Central, 33-32, to win their second straight title and upend the alternating format.
“It felt amazing,” said Northeast senior Xavier Rivera, who competes at 152 pounds. “The best thing ever is that we’ll be known as that team to do it. We’re that team.”
Despite the groundbreaking victory, the championship match was like deja vu for the Vikings. They had also edged the Lancers by one point, 33-32, last year after the match was decided when officials calculated tiebreakers. This year, both teams won seven of the 14 bouts, but Northeast won by having one more technical fall.
In the last bout of the 2018-19 championship, junior 113-pounder Enmanuel Santana pinned Central freshman Joe Martini to give the Vikings their fourth straight win to end the match. But, before Santana’s big victory, the Vikings had to battle back from a 20-point deficit.
Senior 220-pounder Jameel Coles started the comeback when he beat Lancers senior Charles Livingston with the decisive technical fall. Then came the most important bout of the comeback, said Northeast coach Mike Siravo. Vikings sophomore 285-pounder Amara Yobouet beat Central junior Rufat Kupa, 9-7, in overtime to cut the lead to 32-20.
“If we would have lost that match, it would’ve been impossible to win,” Siravo said. “When we won the overtime match, that really set the stage for the final two guys.”
Vikings junior 106-pounder Ryan Ponce pinned Central sophomore Karson Quan. Then Santana’s pin sealed the victory.
“When they announced we won, we just got happy and overjoyed,” Santana said. “It was like one of the happiest days of our life right there.”
Northeast advanced to the District 12 Class 3A Duals at Franklin Towne Charter last week, but the Vikings fell short. They finished third in the districts with losses to Father Judge in the finals and Archbishop Ryan in the second-place match.
Northeast held an early lead against Judge, but the Vikings lost eight of the last 11 bouts to end the match. In their match against Archbishop Ryan, the Vikings put themselves in a hole by falling behind, 38-18. Northeast reeled off victories in three of the last four bouts, but the lead was too large to overcome.
Siravo said the finish was disappointing, but he gave his team credit for battling against Judge and Ryan.
“They’re really tough in the lower weights and middle weights,” Siravo said. “We wrestled hard, but we weren’t able to get any points.”
Next up are the Public League individual championships at Southern on Friday and Saturday.