The Mt. Hope High School wrestlers got a preview of what it will take to compete with the iron of Rhode Island when the Huskies welcomes two-time reigning state and regional champion Ponaganset to the town Wednesday night, Feb. 5.

The Chieftains, who are once again setting the pace in 2024-25, showed they're a force to be reckoned with once again as they swept the locals as well as Hope High by the resounding scores of 69-10 and 73-6, respectively.

Ponaganset improved to 11-0 in the Division I match standings with the wins. Mt. Hope also beat the Blue Wave, 52-19, to see its mark move to 6-3 in D-I outings. Central dropped to 0-5.

Against the Huskies, the Chieftains earned six of their nine results by pin. The three others were via tech falls. Ponaganset's other points came from forfeits.

Impressive freshman Bryce Brown accounted for Mt. Hope's only earned points with his major decision win, 20-10, over the Chieftains' Jovani Martinez at 120 pounds.

Brown was also a winner by decision, 8-5, in Mt. Hope's other outing against Hope. In addition, Kyle McCarthy won his bout at 144 against the Blue Wave, Anthony Lombardi 8-6, at 150, 16-2. The Huskies' other points, as was the case against Ponaganset, came from forfeits.

Of Brown's recent performances, Mt. Hope head coach Ryan Fazzi said, "Bryce has been on a roll lately. He’s always had crazy athleticism, but now he’s really putting it all together on the mat. At the start of the season, his results were a bit up and down, mostly because he was relying on bad habits that work at a middle school or lower level but are less likely to work at the high school varsity level.

"Over the last few weeks, he’s been trusting the process, listening to his coaches and making smart adjustments. He’s using better positioning and playing to his strengths, and it’s making a huge difference. You can see his confidence growing every match. I can see Bryce beating opponents he lost to early in the season, winning freshman states, and being on the podium for varsity states."

The Huskies were coming off a non-league quad meet in Shrewsbury, Mass. against host St. John's, Longmeadow, Wellesley and Montachusett Regional Voc Tech last weekend. The locals won all four outings, beating Tech, 58-23, Longmeadow, 58-24, Wellesley, 49-28, and St. John's, 50-27.

Michael Bouchard (113 pounds), Ethan Martel (138), Kyle McCarthy (144), Anthony Lombardi (150), Nick Rogers (165/175) and L.J. Pacheco (175/190) each went 4-0 for the day.

Mt. Hope is back in action this weekend, Saturday, Feb. 8, when the Huskies host more Massachusetts side — Hingham, Chelmsford and Bridgewater — for a non-league quad.

Next weekend, the locals begin their championship tournament slate when the youngsters and reserves from Mt. Hope vie in the 2025 Freshmen/Junior Varsity State Meet Friday and Saturday, Feb. 14 and 15, at Coventry High.