Below are the official 2020 Hockomock League Wrestling All Stars, selected by the coaches in the league.
Hockomock League MVP
Kelley-Rex
CJ Glaropoulos, Mansfield
Davenport
Joao Neiva, Milford
Hockomock League All Stars
Kelley-Rex Division
Jake Carlucci, Franklin
Ken Sauer, Franklin
Dominic Sackley, Franklin
Matt Walker, Franklin
Yousef Lotfi, King Philip
Jackson Kelley, King Philip
Shawn Conniff, King Philip
CJ Glaropoulos, Mansfield
Antonios Sevastos, Mansfield
Will Stratton, Mansfield
Max Anderson, Oliver Ames
Davenport Division
Eddie Marinilli, Canton
Max Kornbluth, Foxboro
Joao Neiva, Milford
Carlos Terrinha, Milford
Mike Edmonds, North Attleboro
Montrel Jackson, North Attleboro
Ethan Smith, North Attleboro
Tyler Freedman, Sharon
Adam Landstein, Sharon
Max Pazner, Sharon
Kirit Gossety, Sharon
John Santos, Stoughton
Andrew Medina, Stoughton
Honorable Mentions:
Zack Peters, Canton
Trent Rennie, Foxboro
Dylan Nawn, Franklin
Sam DeBaggis, King Philip
Noah Price, Mansfield
Danny Alves, Milford
John Kummer, North Attleboro
Nelson Malone, Oliver Ames
Rhamsez Theienin, Sharon
Jackson Wellman, Taunton
Mansfield’s CJ Glaropoulos and Antonios Sevastos each won a D1 State title. (@MHSWrestling17/Twitter)
Five Hockomock grapplers from four team won individual state titles across two divisions on Saturday. Mansfield’s Antonios Sevastos (126) and CJ Glaropoulos (170) each won at the Division 1 meet while Canton’s Eddie Marinilli (152), King Philip’s Shawn Conniff (195), and Milford’s Joao Neiva (220) each won at the Division 2 meet.
Franklin had the best finish as a team, scoring 93.5 points at the D1 meet despite not sending a wrestler to the finals. Mansfield finished 12th overall (68.5 points) and Taunton took 33rd with eight points; Springfield Central won the meet with 173 points. In Division 2, King Philip had the top finish with 62 points at 10th overall, North Attleboro was right behind with 53 points in 12th place, and Milford recorded 50 points for 14th overall. Stoughton (36.5 points), Sharon (35 points), and Canton (30 points) all finished in the top 30. Foxboro, the lone Hock school to compete in D3, finished in 19th with 39 points.
Sevastos entered the tournament as the #2 seed and picked up back-to-back pins to advance to the semifinals. He opened the tournament with a pin over Longmeadow’s Charlie Townsend (2:53) and followed with a pin over Brookline’s Lyle Gray (2:48). He scored five points in the third period to notch a 6-4 win over #6 Chelmsford’s Patrick Hughes in the semifinal and then earned a third-period pin (5:26) over #5 Brockton’s Aiden Winn in the final. Glaropoulos was the top seed in the 170 bracket and made quick work of his opponents, picking up pins over Framingham’s Mario Cruz (1:17), Andover’s Sean Ballou (0:48), and Agawam’s Tom Caracciolo (0:22) to advance to the final. He had a first-round takedown, a second-round nearfall, and a third-period reversal to beat #3 Methuen’s CJ Brown, 7-0.
Marinilli, a senior, won his second state title with four pins. The top seed, Marinilli pinned down Whittier’s Luke Iamele in under a minute, took down Winchester’s Kevin Miranda in 1:03m and pinned Central Catholic’s Matt Shaw in the semifinals in 4:19. In the final against #3 Arlington’s Yanni Kechriotis, Marinilli had four takedowns in the first period before getting the pin at 1:57. Conniff also entered the tournament as the top seed in his weight class and had four pins to win the title. He knocked off Woburn’s Mattheus Berbert (0:27), Oliver Ames’ Max Anderson (1:28), and North Andover’s Jack Carbone (3:18) to reach in the final. Against #2 Beverly’s Alexi Echevarria, Conniff had a takedown in the first round and got the pinfall 12 seconds later for the title.
Neiva started the tournament with a pair of pins, taking down North Attleboro’s Keysun Wise (3:20) in the Round of 16 and Woburn’s Mike Mercer (2:25) in the quarterfinals. He took down #3 Plymouth North’s Andrew Dias by decision in overtime, getting a reversal and nearfall to win 9-4. In the final against #1 Central Catholic’s Anthony Mears, Neiva was knotted 1-1 through three rounds. In the second overtime, he had an escape and takedown to secure the title.
Three Hockomock wrestlers also reached the 100-win club on Saturday. Franklin’s Dom Sackley earned his 100th win and finished fourth in the 160 bracket. After picking up a win in the Round of 16 (pinfall in 1:34), Sackley headed to the consolation bracket where he won three straight matches by decision before falling in the third place match. A pair of Rocketeers also earned their 100th wins at the tournament. Ethan Smith, wrestling at 126, posted a 3-2 record and finished in fifth place while recoding his 100th win. Teammate Mike Edmonds also earned his 100th win, going 4-1. He won two matches before falling in the semis but bounce back to take 3rd at 170.
Division 1
Teams
1. Springfield Central – 173
4. Franklin – 93.5
12. Mansfield – 68.6
33. Taunton – 8
Placements
120
8th – Drew DiFilippo, Franklin
126
1st – Antonios Sevastos, Mansfield
132
6th – Jake Carlucci, Franklin
145
6th – Alex Fracassa, Franklin
7th – Will Stratton, Mansfield
152
5th – Ken Sauer, Franklin
160
4th – Dom Sackley, Franklin
170
1st – CJ Glaropoulos, Mansfield
182
3rd – Dylan Nawn, Franklin
195
8th – Ben Jacoby, Franklin
220
6th – Matt Walker, Franklin
Division 2
Teams
1. Central Catholic – 118
10. King Philip – 62
12. North Attleboro – 53
14. Milford – 50
21. Stoughton – 36.5
22. Sharon – 35
26. Canton – 30
45. Oliver Ames – 8
Placements
106
8th – Adam Landstein, Sharon
113
4th – John Santos, Stoughton
120
4th – Carlos Terrinha, Milford
126
5th – Ethan Smith, North Attleboro
7th – David Gelman, Sharon
138
5th – Jackson Kelley, King Philip
145
4th – Andrew Medina, Stoughton
8th – Dan Alves, Milford
152
1st – Eddie Marinilli, Canton
6th – Kirit Gosetty, Sharon
170
3rd – Mike Edmonds, North Attelboro
182
5th – Montrel Jackson, North Attleboro
195
1st – Shawn Conniff, King Philip
7th – Max Anderson, Oliver Ames
8th – Leo Izau, Milford
Ben Shocket takes down Alex Yan in the 113-pound match, as Sharon took down North Attleboro to win at least a share of its first league title. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)
SHARON, Mass. – North Attleboro has a lot of experience in dealing with the pressure of dual meets that can decide a league championship. It is essentially something that the Rocketeers deal with every season, but for Sharon this was a rare opportunity.
With a crowded gym cheering them on, the Eagles continued their historic season by putting together a solid team effort and handing North Attleboro a 37-19 loss. The win clinches Sharon at least a share of the Davenport division title, its first league dual meet crown. If the Eagles win the final meet against Stoughton, it would end North’s run of five straight league title across the Kelley-Rex and Davenport divisions.
“It feels great,” said Sharon coach Jeff Sonis. “The kids have put in so much work. We have kids come back and workout with them all the time. The kids deserve all the credit, they do all the wrestling, doing all the clubs and camps. They do everything it takes to win.”
North coach Geoff Burgess knew that his team was in for a tough night against the Eagles, particularly with an open spot at 120 that would be a free six points for Sharon. He praised the hosts for the effort that they put in during the off-season workouts.
“Their kids put in all the hard work in the off-season,” he said. “They were all at club. They were religious about it too, there every day, so they deserve it. Their kids wrestled fantastic tonight.”
It was hardly a runaway win for Sharon, as the teams combined for only three pins on the night and none of those pins occurred before the third period of a match.
The turning point of the meet came in the ninth match. At 220 pounds (the meet started at 132), Keysun Wise led 2-0 heading into the third period. Rhamsez Thevenin had a reversal to tie the match, only for Wise to escape and regain the lead. Inside the final minute, Thevenin thought he had won it with another near fall, but again Wise managed to escape with just 12 seconds remaining to send the match into overtime at 4-4.
In overtime, Thevenin didn’t settle for just getting the takedown that would win it, he also followed through and got the pin and six points for his team, pushing the lead to 24-12 and ratcheting up the noise in the gym to a new level.
“The pin at 220 by Rhamsez was huge for us in overtime,” Sonis explained. “We tell our kids all the time to fight through overtime, a pin in overtime counts the same. I think it was the turning point. That goes the other way and things would be a lot closer than I would’ve liked.”
John Kummer followed that match with a solid 11-0 win at 285 pounds, but he was frustrated in his attempts to get the pin right back and had to settle for four points for North. Adam Landstein continued his excellent season with a 10-2 victory at 106 and Ben Shocket scored a 13-11 victory over Alex Yan at 113 to put Sharon up 31-16.
Shocket’s win basically sealed the meet and title, as a walk-over at 120 meant six more points for the Eagles. Ethan Smith closed out the meet with a 10-5 victory at 126, but the three points were only consolation for the Rocketeers.
“Nice home crowd, chance to win a league championship, and every single dual meet is like this for them where it comes down to every bout and they just won all the close bouts,” said Burgess. “We just weren’t tough enough. We probably could’ve won four more bouts, they were that close.”
Sharon built an early lead through the first four matches. After Chris Galligan opened the meet with a 6-1 win at 132 pounds, the Eagles won four straight to jump in front. Aaron Cashton rolled to a 9-2 win at 138, Max Pozner had a pair of takedowns in the third period to win 10-5 at 145, Kirit Gossety won 7-1 at 152, and Tyler Freedman closed out his match with a third period pin to make it 15-3 overall.
Austin Dean won 7-0 at 170 pounds to get North three points back and Mike Edmonds grabbed six points with a pin inside the final minute of the third period at 182. Eric Rabkin put Sharon back in front by six (18-12) when his third period escape proved to be the only scoring in a 1-0 win against Alex Warsofsky at 195.
“I tell my kids all the time that dual meets can come down to a kid not getting pinned, a kid losing only by seven,” Burgess said. “There are numerous instances in our past where the moral victory is sometimes just as good as the actual victory.”
Sharon has had good teams in the past and individual wrestlers who have brought home titles at state and New England meets, but the Eagles had never broken through and won a league championship before this season.
When asked what separated this year’s team from others in the past, Sonis replied, “We have a lot of depth. We have 28 kids with a varsity win. We have 45 kids who work hard at practice. They work hard, they push each other, we have great leadership from the seniors, and the kids rally behind each other. I think they really enjoy being with each other.”
Sharon (21-2) will head to North Attleboro for the league cross-over quad meet on Saturday on before closing out the league campaign against Stoughton on Wednesday. North Attleboro (9-8) will host the quad and face-off against Franklin, King Philip, and Taunton before hosting Foxboro next Wednesday.
Boys Hockey
Attleboro, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 3 – Final – Oliver Ames rallied for three goals in the third period to erase a two-goal deficit and grab a win at home over Attleboro. Cam Perron, Hunter Costello, and Jake Gottwald each found the back of the net for the Tigers, who scored the game-winning goal with 4:30 left in the contest. Perron and Ryan Gottwald had assists for OA.
Mansfield, 3 @ King Philip, 3 – Final – King Philip rallied from a two-goal deficit, scoring the tying goal with just over five minutes remaining to earn a key point and move into a tie for first place in the Kelley-Rex division with two games let. King Philip junior Aidan Boulger scored on an assist from classmate David Lawler with 5:43 to play to bring the Warriors level. Mansfield opened the scoring less than a minute in when Jake Lund (from Kevin Belanger and Chris Jenkins) scored at 14:10. Jenkins doubled the lead with 9:19 left in the second period on a feed from Lund. King Philip got on the board with 7:46 to play in the middle period on an unassisted tally from Jack Coulter but Mansfield pushed the lead to 3-1 on a goal from Mark DeGirolamo (from Kyle Oakley and Joseph Gormley) just 19 seconds later. KP pulled one back on the power play when Chris Daniels scored on assists from Joe Boselli and Rocco Bianculli.
Stoughton, 1 @ Nauset, 1 – Final – Stoughton rallied for a goal late in the third period to earn a tie on the road at Nauset. Dante Massaro scored a goal on assist from Anthony Hern with 2:57 left in the game to grab a point.
Girls Hockey
Canton, 4 @ Hingham, 1 – Final – Canton freshman Olivia Maffeo scored all four goals to lead the Bulldogs to a win on the road.
Franklin, 1 @ Norwood, 2 – Final
King Philip, 1 @ Westwood, 4 – Final
Wrestling
Methuen Super-Quad (Canton) – The Bulldogs notched a pair of wins at the Metheun SuperQuad. Canton picked up wins over Waltham (58-24) and Quabbin (24-15) but suffered setbacks to St. John’s Shrewsbury (52-23), Lynnfield/North Reading (54-21) and host Metheun (71-6).
Timberlane (NH) Invitational (Franklin, Mansfield) – Both Franklin and Mansfield finished in the top five in the team standings at the Timberlane Invitational. The Panthers had one individual champion, a second place finish, five grapplers take third while the Hornets had two champions, one second place finish, and three wrestlers take fourth. Franklin’s Dom Sackley won the 160 bracket, Mansfield’s Antonios Sevastos went 3-0 to take first at 126, and CJ Glaropoulos needed just 1:19 total to get three wins and take first at 170 for the Hornets. Finishing second included Franklin’s Kenny Sauer (152) and Mansfield’s Noah Jellenik (220). Drew DiFilippo (120), Jake Carlucci (132), Alex Fracassa (145), Liam Cogavin (170), and Dylan Nawn (182) all finished third for the Panthers while Mansfield’s Noah Price (120), Will Stratton (145), and Ciaran Connolly (160) each finished fourth.
St. John’s Prep Quad (Foxboro), 10:00AM
Whitman-Hanson Quad (King Philip, Sharon) – Sharon picked up a pair of wins, recording victories over both Bridgewater Raynham (43-25) and host Whitman-Hanson (56-18). David Gelman, Amit Levin, Kirit Gosetty, and Philip Varvak each picked up a pair of wins at the meet.
Framingham Quad (North Attleboro) – The Rocketeers picked up two wins as a team and had five grapplers post 3-0 records at the Framingham quad. North Attleboro pinned down wins over Needham (45-25) and Milton (55-12) but fell to the host Flyers (39-30). Ethan Smith (126, three pins), Chris Galligan (132, one pin, one tech fall), Mike Edmonds (170, two pins), Keysun Wise (220, three pins) and John Kummer (285, one pin) each went 3-0 on the day. Andrew Faris (138), Jon Lozinski (145), and Alex Warsofsky (195) each had a pair of wins for the Rocketeers.
Sandwich Tournament (Taunton) – Taunton had its best ever showing at the Cape Cod Invitational, a tournament the Tigers compete in annually, by taking third overall as a team with 135 points. Taunton had one champion, a pair of second and third place finishes, and three wrestlers take fourth. Christian Balmain won the 152 bracket, earning three pinfall victories to get to the final where he used a third period escape to secure a 3-2 decision. Nico Sallaway (170) and James Collins (106) each finishes second, Xavier Sandoval (126) and Brandon Mendes (113) each took third, and Peter Ye (182), Jackson Mandeville (138), and Ben Mandeville (132) each finished fourth.
Boys Hockey
Foxboro, 0 @ Canton, 2 – Final – Canton scored once in each the first and second periods to earn a Hockomock League win over visiting Foxboro. Senior Dom Cammarata scored his first career goal in the first and sophomore Eamon Kelly doubled the lead with a goal late in the second period.
King Philip, 4 @ Taunton, 1 – Final – KP rallied from 1-0 down after the first period with a pair of goals in each of the second and third periods. Joe Boselli scored the tying goal on an assist from Chris Daniels and then the combo switched roles to put KP ahead 2-1. Jack Coulter (from Conor Cooke) made it 3-1 in the third period and then Cooke added the fourth (with assists from Aidan Boulger and Coulter). Nate Ihley made 18 saves to get the win.
North Attleboro, 2 @ Oliver Ames, 3 – Final – Oliver Ames erased a two goal deficit by scoring three unanswered third period goals to grab a win at home over North Attleboro. Cam Perron got the Tigers on the board on an assist from Ryan Gottwald while Duncan Pereira (assisted by Ross Carroll and Hunter Costello) tied the game for OA. Perron (from Brad Powers) scored the game-winner with three minutes to play to give OA the win.
Stoughton, 5 vs. Cardinal Spellman, 3 – Final – Colin Alessi, Al Bermingham, and Dante Massaro all scored to help Stoughton skate to a win over visiting Cardinal Spellman. Alessi and Bermingham each scored a pair of goals to pace the offense while Massaro found the best of the net once.
Girls Hockey
Canton, 1 @ Westwood, 4 – Final
Franklin, 2 @ Medway, 3 – Final
Stoughton, 3 vs. Shawsheen, 2 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery from this game – Stoughton’s Morgan Lessa scored with 7.2 seconds left to give the Black Knights a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Shawsheen. The Rams built a 2-0 lead with a goal in each the first and second periods but Stoughton got on the board with five minutes left in the second. Lessa fired a shot on net and Zofia Bangs tucked in the rebound to cut the deficit to 2-1. Samantha Sherman tied the game, squeaking a rebound just under the goalie. Lessa scored the winner on an odd-man rush in the final seconds to give the Black Knights their first win of the season. Brianna Buckley had a strong game in net for Stoughton.
Mansfield/Oliver Ames, 2 @ Dedham, 6 – Final
King Philip, 1 @ Notre Dame Academy, 3 – Final
Wrestling
Norton Quad (Canton, Stoughton), 10:00
Carver Quad (Foxboro), 10:00
Algonquin Quad (Franklin), 10:00
Oliver Ames Quad, 10:00
Walpole Quad (King Philip), 10:00
Holliston Quad (North Attleboro) – North Attleboro went 1-2 at the Holliston quad, picking up a win over Quabbin (18-9). The Rocketeers lost to host Holliston (46-30) as well as Melrose (48-26). Ethan Smith had a strong showing for the Rocketeers, picking up 3-0 wins all by pinfall at the 126 weight class. Andrew Faris (138) and Mike Edmonds (170, two pins) each went 2-0 for North Attleboro.
Marlboro Quad (Sharon) – Sharon suffered just its second loss of the season to host Marlboro but also picked up a pair of wins. The Eagles beat Masconomet (42-19) and St. John’s Shrewsbury (38-36) but fell to Marlboro (33-27). Adam Landstein (106) went 3-0 on the day for the Eagles, picking up a pair of pinfall victories and another by decision. Tyler Freedman (160) and Philip Varvak (170) each recorded two wins by pinfall on the day.
Marshfield Quad (Mansfield, Taunton) – Mansfield’s CJ Glaropoulos recorded the 100th win of his career and the Hornets posted a 3-1 record at the Marshfield Super Quad. Mansfield picked up wins over Silver Lake (60-18), Leominster (48-6) and Marshfield (36-18) with its lone loss coming to one of the top teams in the state in Metheun (48-33). Glaropoulos, Max Farley, Antonios Sevastos, Ciaran Connolly, and Noah Price well went undefeated on the day for the Hornets.
Boys Basketball
Taunton, 83 vs. Bishop Stang, 57 – Final – Taunton scored 23 points in each of the first three quarters, building a double-digit advantage through eight minutes and never looked back in a win over Bishop Stang. Sophomore Trent Santos sank four three-pointers on his way to a career-high 18 points, one of five Tigers to reach double figures and one of eight on the team to score. Sophomore Faisal Mass scored in all four quarters, netting nine of his career-high 15 points in the third quarter. Josh Lopes (14 points), Nigel Choate (career-high 12 points), and Tyler Stewart (10 points) all finished in double-figures for Taunton, who improved to 2-2 overall.
King Philip, 2 @ Archbishop Williams, 0 – Final – King Philip scored a pair of third period goals, used a stellar defensive performance, and Jesper Makudera shined in net in a win over Archies. Makudera made 27 saves for the Warriors and played outstanding according to KP head coach Paul Carlow. Carlow also noted the strong performance of the Warrior defense, highlighting senior Kyle Gray, who played a ton of minutes to anchor the blue line group. Junior Rocco Bianculli scored 45 seconds into the third on an assist from Joe Boselli to give the visitors the lead. Aidan Boulger doubled the lead at 9:58 on an assist from Gray.
Mansfield, 2 vs. Winthrop, 2 – Final – Mansfield had a first period lead but needed to find the back of the net in the third to earn a come-from-behind tie against Winthrop. Seniors Chris Jenkins and Jake Lund scored for the Hornets.
North Attleboro, 5 @ Bishop Feehan, 4 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. Matt McSweeney scored twice, including the eventual game-winner, and goalie Nick Digiacomo had a strong game in between the pipes to help the Rocketeers beat their rivals. North had a 1-0 lead five minutes into the first on a goal from the blue line by Jake McNeany, but the Shamrocks scored two quick goals to take a 2-1 lead after one period. In the second, North scored four times to jump in front. Will Yeomans tied the game with a power play goal. After Jake Gruber had his shot sneak inside the post to put North in front, Feehan tied it just 12 seconds later. McSweeney scored twice about a minute apart to put North ahead for good. Feehan got one back in the third, but the North penalty kill was impressive and the Rocketeeers held on for the win.
Franklin, 3 vs. Austin Prep, 3 – Final – Franklin scored with 10:26 left in the third period to earn a tie with Austin Prep, last year’s D1 State Finalists. The Panthers scored twice in the first period, taking a 1-0 lead on a goal from Gianna Cameron (assisted by Amanda Lewandowski and Lyndsey Atkinson) and then going back in front 2-1 just over a minute later on a goal from Atkinson (assisted by Libby Carter and Tina Pisano). Sophomore Emma Hunt had the assist on the game-tying goal while Gabby Colace made 32 saves in net to help the Panthers earn the point.
King Philip, 9 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final
Wrestling
Marlboro Tournament (Canton) – The Bulldogs sent a pair of wrestlers to the final round of the Marlboro Early Bird tournament, earning one individual championship and a ninth place finish overall with 73 points. Sophomore Zack Peters earned his first tournament win, taking first in the 113 bracket. Peters won his first three matches via pinfall before taking the final match 4-2 over the second seed. Eddie Marinilli added a second place finish in the 160 bracket while Yuril Leskiv took fourth overall at 106.
Melish Duals – Sharon took first place and went 4-0 in the Mike Melish Memorial Duals, beating hosts Foxboro 40-27 in the final match of the day. The Eagles also earned wins over Northbridge (57-12), Boston Latin (61-6), and Plymouth South (31-30). Five Sharon wrestlers – Adam Landstein, David Gelman, Kirit Gosetty, Tyler Freedman, Rhamsez Thevenin – went undefeated on the day.
Franklin @ St. John’s Prep Quad – The Panthers picked up three wins in the quad meet. Franklin beat Lawrence 54-24, Salem (N.H.) 60-21, and then edged out the home team St. John’s Prep 37-34 in the final match.
Brockton Quad (Mansfield), 10:00AM
North Attleboro Quad – North Attleboro picked up a win over Chariho (RI) but suffered setbacks to both Norton and Hope (RI) in the Rocketeers’ first quad of the season. Big Red earned a 51-25 win over Chariho before falling to the Lancers and Hope by identical 42-30 wins. The Rocketeers were close to a win over powerhouse Norton before the Lancers picked up back-to-back pins for an 18-point swing and the win. North’s Mike Edmonds (170), Montrel Jackson (182), and Keysun Wise (220) each went 3-0 on the day with a pair of pins.
Marshfield Super-Quad – Oliver Ames went 4-0 in Marshfield, beating the hosts 54-24, Pembroke 54-24, Scituate 42-18, and Toll Gate (R.I.) 54-18. Jaden Ricci, Onye Nwadiugwu, Stavros Constantinou, and Nelson Malone all went 4-0 on the day and Max Anderson went 3-0 for the Tigers.
Milford Tournament (Milford, King Philip), 10:00
Stoughton Quad, 10:00
Taunton Early Bird (Taunton) – Taunton’s Christian Balmain claimed the tournament title at 152, helping the Tigers take third overall at the Sandwich Early Bird. Balmain needs just 27 seconds to get his first win via pinfall, and then advanced to the finals with a pinfall victory in the semifinals. In the final, Balmain had a takedown in each of the first two rounds to build a lead, and then secured the 7-2 decision with a late takedown in the third. Taunton’s James Collins (106) and Nico Sallaway (170) each had second play finishes while Luke Fraga (113), Brandon Mendes (120), Xavier Sandoval (126), and Ethan Harris (160) finished third overall.
North Attleboro senior and UVA-commit Mateusz Kudra capped off North’s win over rival Foxboro with a pin at 285 pounds. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)
FOXBORO, Mass. – North Attleboro started the dual meet season 4-4, as a young roster tried to acclimate to competing at the varsity level against some of the top teams in the state. The Rocketeers have progressed over the course of the season and entered Wednesday night’s meet at Foxboro having won 10-of-12 meets.
The development of the North team was on full display against the Warriors, as the Rocketeers earned five pins as a team, won five straight matches through the middle weights to pull away, and took home a 44-21 victory that clinched a third straight Davenport title and fifth straight Hockomock dual meet championship overall.
“Beating Mansfield and now beating Foxboro in consecutive dual meets shows how hard my kids have worked and how much they’ve improved and that’s the most important thing,” said North coach Geoff Burgess. “I’m very proud of these guys and how they’ve gotten better and steadily improved over the course of the season.”
North got off to a 6-0 start, as Tanner Ferguson earned a 9-4 win at 106 pounds, scoring five unanswered points in the third period to take the victory, and Alex Yan won a 3-0 decision over T.J. Whitehouse at 113.
The 120-pound match, although only the third match of the night, was the turning point. Foxboro was counting on big points from Adam Lanctot, who is one of the top wrestlers in the state at that weight class, but he struggled to put away Ethan Smith. Leading 7-6 in the third period, Lanctot aggressively went after more points and Smith caught him, went on the attack, and got a pin that drew the loudest reaction of the night from the North bench.
“That was it,” Burgess said. “That match right there pretty much swung it. There were a bunch of coin flips but that wasn’t, they had the advantage. It’s one thing to catch a kid and put him on his back but to stick him, that was huge. That was a nine-point swing in our favor and it’s a different match if they win right there.
Foxboro coach Billy Ivatts admitted, “The match at 120 was pretty deflating. It was a tough matchup for us, a tough loss obviously there. We had a couple close matches that we thought may go the other way and really they won all the close matches.”
Cam Hassett edged Griffin Gouck 5-4 at 126 pounds to get Foxboro its first points of the night and the Warriors got back-to-back pins from Shayne Kerrigan (132) and Tommy Gallagher (138) to grab its only lead of the night.
North responded right away. Mike Burns got a second round pin at 145 to make it 18-15 and Mike Edmonds followed with a dominating match at 152, getting three back points in the final second to earn a tech fall and the bonus points. Montrel Jackson added a pin in the first minute at 160 to put the visitors ahead 29-15.
The run continued at 170, as Max Warsofsky used a late surge to pull away for a 6-1 win and then Liam Risk pinned his opponent at 182 to make it 38-15 and seal the win and the title for North Attleboro.
“I knew it was going to be a tough task going in and it really was,” said Ivatts. “We’d love to beat North one of these times but they’ve just got the horses this year. Hopefully, we can learn from it. The season isn’t over…we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Aidan Dow won 5-1 for Foxboro at 195 and William Ogbebor won 3-1 in a battle with John Kummer at 220, but North finished on a high. Mateusz Kudra, the University of Virginia-commit, got a pin at 285 to wrap up the meet.
“He’s the insurance policy. As long as we’re within five points, we know we can win. I’ve never had a wrestler like Mateusz. He also has improved dramatically, even if he doesn’t always get to show how much he’s improved.”
Burgess appreciated that the rivalry, which has gone back decades, is once again decisive for the league title. He said, “The last three years it has come down to us wrestling them and we’ve been fortunate to get the best of them, but they’re always tough, they’re always well-coached.”
North Attleboro (15-6, 5-0) will head to the Div. 2 duals this weekend and Foxboro (22-5, 4-1) will wrestle at the Div. 3 duals at Ashland.
