The Wellington Wrestling Club team recently traveled to the Citadel in Charleston, S.C., for a team competition camp. Wellington finished in second place as a team and ended with eight out of 13 wrestlers in the top three of their weight class in the camp’s final individual tournament.
One standout wrestler for Wellington at the camp was Brandon Paz, who finished with a perfect 12-0 record, defeating a South Carolina state championship winner, a sixth-place finisher from North Carolina and a state qualifier from South Carolina.
Another standout performance was given by Briar Macfarlane, who finished the camp with an 11-1 record, losing only to a two-time state champion from South Carolina in the closing seconds of the third period. Macfarlane also defeated a fourth-place state finisher from South Carolina at the tournament.
The wrestlers were given top-notch instruction from multiple Olympic and Division I college coaches, and were able to compete in nine duals and a double-elimination individual tournament on the last day of the tournament.
“We attended the wrestling camp to expand our wrestling technique, bond as a team and see some different competition,” coach Travis Gray said. “We were able to learn from Olympic coach Rob Hermann and multiple coaches and wrestlers from the Citadel, which is a top Division I wrestling school. It was a great experience for our wrestlers, and we came away with a lot of knowledge that will make us a better wrestling team.”
Second-place winner Andrew Mitchell, first-place winner Briar Macfarlane, first-place winner Brandon Paz, second-place winner Adam Pendleton, first-place winner Mathew Wunderlich, second-place winner Marcus Morin, second-place winner Christian Goss and third-place winner A.J. Lopez.
