By TERRY NAU

Sports editor

CUMBERLAND ---- Steve Gordon’s 400th career win as head wrestling coach at Cumberland High turned into a stroll down Memory Lane on Thursday evening at The Wellness Center.
“I have two kids here from my first team back in 1968,” Gordon said while shaking hands with one of those wrestlers, a gray-haired man named Dave Hastings who still looks like he could hit a pretty slick takedown move if backed into a corner.  “Dave was my first New England qualifier,” Gordon recalled. “Mike Kelly is also here from my first team.
Gordon’s latest team remained undefeated with an easy 60-18 victory over Cranston East. The Clippers scored eight falls on the night, using their trademark pinning combination – the Cumberland Cradle – to great effect.
Gordon and his righthand man, Jerred Dean, teach the cradle during every practice session. It has become the symbol of Cumberland wrestling over the years, something that opposing coaches warn their wrestlers to avoid.
Gordon remembers how as a young coach he began teaching that first team of his back in 1968.
“I taught them everything I knew in about two weeks,” he said with a smile. “Then we had a match and I could see they hadn’t learned how to use what I taught them. I realized I had to go more slowly in practice. You see, I was young and still learning how to coach.”
He is 67 years old now, still teaching at Cumberland High, showing no signs of slowing down. It was 50 years ago next month that Gordon won an individual state title while wrestling for the old Cranston High program under Haig Varadian. Gordon took the lessons he learned under that revered coach and applied them to the Cumberland program he built from scratch beginning in 1968.
The Clippers won their first of two state team titles in 1979. The other one came in 2005 and marked the return to elite status of the Cumberland program.
“I wrestled against coach Gordon in high school,” Cranston East coach Mike Penza said after shaking hands with his rival coach on Thursday night. “To me, he has always been a powerhouse coach and a great influence on younger coaches like myself. Cumberland has such a great feeder program and he is certainly reaping the benefits of that program right now.”
Gordon utilizes the talents of several volunteer assistant coaches to work with his wrestlers in practice and stand behind them during matches. Recent wrestlers like Shane Corsi and Adam Wolowicz drop by the wrestling room to offer their own services.
Gordon  runs an open-minded program conducive to learning. His two best wrestlers right now are the Lariviere twins – Shai and Shoneil – who brought a freestyle approach to the team last season, something that Gordon and his staff have worked hard to refine. The end result is two sophomore lightweights who rarely make mistakes and usually pin their opponents, giving the Clippers a quick 12 points on numerous occasions. Gordon did not mess with the mechanics that make the twins so dynamic on the mat. The coach and his staf just tightened up their methods.
On Thursday night, Shai Lariviere pinned his man in 110 seconds and Shoneil followed with a 50-second pin. Not to be outdone, 119-pounder Jaron Parent – another state contender – decked his opponent in 70 seconds. Cumberland’s quickest pins of the night came from Taylor Dougan (46 seconds) and Derek Paul (48 seconds).
There were so many pins, along with three forfeits, that the match took only an hour to complete, giving Jerred Dean time to take the microphone and honor his coach with some words of respect and love. The entire team surrounded the venerable Steve Gordon and his wife Judy for a photo session. A bouquet of balloons were provided with the number 400 stamped for all to see.
Gordon stood side-by-side with Judy, taking in the moment, shaking hands with former wrestlers and greeting parents and other members of the Cumberland wrestling community.
“The fun part for me is seeing everyone come back to watch us wrestle,” Gordon admitted.
As the energetic coach said a few weeks ago, “This never gets old.” And neither does the man who uttered those words.
***
Cumberland 60, Cranston East 18
189 – Derek Paul (CUMB) pinned Rich Dumostil 0:48
215 – Dick Dumostil (CE) won by forfeit
285 – Cranston East won by forfeit
103 – Shai Lariviere (CUMB) pinned Jabari Alves 1:50
112 – Shoneil Lariviere (CUMB) pinned Chris Hairabedian 0:50
119 – Jaron Parent (CUMB) pinned Chris Delgado 1:10
125 – Jake Cardoza (CUMB) won by forfeit
130 – Nick Maccini (CUMB) won by forfeit
135 – Justin Goon (CE) def. Chris Smith 10-6
140 – Rick McCoy (CUMB) pinned Sal Savattere 3:13
145 – Jackson Maroni (CE) def. Eric Nowinowski 10-5
152 – Taylor Dougan (CUMB) pinned Nick Buonfiglio 0:46
160 – Cameron Glad (CUMB) pinned Helendo Miranda 4:21
171 – A.J. Jalette (CUMB) pinned Guillermo Mirumbeaux 1:08