Town Hall Honors Wrestling Team

After victory comes glory.

The Board of Selectmen welcomed the entire wrestling team and their coaches and parents to Tuesday night's meeting to recognize their

“We’d just like to thank all the wrestlers for their performance, especially during the tumultuous time during championship, but they persevered,” Selectmen Chairman Dan Lanen said. “They were willing to give it their all with everything that was swirling around at the time.”

Lanen was alluding to the recent scandal involving former coach John Castricone, who was just a few days before the state title meet. The scandal rocked the town and could have thrown the team into chaos, but the Knights marched onward and took home the title.

“We're greatly appreciative of all the effort you put forward and the pride you brought to this town,” Lanen said.

The certificate was presented to the team by State Rep. Jim Lyons, who had some words of wisdom for the boys.

“As Dan (Lanen) likes to remind me, even when you’re old like me, you’ll certainly remember today and the fact that you won that state title,” Lyons said. “The things you’ve learned from your families, teammates and coaches are things that will stay with you forever.”

Lyons also read a House Resolution in recognition of the wrestling team’s victory.

There were several near-mentions of Castricone's arrest, but the focus was kept on the boys' victory.

“It’s a shame Carl couldn’t be here," Selectman Rosemary Smedile said about Assistant Coach Carl Cincotta, who was not at the meeting but had taken over as coach after Castricone left. "These coaches, it’s amazing what they did to get these kids’ heads back into the game and bring them to victory."