CRANSTON – Cranston West coach Matt Claeson knows a hot wrestling team when he sees one.

Cumberland High fit that description on Thursday night when it burned Claeson’s two-time state champions 43-29, completing a two-night sweep of the state’s top two dual-meet squads for coach Steve Gordon’s unbeaten Clippers.

By TERRY NAU

Sports editor

CRANSTON – Cranston West coach Matt Claeson knows a hot wrestling team when he sees one.

Cumberland High fit that description on Thursday night when it burned Claeson’s two-time state champions 43-29, completing a two-night sweep of the state’s top two dual-meet squads for coach Steve Gordon’s unbeaten Clippers.

"I saw Cumberland with its back against the wall against North Kingstown last night," Claeson said a few minutes after his team suffered its first loss of the season. "Cumberland came back to win that match and they were juiced coming into this match tonight."

After Cranston West won the first two matches of the night, Cumberland’s George Beaulieu ignited the Clippers by rallying from a 5-2 deficit to pin Gerry VaDuesen midway through the third period. Cumberland got a win from Taylor Dougan at 152 and captain Ryan Lefaivre pinned Greg Gonzalez at 160 pounds after Claeson decided to move his returning state champion, Albert Raymond, up to 171 pounds.

Claeson might have been hoping for two wins with his move. Instead, Lefaivre got his pin and Raymond outpointed sophomore Cameron Glad by a 13-3 margin, which was good for only four team points.

"That was like a win for us," Gordon would say later. "Cameron really did a good job avoiding the pin."

Cumberland led 15-11 on the scoreboard when things really turned in the Clippers’ favor. Senior Billy Lomax moved up to 189 pounds in one of Gordon’s lineup changes and came through with a first-period pin of Frank Vasella.

Leading 21-11, Cumberland figured to lose the match at 215 with Derek Paul moving up from his regular 189 spot to take on Jesse Alejandro, a powerful wrestler who owned a 20-pound weight advantage and had finished third in the state meet last February.

Paul fought off two takedown attempts in a scoreless first period, then got a takedown of his own in the second period to tie the match at 2-2 with two minutes left to wrestle. Midway through the final stanza, Paul hit Alejandro with a double-leg takedown, took the Falcon to the mat and pinned him with 41 seconds remaining in the match.

"Coach told me to be careful in the first period," Paul admitted. "I started to feel comfortable on my feet. I hit him with a double-leg takedown and that was it. But I’ll tell you, the guy who got us started tonight was George Beaulieu. He got us going with a pin last night and tonight. That was big for us."

Cranston West, now trailing 27-11, scored a surprising pin at heavyweight to remain alive in the match, only to see Cumberland’s Lariviere twins – Shai and Shoneil – take away their momentum with a win at 103 and a pin at 112.

When Cumberland’s Jaron Parent pinned his man at 119 pounds, the Clippers clinched the match, taking an insurmountable 43-17 lead that would have seemed like a crazy dream for Steve Gordon before the match began.

"I was worried," the veteran coach said. "Cranston West is so strong. But my kids don’t worry about that stuff. They only worry about the man who is across the mat from then. Cranston West’s the same way. We really wrestled as a team tonight. That’s what won it for us."

Indeed, the Clippers got solid efforts in defeat from just about every one of their 14 wrestlers. Heavyweight Jerry Delannoy made a mistake in his match and got pinned, a scenario that Gordon said will help his big man in the long run.

Cumberland improved to 13-0 on the season and will climb to No. 1 in the state dual-meet rankings next week.

The state dual-meet tourney begins on Feb. 7 and concludes with a Final Four on Valentine’s Day. The Clippers have probably assured themselves of the top seed, meaning Cranston West and North Kingstown would face one another in the semifinals.

For now, though, Steve Gordon will worry only about the next match, which comes next Thursday at Coventry. His Clippers are now on top of the mountain, a huge target on their backs for all of the state contenders to take a shot at before the season ends in late February.