Watertown High School’s wrestlers got off to a strong start, beating all but one team in recent head-to-head competitions.
The Raiders beat Josiah Quincy Upper School 60-23, Triton 58-10, and Oliver Ames 54-23, while dropping the match to Cambridge Rindge & Latin, 47-30.
Leading point scorer so far is Senior Jimmy Shrestha, said Watertown Wrestling Coach Kevin Russo.
“He is 4-0 on the season in dual meets,” Russo said. “We have had solid leadership from our senior captains — Jimmy Shrestha and Hagop Shabazyan — and juniors — Nathaniel Nichols and Christian Barrett — are also starting to follow suit.”
Watertown’s lineup is a work in progress, as Russo waits to see how athletes who are injured return, and how the younger wrestlers fare.
“The younger wrestlers have really stepped it up. Freshman Ruben Kostanyan and sophomore Gavin Russo have filled in nicely. Returning seniors Zac Wolfe and Tristan Galeano help us out in the middle weights and Fahan Khan at 106 (pounds) has been competitive,” Russo said. “We have an influx of new enthusiasm from incoming freshman.”
Farhan Khan has filled in where necessary and has pulled out some wins. Freshman Colton Paul claimed two varsity victories after a strong off season. Billy Werra has been solid for the Raiders in the upper weight classes, Russo said, and Edmon Arzunyan has provided a spark in the upper middle weights.
Having had some success against some much bigger schools, Russo is pleased so far with Watertown’s performance on the mat.
“We have pinned our opponents twice as many times as we have been pinned, and if we can stay healthy and get a few of the guys back soon we should continue to be competitive,” he said.