Wachusett Regional High School has been in a wrestling cooperative with Leominster High School for four years. This winter will be the first time that the Mountaineers will have half of the athletes in the lineup that coach Matt Schiller sends to the mats.

Last year the squad captured its third straight Mid Wachusett Championship in the sport while finishing in the top 20 in both the State and New England Tournament. Iin addition, the team placed two wrestlers in the State finals in their weight class.

The Greaney brothers, Troy (wrestling in the 165-pound weight class), and Danny (wrestling in the 144-pound class) ended up fifth and seventh respectively in their weight classes. Although the season has not begun, the brothers are currently high in the preseason rankings with Troy ranked number one and Danny ranked third.

The two brothers are not only two of the better wrestlers on the team, but they are also half of the captains representing Wachusett along with Ray Mwangi and Gavin Olinde. 

“It gives us a good mix of captains in four of our top weight classes,” Schiller said. “Troy had beaten both the state champions above and below him, while Danny lost to a kid in the state tournament that he beat during the regular season.”

The coach, who comes from Leominster, expects both the Greaney brothers to capture about 50 wins this season and in doing so would eclipse the 200-win mark of their careers. Coming into the season Troy sits at 161 wins while Danny is at 156 wins.

“Winning 200 matches in wrestling is like scoring 2000 points in basketball,” the coach said. “If they both wrestle to their ability with our schedule and the post-season, they should both accomplish the feat. The Greaneys will be a big part of our success.”

Schiller explained that since the wrestling season is so long, he lets his wrestlers take their time to get into the weight class that they would like to be in for the post season. Instead of having them get into the weight class right away, he is allowing them to ease into it by Christmas.

The team is looking to take part in four tournaments this year including the nationally recognized Lowell Tournament, where the Greaneys will participate while the rest of the team takes part in the Marlboro Tournament. 

“The Lowell Tournament is tough, and it is a big deal to win there,” Schiller said. “The rest of the team will be wrestling in Marlboro and even though we will not have the Greaneys, I still expect this team to finish in the top three.”

The co-op will also have a trio of Wachusett wrestlers who should contribute and play a big part in how the team does this season. John Zannoti will wrestle at 215 pounds. Last year he began to come on strong down the stretch. During the off-season he has continued to work on his wrestling. The coach is hoping that he will not only do big things during the regular season but also make it to the Sectionals and the States this year.

Junior Brenden Donahue, who has a background in jujitsu, is also someone who Schiller expects to do well in both the Sectionals and the States. In addition to Donahue and Zannoti, Wachusett will also be putting senior Ayden Cazares on the mats, wrestling in the 120-126-pound range. Schiller sees him as someone who is tough as nails and a grinder on the mat. This will only be his second season with the sport, but he has shown great progress.

“It’s great having Wachusett kids on the team,” said Schiller. “I only wish that we could get them younger. By the time kids get to high school they have already been wrestling in middle school and are better prepared. Having them younger would also mean that we have them on the team longer.”

Schiller is hoping that his wrestlers can go out and take control of the league and bring home their fourth straight Mid Wachusett Championship while once again earning a spot in the Division 1 Central West Sectionals.

“It would be a disappointment if we didn’t win our fourth consecutive Mid Wach,” the coach said. “We finished third in the Sectionals last year behind some powerhouse programs that have kids with eight or nine years of wrestling experience. This year we’re looking to push ourselves hard and win.”

Schiller also noted that both the Greaney brothers are capable of winning State championships in their weight classes this year. Troy has already captured three Sectional championships and finished fourth in the States, while his brother has two Sectional titles and was third in the States last year.  W