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Two Bristol seniors who are two-time captains share “Athlete of the Week” honors today, being selected for their third and fourth time, respectively. They are Bristol Eastern wrestler Brandon Mals and Chelsea Mone of the St. Paul girls basketball team.
For Mals, the honor comes on the heels of his winning performance in the Bristol Central Invitational held on Saturday, a 17-team competition where he went home with a first place finish in the 140-pound weight class.
“He’s a product of the Gladiators out of the Bristol Boys & Girls Club,” said Eastern coach Bryant Lishness. “He had a forfeit at the Fermi meet [on Wednesday] and that’s a tribute because he’s known for his finishes and gets a lot of pins.
“At the Bristol Central Invitational, he beat a really tough [New] Jersey kid [Brandon Dibartolo of Gloucester Catholic] who won the BC Invitational the past three years in a row. It was a tribute to Brandon’s real dominating performance.
“That was his big win, to go out and do it his senior year. All of his teammates were behind him.”
Asked about his battle with Dibartolo, Mals was pleased.
“It meant everything to me,” said Mals.
The four-year Eastern wrestler had won a first place at the invitational and third twice, but this was the first time he had faced the three-time BC Invitational champion from New Jersey.
Asked about personal goals this season, they were to win his 100th career match — he is 94-30 career-wise to date — and to come in the top four at the State Open to advance to the New Englands. Last year he just missed after going fourth in Class L and fifth at the State Open.
As a team at the Bristol Central Invitational, he was hoping the Lancers would have fared better as they missed placing third by half a point. One of their top wrestlers was unable to compete.
In looking down the road, it’s a state title he and his teammates want.
“To win the Class L, definitely,” said Mals.
His plans for next year include college, where he plans to study criminal justice and compete in wrestling.
Mone, who can play just about any position on the basketball court, had one of her usually solid weeks — scoring, dishing out passes and grabbing rebounds.
“I think this year she is much more focused as a senior,” said St. Paul coach Joe Mone, her father. “She’s elevated her game, using all the tools she has.
“We’ve moved her around. Her work off-season has made her stronger. I’m happy with her as a student and a person.
“She’s able to affect a game in more ways than one, scoring, passing and rebounding. She does an excellent job in finding the open person. She’s dialed in right now. She’s worked hard to become a good player and she sees the fruits of her labors this season.”
Talking about the St. Paul team, Chelsea Mone, a two-time all-conference selection, says the goal this season is the same as always, “To go as far as we can and, hopefully, win a state championship.
“We work well together, we’re able to look for the open person and we feed well off each other. To win the states we probably have to work on defense.”
Personally, her goal is to do whatever she can for the team to win.
Asked about her coach, she was short and sweet.
“He pushes me, but he knows what’s best,” said the younger Mone.
Her plans for next year include college, where she plans to play basketball. She’s unsure right now what her studies will encompass.
HONORABLE MENTION
Basketball — Jessica Jenkins of Central; Mallory Kloss, Xavier Wade and Chris Colon of Eastern; Chris Borea, Byron Jones and David Shaw of St. Paul; and Meaghan Skidmore, Jason Pranulis and Ronny Bilodeau of Terryville; Wrestling — Nick Cyr, Austin Darley, D.J. Sanderson and Colin Lombardi of Central; Andrew Chase, Peyton Soucy, Josh Dess and Tyrell Eason of Eastern; and Chris Bachand of St. Paul.
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Athletics 
