Trying to Oust His Brother

By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Growing up Landry Fitzgerald was first introduced to wrestling through his older (some ten years) brother Damian, and now he enters his senior season with the Bellingham-Blackstone Valley co-op wrestling program looking to write his own history.

 “He would wrestle myself and brother when we were younger, and being so much older, he was a beast,” Fitzgerald said. “Having gone through this transition with him I knew that I wanted to beat him, but I’d have to get in

 volved in combat sports.

Being that much younger, Fitzgerald occasionally watched his older brother wrestle, but never really understood much about the sport. The only thing swirling about in his brain was that he had to get involved with the sport and eventually take down his older brother on the mat.

Being a football player for all his life, he decided to get involved with wrestling when he entered high school. Unfortunately, his freshman year was the year of COVID, and he would not be able to get onto the mats just yet. Following that year, Fitzgerald was finally able to give wrestling a shot as a sophomore, but standing in his way of wrestling with the varsity team was a first-year senior wrestler.

“Having no availability to wrestle my freshman year, I had to wait until my sophomore season,” he said. “But ,once I was able to wrestle, there was a senior in my weight class ,and he was much stronger than I was, so he won the majority of the wrestle-offs, and he would compete in the varsity meets.”

Eventually, Fitzgerald would see some action for the Bellingham co-op squad and when the senior wrestler went down with an injury late in the season, he would receive the chance he was looking for – to wrestle on a consistent basis with the varsity team. 

The sophomore would take the chance that was given to him and never looked back. Finishing up the regular season, he got a chance to compete in the Division 2 Sectionals. Here he would face off against the very same kid with whom he opened his varsity wrestling career.

“The first time we wrestled, he whooped me pretty good,” Fitgerald said. “At the Sectionals, he still beat me, but it was a much closer match.”

After being knocked out in the first round, Fitgerald continued to wrestle in the consolation round, where he won enough matches to move onto the State Tournament. 

“Being that I was wrestling in the Sectionals for the first time, I didn’t think that I would do that great. It was overwhelming, but I continued to stick with what I knew, and it got me the opportunity to advance,” Fitgerald said. “At the States I didn’t win at all; it was so much of a shock to me. So many people watching you at all times, and the wrestlers were all good.”

During his second year he was able to finish seventh in his weight class, but found that he was disappointed with his finish as he had beaten both the kids that finished in fifth and sixth place in the States during the regular season. So needless to say, this year, his final with the squad, he is looking for nothing but to be the absolute bet in the heavy weight class.

“I knew what my faults were, and I worked on them in the off-season in addition to hitting the weight room hard making me faster and stronger,” he said. “The ultimate goal is to win the Division 2 State Championship. It’s an obtainable goal, as last year I was up against seniors, while I was a junior. I have the upper hand this year with an extra year under my belt.”

According to Coach Tom Forbes, Fitgerald’s goal is there for the taking. Last season the junior finished the season at 21-5 while winning the Wayland Holiday Tournament, the Cape Cod Tournament, the Vocational States and finished second at the Division 2 Central Sectionals.

“Landry is a tough, hardworking kid that I can not say enough about; he truly inspires the other wrestlers,” Forbes said. “As a third-year wrestler, who had never wrestled prior to high school, he has learned and adapted, and today he is an animal on the mat.”

Following high school, Fitzgerald would really like to continue with wrestling.

“If an offer came for me to wrestle in college I’d definitely take it as I love the sport and want to continue with it,” he said.

As he wrestles through his senior season toward his goal of winning a State Championship, Fitzgerald has one other thought on his mind – beating his older brother.

“If we were to actually wrestle and he doesn’t use any of his jujitsu and choke holds, I’d definitely beat him,” Fitzgerald said. “I guess I’ll have to take up jujitsu next to be on his par, and I’m sure that it would also help me with my wrestling.”