The end wrestling season is among us, but before it ends, the Londonderry wrestling team will compete in the D1 New Hampshire state tournament on Saturday, January 16. 

So far Londonderry has been one of the top teams in the state, boasting 3 top ten wrestlers in their respective weight classes for the New England region. 

Junior wrestlers David Pento and Manny Perez, along with senior Patrick O’Connor have been a big reason for why they have been competitive all season long, with all of them boasting very impressive win/loss records.

For O’Connor, he kept his goal very simple.

“My goal is to win again,” O’Connor said. 

O’Connor feels that his win would look good on both his and the team’s resume. 

“Winning would mean a lot, I would be a back-to-back champ,” O’Connor said. “It would also get a lot of team points.”

O’Connor feels his prep before matches was his biggest setback. 

“My biggest struggle was just getting my game plan right for a lot of big matches,” O’Connor said. 

O’Connor relies a lot on his skill and technique and expects to do the same during the tournament. 

“Some of my biggest strengths are my boots and getting pins on top,” O’Connor said, “I will need to use that to my advantage to get points and pins this weekend.” 

For Pento, his goal is to win every match and learn from past mistakes to continue improving.

“I’m going to go into d1s and win by pin or technical fall for every match,” Pento said. “I know if I stay dominant and keep working on my craft in the room it will pay off on the mat.” 

Pento believes that a win at the D1 would be an impressive feat for him and his team. 

“Winning as a team for d1s would be a very high achievement for us and I would be more than proud for my team,” Pento said.

Pento has had some roadblocks this year but has overcome them to get to where he is now.

“Small injuries and certain mental blocks will Always come with wrestling,” Pento said, “All I can do is get proper rest/ nutrition and pray to Jesus that he will take my worries and anxiety away.”

Pento feels that his strengths greatly outweigh his opponent’s, and uses that to beat his opponents. 

“My speed and cardio have been some of my strengths this year that have been separating me from my competition,” Pento said, “I use those to break my opponents, when I see them sitting on the mat between the periods trying to get air I sense weakness in them and know I have already won.”