Clippers finish second at state tournament

February 26, 2011

BIG UPSET — Cumberland High senior and two-time defending state champion Shoniel Lariviere, on bottom, struggles against East Providence’s Joao Vincenter in the finals of the 125-pound weight category at the R.I. state tournament at the Providence. Athletic Facility. Vincente pulled off a stunning 11-5 win over Lariviere.

PROVIDENCE — Defending champion Cumberland capped an uneven and perhaps snake-bitten performance at this year’s state championship meet by going 0-for-4 in Saturday night’s individual finals.
Two-time defending champion Shoneil Lariviere was upset in the 125-pound finals by East Providence’s Joao Vicente, who pulled off a stunning 11-5 win over an opponent who had pinned him last month during the dual-meet season.
That loss, coupled with the injury that knocked twin brother Shoneil out of the tournament on Friday night, sort of summed up the tournament for Cumberland, which still managed to finish second in the team race behind Warwick Veterans, a runaway champion.
Warwick held a 235-189 edge over Cumberland in the team race.
“I wrestled my heart out against Shoneil,” Vicente said after taking Lariviere down four times in their match. “I didn’t want to get hit by his cradle. Coach (Tom Galligan) told me how to avoid his headlock, too. I just worked and worked to get ready for Shoneil. He’s a great champion but I beat him tonight.”
Cumberland also lost a tough match at 189 pounds when top seed Tom Lacroix dropped a 5-4 verdict to North Kingstown’s Jason Zeramby, who built a 4-0 lead after two periods. Lacroix cut it to 4-3 early in the third period. Zeramby escaped with one minute left and fought off Lacroix’s advances while continually backing up.
The officials hit Zeramby with one stalling point to make it 5-4 with 20 seconds left in the third period. The match ended in confusion with the referees initially adding another point to Lacroix’s ledger that would have sent the bout into overtime. But after checking the rule book, they reverted to the original 5-4 result.
“It was the right call,” Cumberland coach Steve Gordon said.
The Clippers also lost two finals in which they were not favored. Freshman Cody Beadette fell by a 7-0 score to Warwick’s John Altieri at 103 and Erik Travers dropped a 7-1 decision to four-time state champion Mike Meyers at 130.
Meyers is just the third four-time champion in state history, joining Coventry’s Dan Smith and Cranston West’s Shawn Giblin in this elite club.
The Lariviere twins carved their own niche in state wrestling history, each winning two titles and showing their class this weekend by dealing with defeat in a mature fashion.
“I told Shoneil I was prouder of him for the way he handled his defeat, and congratulated the other guy, than if he had won the match,” Gordon said. “I told him that sometimes you learn more about yourself when you lose than when you win.”
The top three place winners in each weight class earned a ticket to this coming weekend’s New England championships. Cumberland’s Maccini brothers – Jon and Nick – finished third at 135 and 145.
Woonsocket got a third-place finish from Joe Rodriguez at 215 pounds. Rodriguez edged Ponaganset’s Nathan Gould 3-1 in the third-place final.
Lincoln’s Nick Zicuis also advanced to the New Englands. He wrestled in last night’s 215 final. That match ran past our deadline and will appear in Monday’s sports section.
***
R.I. STATE MEET
Championship finals
103 – John Altieri (Warwick) def. Cody Beaudette (Cumb) 7-0
112 – Matia Alverez (Hendricken) def. Nathan Colicci (Warwick) 7-1
119 – Jacob Burrows (E.P.) def. Anthony Meyers (Warwick) 10-2
125 – Joao Vicente (E.P.) def. Shoneil Lariviere (Cumb) 11-5
130 – Mike Meyers (Warwick) def. Erik Travers (Cumb) 7-1
135 – Ricondo Cole (C.W.) def. Andrew Labrie (EWG) 12-3
140 – Everett Desilets (C.W.) pinned Vinny Venticinque (Warwick) 1:28
145 – Stephen Jarrell (E.G.) def. Ryan Mclarney (Hendricken) 11-5
152 – Michael Guadiano (Johnston) def. Alex Pratt (C.W.) 4-3
160 – Mike Georges (La Salle) def. Jared Burrows (E.P.) 5-3
171 – Nick Salois (Warwick) def. Dan Reiss (S.K.) 7-6
189 – Jason Zeramby (N.K.) def. Tom Lacroix (Cumb) 5-4
Third-place finals
103 – Adrian Collumn (C.E.) def. Katelyn Bouyssou (C.W.) 8-2
112 – Brett Lesseur (C.W.) def. Alex DAloisio (Lincoln) 5-0
119 – Mike Murphy (N.P.) def. Cody Brown (Westerly) 4-1
125 – Derek Adams (Chariho) def. Devin Hurst (Warwick) 7-2
130 – Christian Labrie (EWG) pinned Kody Nordby (Woon) 3:52
135 – Jon Maccini (Cumb) def. Justin Caparco (Johnston) 4-2
140 – Eli Wolfang (La Salle) def. Dan Duffy (S.K.) 8-4
145 – Nick Maccini (Cumb) def. Dante Vita (Warwick) 10-4
152 – Bailey Ziobro (Mt. Hope) def. George Schmeider (Warwick) 2-0
160 – Vance Dewey (Chariho) def. Kyle Aubin (Hendricken) 17-6
171 – Brett Peltier (Hendricken) def. Chris Cole (Chariho) 8-6
189 – Carl Neff (EWG) def. Jeff Techinten (Hendricken) 3-1
215 – Joseph Rodriguez (Woonsocket) def. Nathan Gould (Ponaganset) 2-1
285 – Nick Barrett (La Salle) won by disqualification over Pearce Thompson (Warwick)