East Longmeadow's Poole preps wrestlers for championships

Feb. 6, 2013


Wilbraham & Monson Academy wrestler Joe Thibault of Southwick surpassed the 100-win milestone in January. He is 23-4 this season. Photo courtesy of Bill Wells

WILBRAHAM – Wilbraham & Monson Academy (WMA) wrestling coach Tim Poole wasn't quite sure what he was getting himself into when he took over the program this season.

However, the former collegiate All-American and East Longmeadow native knows what he's gotten into now, and he likes it.

The Titans wrapped up their regular season with a pair of wins over Deerfield Academy and Worcester Academy Wednesday, capping their season at 7-9 headed into Class A Championships at Williston Northampton School on Feb. 9.

"I was a little apprehensive about the program at the beginning of the year," Poole said. "I thought we were going to be short-staffed with kids. But we've come a long way. We have a lot of young talent on the team; probably about 50 percent of them are freshmen."

Poole thinks between four and six WMA wrestlers have a legitimate chance at placing in the top four at the Class A meet. Wrestlers who finish in the top four automatically qualify for the New England Championships.

Two of WMA's wrestlers, Joe Thibault of Southwick and Sasha Oliinyk, will be high seeds for the Class A meet and are positioned to win their respective weight class.

"Joe's had a real good year," Poole said. "He placed in both tournaments. As a captain he comes every day ready to work. The kids respect him. He's been wrestling a long time and knows the ropes."

Thibault is 23-4 this season. He reached a milestone in January by recording his 100th career win.

Oliinyk, meanwhile, has gained the reputation as one of the best wrestlers in New England. He hasn't lost since Dec. 15.

"He hasn't lost in the second half of the season, and the only reason he lost was because he came from a different style of wrestling," Poole said. "He came from freestyle, and the big thing with our wrestling is you can't lock hands like you can in freestyle. But it's hard to train somebody whose muscle memory is used to doing that. At the beginning of the season he was giving up a lot of points for locking hands."

Oliinyk is 20-3. He's the favorite to win the Class A title.

"He has an incredible work ethic. He works like a dog every day. He will do anything. And he treats everyone on the team like family," Poole said.

Kieran Summers of Springfield, Jose Velasco Pons, Ethan Qiu and Caleb Gillett have also had tremendous seasons for WMA.

Comments From Our Readers: