Athlete Of The Week: Owen O’Reilly

SANDWICH – Nauset senior Owen O’Reilly trailed at the outset of his opening bout in the 144-pound bracket of the Sandwich Early Bird wrestling tournament on Dec. 20.

He continued to trail into the second period. Then he proceeded to change his fortunes quickly.

O’Reilly described the match in detail afterward: “I was down, but I've been doing a lot of jiu-jitsu in the offseason, and it really helps me get into weird positions that other people are just not used to, not expecting. 

“So I was down, but I saw an opportunity for a move that I know. It's a really weird one, kid’s probably not seen it before, and I can take him straight to his back with it. So I sent it, and it worked. I mean, the kid was definitely getting the better of me at the beginning, and I wish I had been beating him off takedowns and everything, but a win is a win.”

O’Reilly went on to win the entire bracket after that first bout. He is the captain of the Nauset wrestling team, having reached All-States last season. He’s planning to wrestle at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

“He's got a pretty promising season ahead of him,” Nauset head coach James Rosato said.