Broadus is first state girl to win Tricia Saunders Award
Plymouth’s Cara Broadus has been selected to be the first girl from Connecticut to win the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award. Broadus was recognized by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for her excellence on the mat, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.
The award is presented in honor of Tricia Saunders, a four-time world champion and women’s wrestling pioneer.
Broadus, a senior with Keystone School, is ranked No. 2 in the nation at 138 pounds in the latest USA Wrestling rankings. She earned All-American honors at the recent United World Wrestling Junior women’s freestyle U.S. world team trials in Texas earlier this month finishing third at 65 kg (138 pounds) with a 15-4 win by technical fall over Hannah Ramos of Wisconsin.
Broadus also finished third at 65 kg (143 pounds) in the UWW Cadet women’s freestyle world team trials with a 9-6 win over Brianna Csontos from Virginia.
Broadus was a member of the 2017 U.S. junior national team.
Last fall, Broadus lost in the finals of the Super 32 tournament at 139 pounds and earned All-American honors at the USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior national championships in Fargo, North Dakota at 132 pounds in the Junior freestyle competition in August.
Broadus, who has spent much of her high school career at Metropolitan Learning Center in Bloomfield, wrestled in Japan in November with a delegation of top Cadet and Schoolgirl wrestlers in the Saori Yoshida Cup. She won the FLWC Fall Classic in November and took first in the Providence (R.I.) Preseason Brawl at 144 pounds.
Broadus trains with KT Kidz in Rocky Hill.
The Tricia Saunders Award was first presented in 2014.
Kosman is state winner of Dave Schultz award
GROTON -- Jarod Kosman of Fitch in Groton has been named the Dave Schultz Award in Connecticut by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Kosman was recognized for his excellence on the mat, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.
Kosman, who will attend the University of Maryland, is just the fifth wrestler in conference history to win four Eastern Connecticut Conference titles. He went undefeated his senior year (57-0) at 113 pounds, winning a second straight Class L title, a State Open championship, and a New England championship.
In March, he became the first Connecticut wrestler to win a national championship at the National High School Coaches Association’s Senior Nationals in Virginia. Kosman was named the Connecticut winner of the Dave Schultz award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
It’s been a struggle off the mat, too. For the last four years, Kosman has to strictly regulate his diet to avoid high protein foods. His body lacks an amino acid and enzyme that helps break down protein in his body. He is allowed 40 grams of protein per day. He eats no meat and no dairy. He has measure everything he consumes.
Perry finishes second at U.S. Open again
LAS VEGAS, April 28 – Former Middletown High wrestler Richard Perry finished second at the U.S. Open wrestling championships in Las Vegas Saturday for the second consecutive years. Perry fell in the final at 86 kilograms (189 pounds) to David Taylor of State College, Pennsylvania, 8-0.
Taylor won his third U.S. Open title, securing key takedowns in an active and physical match. Taylor beat Perry in the U.S. Open final in 2017, too, winning 10-0 a year ago.
With the victory, Taylor advanced to the Final X series – a best-of-3 series in June to determine who will represent the United States at the upcoming 2018 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary in October.
By finishing in the top seven at the U.S. Open, Perry secured a berth in the World Team trials challenge tournament on May 18-20 in Rochester, Minnesota. The winner of the challenge tournament qualifies for the Final X series.
Perry, the No. 2 ranked wrestler in the nation according to the Mat.com, won his first three U.S. Open bouts to earn a spot in the final. Perry beat Nick Reenan of North Carolina State in the round of 16, 6-2 before pinning Reed South of California and Roadrunner WC in 24 seconds in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Perry beat former Southern Oregon wrestler Ryan McWatters by technical fall, 13-1, thrilling the crowd with a pair of four-point throws.
“Rich is tough,” Taylor told USA Wrestling. “He is very hard to score on and is very strong. His position is sound. Every time I know it will be battle. I expect to have to wrestle him two more times (at Final X).”
For Perry, it was his third top five finish at the U.S. Open. In 2016, he finished fifth. Perry was also tied for fifth at the U.S. Olympic trials in 2016.
Final X will be held over three consecutive weekends and in three different cities: June 9 in Lincoln, Neb., June 16 in State College, Pa., and June 23 in Bethlehem, Pa.
"Richard Perry is one of the best guys in the world," Taylor said. "He is right there. He is a high-level opponent."
Perry graduated from Middletown High in 2008, where he wrestled for two seasons. As a senior, he won the Class L and State Open title at 215 pounds and was second in New England. In 2009, he spent a year at Hyde-Woodstock and finished second in New England (215).
He wrestled for four years at Bloomsburg State (2011-14), qualifying for the NCAA Tournament three times and posting a career record of 110-30.
He currently lives in Philadelphia and trains with the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center (RTC).
Perry earns spot on U.S. freestyle national team
LEHIGH, Pa., June 23 – Middletown native Richard Perry earned a spot in the U.S. national freestyle wrestling team on Saturday night with a 7-4 victory over Pat Downey, the former Iowa State wrestler who wrestles with Titan Mercury.
USA Wrestling hosts national team “True Third Place” wrestle-offs to determine the third spot on the national team. It occurs when the second place finisher and third place finishers at the recent U.S. Freestyle World Team Trials Challenge tournament did not meet in the tournament.
Perry finished second in the Challenge Tournament at 86 kilograms (189 pounds) in May to North Carolina State’s Nick Reenan. Downey had taken third in that Challenge tournament.
In Saturday’s third place wrestle-off, Perry got a late takedown with seven seconds left in the match to secure the 7-4 victory and earn his first spot on the U.S. National team at 86 kg along with Reenan and former Penn State wrestler David Taylor of Nittany Lion WC.
“It was devastating after the World Team Trials to lose but it is part of a process,” Perry told USA Wrestling Saturday night. “There is a process to get to the top of anything. I had to bounce back and take advantage of this opportunity.”
Perry credited his coaches and peer athletes at the Pennsylvania RTC (Regional Training Center) in Philadelphia with helping get ready for this match.
“They helped me refocus and recharge myself to get excited (for this opportunity) and to do something I have never done before,” he told USA Wrestling.
Perry finished second at the U.S. Open freestyle championships to Taylor in April and was the top seed in the World Team Challenge Tournament. But Reenan beat Perry, 4-0 and 6-3 in the best-of-3 final to win the Challenge Tournament.
Reenan advanced to the Final X series where he had the chance to challenge Taylor for a spot on the U.S. team that will compete in the world championships in October in Budapest, Hungary. Taylor dominated in the Final X series, sweeping Reenan with a pair of technical falls, 13-2 and 10-0 to earn his first U.S. freestyle team berth.
Perry graduated from Middletown High in 2008, where he wrestled for two seasons. As a senior, he won the Class L and State Open title at 215 pounds and was second in New England. In 2009, he spent a year at Hyde-Woodstock and finished second in New England (215).
He wrestled for four years at Bloomsburg State (2011-14), qualifying for the NCAA Tournament three times and posting a career record of 110-30. He currently lives in Philadelphia with his family and trains with the Pennsylvania RTC.
Perry falls in final of world trials Challenge Tournament
ROCHESTER, Minn., May 20 – Middletown High graduate Richard Perry lost in the finals of the 2018 U.S. Freestyle World team trials challenge tournament Sunday at 86 kilograms (189 pounds) to North Carolina State sophomore Nick Reenan in a best-of-3 final, 2-0.
Reenan beat Perry 4-0 and 6-3 to advance to the Final X series where he will challenge David Taylor for the spot on the U.S. team that will go to the world championships in October in Budapest, Hungary.
Perry, the No. 1 seed in the Challenge Tournament, had a bye in the quarterfinals and won his semifinal bout by technical fall over Tim Dudley, 11-0.
Perry, who was ranked No. 2 in the nation, had beaten Reenan at the recent U.S. Open championships, 6-2 in the round of 16, where Perry finished second to Taylor.
Reenan redshirted this year at North Carolina State but he credited his coaches at North Carolina State for getting him ready. The difference for Reenan after losing to Perry a few weeks ago at the U.S. Open was listening.
“I listened to my coaches more,” Reenan told USA Wrestling after the final. “They know what they’re talking about. It’s a great place to train and a great environment to be in. You can’t help to get better.”
Perry graduated from Middletown High in 2008, where he wrestled for two seasons. As a senior, he won the Class L and State Open title at 215 pounds and was second in New England. In 2009, he spent a year at Hyde-Woodstock and finished second in New England (215).
He wrestled for four years at Bloomsburg State (2011-14), qualifying for the NCAA Tournament three times and posting a career record of 110-30. He currently lives in Philadelphia and trains with the Pennsylvania Regional Training Center (RTC).
