Five Panthers headed to next level

Johnston High School recently held a college signing event and five Panthers made their decisions official.

Those signing were Manny Rios (baseball, Westfield State); Logan Martins (wrestling, University of Southern Maine); Nicki Aucone (track, Rhode Island College); Brandon Souza (United State Marines) and Tyler Holton (football, Dean).

Rios has been the baseball team’s top pitcher the past two seasons and will be competing on the mound and in the field for the Owls. Holton will have a chance to extend his playing career after a strong career with the football team as a linebacker and tight end.

“Manny is a great kid and a great player, he can do it all.  Tyler is the type of kid that will play anywhere, he just wants to play and do what’s best for the team,” said Johnston’s Joe Acciardo, who coaches baseball and football. “The coaches are going to love them, they’re both great kids and are going to do great wherever they go.”

Acciardo was especially happy for Holton, who missed time last football season with an injury. “I’m happy for him. He lost out on some time in the back end of the season so I’m glad that he’s going to get that experience.”

Martins has been one of the state’s premier wrestlers throughout his four years with the Panthers, taking home top-five finishes across multiple weight classes at states.

Martins plans on pursuing a career in occupational therapy in Maine and was thrilled to find a school that boasted strong academics and a top-notch wrestling program.

“I wanted to pick a school with a strong (academics). That was really important to me. USM also has a proven wrestling program, last year they had two All-Americans which is exciting. They have an established team with great coaches. They really value academics and stress the importance of being a student-athlete and setting you up well for the future,” said Martins. “I started wrestling in third grade and I never knew how far it would take me. It wasn’t until the end of (my junior) year that I even decided that I wanted to wrestle in college. Talking to coaches, trying to figure out where I would fit on a team, it was exciting.”

Martins has been wrestling since grade school and considering his years of big match experience, he feels confident that he’ll be able to make a splash from the get go.

“I’ve wrestled in so many tournaments at this point that I don’t really get nervous. I also wrestled at the Virginia Nationals, I wrestled all seniors there and picked up a few wins. That meant a lot to me.”

Aucone emerged as one of the program’s best throwers in the past few seasons and will be competing for a spot with the Anchorwomen. Souza is also a standout track athlete for the Panthers and will be moving on to the Marines.