TURNERS FALLS — Superintendent Richard Martin and Athletic Director Joseph Gamache are pleased to share that a member of the Franklin County Technical School wrestling team achieved a significant milestone earlier this week.
During FCTS’s meet against Granby Wednesday, Feb. 2, senior captain Joshua Brunelle recorded his 100th career victory for the Eagles. The accomplishment is all the more impressive considering a significant portion of Brunelle’s matches have been cancelled or postponed over the past few years due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Josh is a very hard worker and has been working on his wrestling since a very early age, so to see him accomplish this feat is tremendous,” said Head Coach Mike Aiken. “It hasn’t been easy for our team since the pandemic, given that wrestling is a very close contact sport and we’ve had so many restrictions in place, but this year it all came together for Josh on the mat. He’s also a terrific leader in the locker room who always leads by example. If it weren’t for COVID he easily could have been our schools’ all time wins leader.”
Brunelle began wrestling in the fourth grade at Fitchburg Youth Wrestling, before moving onto the Doughboy Wrestling Club in Lowell. He has competed in tournaments throughout New England, as well as in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
He was only able to wrestle in a handful of meets last year due to the pandemic, which delayed his 100th pin considerably. The milestone was further delayed after a meet was canceled this past weekend due to the snowstorm that hit the region. He notched his 99th pin in a recent meet against Athol before earning his 100th pin Wednesday.
Wednesday’s meet was extra special as it was Senior Night for the wrestling team (which has three seniors, including Andrew Esposito and Will Rosenberg), and is the only home meet the team will have this season.
“When my high school career started I had many goals set, including getting to 100 wins, and it means so much to have done it in front of my friends, family and classmates,” Brunelle said. “Coming into my senior season the anticipation building up to this moment has driven me to work harder every day.”
Brunelle said he still has many other goals to look forward to, including competing at the state vocational tournament, sectionals, states, and all-states.
Franklin County Technical School has a long history of successful wrestling. Both Coach Aiken and Assistant Coach Josh LaCosse are former accomplished FCTS wrestlers, and they have enjoyed seeing Brunelle continue that tradition.
“I have loved seeing our program grow thanks to kids like Josh, who showed great perseverance along with the rest of our team,” Coach Aiken said. “The state of our program is also a great tribute to our school administrators and Athletic Director Gamache, who have allowed us to rebuild the team after the pandemic. We have traveled all over the state, exposing our kids to more and more schools and their wrestling programs, and that allowed us to get better with each and every meet.”
###
