Winchester Wrestler Gets a Better Chance

The following was submitted by Winchester parent Phillip Stern.

Winchester Wrestler, Cam Horsey, is having a great season, winning 33 matches against only six losses.

This is quite an accomplishment for someone who had never even heard of wrestling before he came to in 2009.  

Horsey is from Atlanta, where he lives with his family during the summer, but for the last four years, he has attended Winchester High School through.

He joined the wrestling team as a freshman and impressed with his speed and strength, but with stellar big men like Andrew Moranian (fourth at All-States) and Gregg Kelley (second at New Englands) ahead of him in the lineup, Horsey didn’t get many matches the first two years. As a junior he got his chance as a starter. He amassed a decent record of 13 wins and 15 losses, wrestling some matches at 189 pounds and others at 215.

At the end of last season, Horsey was selected co-captain of this year’s team, and he has stepped up big time. He started the season stronger, leaner, faster and meaner, and is wrestling with more skill and experience.

Wrestling at 170 pounds, Horsey has 17 pins out of his 33 wins. Horsey placed in all three tournaments the team went to this year: , fourth at , and seventh at the prestigious 50-team Lowell Holiday tournament. 

Horsey leads by example and the team counts on him for the win in the big match. A ferocious competitor while wrestling, Horsey is soft-spoken off the mat. In addition to being an exceptional wrestling talent, he is also a superb writer.  

Of all his interests, he is probably most passionate about writing and poetry.

Horsey won both his matches on Saturday. Jordan Darby, Nick Stern, Nick Cashion, Joe Fallon, and Tristan Hardy also went 2-0 at Marlborough, while Steve Spry won all three of his matches. In addition, some new faces got varsity experience. Billy Christopher pinned his 113-pound opponent from Hudson, Mario DeLeon beat the Marlborough 170-pounder by tech fall, and Rayvoughn Millings lost a tough match at 152 to Peter Wambolt of Marlborough.

Horsey won an exciting match at 170 pounds against Tim Curtin-White, also of Milford. Curtin-White is ranked No. 4 in Massachusetts and won two tournaments this year, but again the Winchester wrestler scored a quick takedown to take the lead. In the second period, Curtin-White managed a takedown against the lightning fast Horsey and took a 4-3 lead.  

Horsey started the third period down and worked hard for an escape. Curtin-White couldn’t keep him down and gave up a penalty point for locked hands and then an escape to give Horsey a one-point lead. In the final 20 seconds, Horsey fought off two desperate takedown attempts by Curtin-White and emerged victorious, as he has so many times this year.

Three More Wins

The wrestling team went 3-0 at the Marlborough Six-Team Meet on Saturday, Jan. 27. They defeated Milford 44-18, Marlborough 50-13, and Hudson 31-15. Winchester wrestlers won 24 out of 33 matches and improved the team record to 25-1. In spite of all that success, Winchester left the Marlborough gymnasium feeling disappointed because the day’s wrestling was stopped before a long-anticipated rematch between Winchester and St. John’s Prep.

Winchester is ranked No. 4 in the state with a 25-1 record, while St John’s Prep is ranked No. 7 with a record of 28-1. Both teams dominated their opponents in the first three meets and tension was building for the premier event of the day. Last year’s competition between these two powerhouse teams ended in a 34-34 tie and both teams were excited about this year’s rematch.

At 3 p.m., the Marlborough Athletic Director informed participants that the gym was closing as the custodial staff was only being paid to work up to that hour. The eager wrestling fans offered to take up a collection for overtime, but the mats were rolled up and the wrestlers and fans were sent home wondering which team would have won. It was like turning off the stadium lights with a football game tied in the fourth quarter because the game took longer than planned.

Despite a sour end to the day, there were some excellent matches before they rolled up the mats. Joe D’Amico got a rare opportunity to wrestle at 132 when Coach Tremblay decided to bump co-captain Nick Cashion up to 138 against Milford.  D’Amico electrified the crowd with a gutsy victory over #8 ranked Mark Pinto, who finished 3rd in the D2 States last year. D’Amico scored first with a takedown, and then built up a 9-3 lead in the second period with two more takedowns and a near fall. Pinto came storming back in the 3rd period with an escape, a takedown and a near fall, but D’Amico held on for a 10-8 victory.

There is one dual meet remaining against Woburn on Wednesday. Then the state tournaments begin with the Division 2 North Sectionals on Saturday, Feb. 4.

The Sachems are working and hoping for a high finish in the post-season.