Warriors wrestle Melrose for outright Freedom title tonight
THE CHARBONNEAU FIELD HOUSE rolled out three mats for the Middlesex League Meet on Saturday. Wakefield ruled the day, collecting 375 points on their way to a 1st-place finish. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
Published in the January 31, 2018 edition.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WAKEFIELD – While the Charbonneau Field House at WMHS can shift into multiple different habitats depending on the sport it’s tasked with hosting, you would be hard-pressed to find a more electric environment than the Middlesex League Meet which took place at the Field House on Saturday.
“Wait until you see what it’s like for States,” was the common response to a first-timer’s Middlesex League Meet experience, as the Warriors get ready to host the biggest tournament of them all later this season, but Wakefield showed up on their home turf on a mission to make this meet one to remember.
The Warriors did much more than make the home fans proud, as they stormed past six other representatives in the Middlesex League to take a convincing 1st place finish. Wakefield scored a 375 as a team. The next closest was Melrose at 243. Arlington got 3rd with 232 followed by Reading (191.5), Wilmington (158), Belmont (142) and Lexington (74).
There were many Wakefield highlights to choose from, but it’s hard to argue the best moment came early in the meet when Warrior senior captain Ryan Smith made his return from an injury that has kept him out of the lineup since Dec. 9. Smith pinned his only opponent of the day as he defaulted to 6th place in the 152 weight class. Matt Cunningham took 4th in that class.
Wakefield had three first-place finishers and one runner-up to make up the other top highlights.
Co-captain Aiden Coleman took first at 195. Mike Yirrell got the gold at 170 and Aidan Armstrong took first at 126. Co-captain Jake Goodchild was the runner-up at 145.
Wakefield had plenty of other place winners including Luke Fitzgerald (3rd) and Anselm Schools (4th) at 106; Chris Alves (3rd) and Jameson O’Callahan (5th) at 113; Tyler Newman (4th) at 132; Brock Johnson (4th) at 138; co-captain Kevin Tran (3rd) and Jimmy Grover (6th) at 160; Robbie Fossett (3rd) and Steve Mercurio (4th) at 182; Kenny Tran (4th) at 195; Derek DiMascio (4th) at 220 and Dan Lamonica (4th) at 285.
The Warriors picked up their most points in the 170 weight class where they placed 3rd through 6th to follow up Yirrell’s first-place finish. Diego Hernandez took 3rd, Dan Piracini 4th, Robbie Boyle 5th and Cam McLaughlin 6th.
It’s hard to imagine a better place to pick up your first varsity win. That was the case for five Warriors on Saturday. O’Callahan pinned Belmont’s Frank Costagano in 1:11 for his first varsity win. Newman got his first via a pin in 58 seconds against Belmont’s Mody Abel Salam. Joe Alden got his first win by pinning Lexington’s Yoni Bason in 3:26 at 138. Piracini got his via a pin in 4:13 at 170 while Kenny Tran won an 8-1 decision over Arlington’s Nate Pokress at 195.
Reveling in the glow of a Middlesex Meet trophy isn’t an option quite yet for the Warriors as they immediately shift their focus to Melrose for their last Freedom Dual Meet which will take place tonight, 7 p.m. at Memorial Hall in Melrose. A win would make Wakefield the outright Freedom Division champions.
