Published February 28, 2019
By DAN TOMASELLO
DANVERS — Wrestling captain Sean McCullough has qualified for the New England Championships this weekend.
McCullough punched his ticket to the tournament after finishing seventh in the 182 lb. weight class during the All-State Wresting Tournament at St. John’s Preparatory School on Feb. 22 and 23.
During the tournament’s first round, McCullough pinned South Shore Regional High School wrestler Jeremy Driscoll, a Division 3 state place finisher, at 1:42. He fell to Agawam’s Dom Ledoux, the Division 1 runner-up, by fall at 5:32 in the quarterfinals.
McCullough began the consolation rounds defeating Greater Lawrence’s Ader Mezidor, a Division 2 state place finisher, by a 17-9 decision. He lost to Haverhill’s Joe Santoro, a Division 1 state place finisher, by a 3-2 decision.
In McCullough’s final match, he secured the seventh place finish after pinning Dracut’s Allyn French at 3:55. McCullough defeated French by a 7-5 decision in the Division 2 North Sectional Tournament and lost to French in the Division 2 State Tournament.
CAPTAIN Sean McCullough (on top) placed seventh in the 182 lb. weight class in the All-State Tournament at St. John’s Preparatory School last weekend. McCullough’s seventh place finish enabled him to qualify for this weekend’s New England Championships. (Courtesy Photo)
Black and Gold head coach Craig Stone said McCullough’s win over French was his 100th career victory. He noted that former North Reading wrestler Joe Morse has the highest win total of North Reading grapplers on the co-op team with 106 career wins.
“By placing seventh, Sean has earned a trip to Providence, Rhode Island this weekend to wrestle in the New England Championships,” said Stone. “Sean is the first North Reading wrestler and the second LNR wrestler to compete at the New England Championships since the co-op began in 2005. Lynnfield’s Eric Kerr competed at the New England Championships in 2013 and was a sixth place finisher at New England’s in 2014.”
Stone said McCullough gave a strong performance during the All-State Tournament.
“First of all, just to compete at this tournament of state place finishers from all the divisions is quite an accomplishment, then to go ahead and place at the tournament is just an outstanding feat,” said Stone. “Sean has worked hard all season, worked hard during the offseason and has tremendous drive and determination. I, the coaches and the team are extremely proud of his achievements.”
