By Michael Letendre

BRISTOL – It’s time for the annual scholastic wrestling grudge match between the Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern wrestling programs – taking place on Wednesday evening from the Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium on the campus of BCHS.

And will this be the showdown in which the Rams finally break their hex against the Lancers?

Eastern has won 11 straight bouts over Central, including last season’s 45-34 victory from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium.

But this meet is one the Rams probably had circled on their calendar to start the season and Central certainly has a tremendous opportunity to knock off the Kingstreeters for the first time since 2010.

Central head coach Matt Boissonneault has his grapplers in a prime position to knock off Eastern this year, winning nine matches overall this season, as the squad was extremely competitive in each and every one of its bouts this year – losing to just Berlin and Platt in CCC South confrontations.

The Lancers, guided by Todd Krolikowski in his first year as the mentor of the program, are 5-8 in 2022-3.

But Eastern is much better than their ledger truly indicates and this should be competitive up and down the lineup.

Both these programs are looking for a little momentum going into the CIAC Championships but in city series showdown, regardless of the records coming in, is always a tremendous night of hard-hitting action and expect the unexpected when these two teams collide on Wednesday night.

Here’s a quick preview of what to expect as Central and Eastern lock horns to close out the regular season:

Bristol Eastern Wrestling at Bristol Central

Time: 6 p.m.

Where: Charles C. Marsh Gymnasium, BCHS

City Series Records: Bristol Eastern leads the series over Bristol Central by a slim 29-28-2 edge. The last tie came back in 2000 (31-31).

What’s on the line for Eastern: The Lancers are looking for their 12th consecutive city series win over the Rams. Eastern’s last loss against Central came back in 2010 (31-26).

What’s on the line for Central: Breaking the streak against its city series foe. Before Eastern’s current run of good luck, Central – under then coach Brian Archibald – had put together five straight wins against the Lancers. Those five victories came by a combined 22 total points, showing the competitive balance of the programs in town.

The first BC/BE meet: In 1963, the Rams and Lancers battled for the first time. Central won big at that meet, snaring a 35-7 triumph.

Probable Line-up: This could change depending on match-up, health and the like. Grapplers can move up and down the line-up as well. This is one of many possible showdowns between the programs and the card is always subject to change:

Class   Bristol Eastern          vs.        Bristol Central

106      Andrew Brown           vs.        Engher Disla Almonte

113      Yussuf Bah                 vs.        Kaden Dragon

120      Luke Viens                  vs.        Joseph Niek

126      Mike Roalf                  vs.        Julian Colon

132      Xavier Rosie               vs.        Kyle Romann

138      Soph Um                     vs.        Aiden Lamarre

145      Joshua Aubin              vs.        Landon Dionne

152      Rocco Barbino            vs.        Derek Sedlak

160      Ryan Zavecz               vs.        Lincoln Archibald

170      Jaiden Fore                  vs.        Ayden Pratt

182      Adam Zavecz              vs.        Jayden Colon

195      Owen Broyles              vs.        Jomar Lopez

220      Rio Fernandez             vs.        Johnny Rios

285      Evan Gleifert              vs.        Michael Beaucar