BY TERRY DEVEREAUX Correspondent
TJ Vallee set a new standard for Cony wrestlers when he achieved All-New England status at the New England Wrestling Tournament last weekend. The senior went 4-1 to place third in the 189-pound weight class. Vallee became the first Cony wrestler to earn a medal at the New England tournament.
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BIG TIME: Cony High School’s TJ Vallee, top, earned All-New England status after finishing third in the New England Wrestling Tournament last weekend in New Haven, Conn. Vallee easily pinned Massachusetts’ Kyle Humphries, bottom, in 57 seconds in his second match of the tournament.
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The tournament, held at the New Haven Athletic Center in Connecticut, brought together top wrestlers from the six New England states. The top six finishers out of 22 entrants in each weight class earn All-New England status.
"TJ wrestled the best he ever has," Cony coach Shawn Totman said. "He had incredible motion and explosiveness on his feet whether trying to score or defending against his opponents' attacks. On bottom, I have never seen him move so fast in getting to his feet and gaining his escapes. No one had a prayer of holding him down to work a pinning combination. That is saying something when you look at how good every wrester is at a tournament like the New Englands. Every athlete competing is phenomenal."
Vallee opened the tournament with a 4-3 decision over Connecticut's Sean O'Connell.
"Mentally preparing for wrestling matches of this caliber was hard," Vallee said. "Every single match you wrestle has so much riding on it. I have never been to a New England tournament before so I didn't really know what to expect. But after I got my first win out of the way, I felt much better."
Vallee made short work of Massachusett's Kyle Humphries in the quarterfinals, catching him in a head and arm throw and securing a win by pin in 57 seconds.
Vallee lost a gut-wrenching semifinals match to Massachusett's top-ranked wrestler, Alex Najjar, by a 7-5 decision. The match was tied at 5-5 late in the third period when Najjar got a takedown to score the deciding points. Najjar would go on to win the championship.
Vallee battled back into the consolation finals by beating Connecticut's top-seeded Shane Battista, 5-2. He pinned long-time rival and fellow Mainer Tyler Russell of Morse High School in the consolation finals to finish in third place.
"Ironically, those two spent quite a bit of time practicing together to get ready for the New Englands," said Totman.
Totman was impressed by how well Vallee held up over the grueling two-day event. Four of Vallee's matches came on the second day of competition, according to Totman.
"I honestly thought his conditioning was the best of any of the kids he faced in the tournament," Totman said. "That is amazing considering he has had three weeks since his last competition and almost all the wrestlers he faced from the other states have seasons that take them right up to the New Englands."
Vallee had spent the weeks since the state championships practicing technique with Cony coaches and wrestling "live" (competitive situations) with Morse's two New England qualifiers, Russell and Arthur Cavanaugh (215), according to Totman. He also spent extensive time in the weight room.
"I don't think anybody in his weight class at New England's was stronger than TJ," Totman said.
"My ultimate goal was to win the tournament, but I'm extremely pleased with what I accomplished," Vallee said. "It's hard to believe my high school career is over, but I'm happy with the way it ended.