Black and Gold finish ninth in Pentucket Holiday Tournament

Published January 2, 2019

By DAN TOMASELLO

WEST NEWBURY — The Lynnfield-North Reading co-op wrestling team finished ninth in the Pentucket Holiday Tournament on Dec. 27.

The Black and Gold finished with 89 points in the 20-team tournament. Four grapplers placed during the tournament.

Captain Timmy Leggett finished first in the 132 lb. weight class and concluded the tournament with a 4-0 record. Leggett’s first place finish marked the second time he has placed in a tournament this season. He finished first in the Anthony Lisitano Tournament on Dec. 15.

Leggett pinned an Exeter, New Hampshire wrestler in 1:08 during the first round of the tournament. He defeated a Boston United wrestler by fall in 34 seconds in the quarterfinals. He pinned a Whittier Tech wrestler in 54 seconds during the semifinals. In the finals, Leggett defeated a Greater Lawrence Tech wrestler by fall in 1:09.

Captain Stuart Glover finished second during the 126 lb. weight class, and finished with a 3-1 record during the tournament. Glover began the tournament by pinning a Pelham, New Hampshire wrestler in 1:33 during the first round of the tournament. In the quarterfinals, Glover brought a Salem wrestler to the ground in 54 seconds. He defeated a Timberlane Regional High School grappler by a 9-8 decision in the semifinals. Glover fell to Georgetown-Ipswich’s Troy Forgitano, a returning state place finisher, by a 9-3 decision in the finals.

Captain Sean McCullough finished second during the 182 lb. weight class, and went 3-1 during the tournament. He began the tournament by pinning a Boston United wrestler in 27 seconds. In the quarterfinals, he defeated a Timberlane wrestler by fall at 1:08. He pinned a Pelham wrestler, who is a returning state place finisher, in 4:51 during the semifinals. During the finals, he lost a 10-8 decision to Pentucket’s Jason Young.

“McCullough and Young have already met three times this season, with Young holding a 2-1 edge,” said Black and Gold head coach Craig Stone. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see another rematch at the CAL/NEC Tournament later in January.”

Sophomore Christian Real-Costa (106 lbs.) finished fifth in the tournament after posting a 2-2 record. Sophomore Nik Marotta (160 lbs.) went 1-2 during the tournament. Junior Cam Randazzo (145 lbs.), senior captain Dylan Reardon (152 lbs.), junior Giovanni Colucciello (170 lbs.), junior Brandon Ouellette (195 lbs.) and junior Steven Kane (220 lbs.) each went 0-2 during the Pentucket Holiday Tournament.

Stone was pleased with the Black and Gold’s performance during the tournament.

“Our returning varsity starters from last year did very well,” said Stone. “It’s quite impressive having three wrestlers in the finals. More importantly, our other starters continued to gain much needed experience that they will be able to draw on later in the season.”

Super quad meet

The Black and Gold (2-8) competed in a super quad meet against Malden Catholic, Marblehead-Swampscott, Dedham, Salem, New Hampshire and Wakefield on Dec. 22.

The Black and Gold dismantled Malden Catholic 48-6 during the super quad meet.

Glover (126 lbs.) pinned his opponent in 5:06. Leggett (132 lbs.) defeated his counterpart by fall in 1:09. Junior Chris Metrano (138 lbs.) pinned his opponent in 55 seconds. Reardon (152 lbs.) brought his counterpart to the ground in 4:34.

Junior Dan Ryan (160 lbs.) won his match by fall in 25 seconds. Sophomore Nik Marotta pinned his counterpart in 1:54. Sean McCullough (195 lbs.) brought his opponent to the ground in 1:18. Real-Costa (106 lbs.) and junior Greg Camier (220 lbs.) won their respective matches by forfeit.

“LNR won 10 out of 11 matches,” said Stone. “Malden Catholic was only able to fill eight of those weight classes. With only one senior in the lineup, Reardon, we continue to gain valuable experience that we can build on.”

The Black and Gold fell 39-33 to Marblehead-Swampscott.

Glover (126 lbs.) pinned his opponent in 26 seconds. Leggett (132 lbs.) defeated his counterpart by fall in 1:56. Freshman Ryan McCullough (145 lbs.) earned his first varsity win after defeating his opponent by a 6-4 decision.

Camier (220 lbs.) brought his opponent to the ground in 4:31. Sean McCullough (195 lbs.) and junior Gerry Callagy (182 lbs.) won their respective matches by forfeit.

Stone noted the Black and Gold was forced to forfeit the 113 lb. and 120 lb. weight classes against Marblehead-Swampscott.

“Even with the forfeits, we still had a shot at the win,” said Stone. “We lost a couple of close contests along the way.”

The Black and Gold fell 45-30 to Dedham.

Glover (126 lbs.) won his match by a 10-4 decision. Leggett (132 lbs.) pinned his counterpart in 41 seconds. Metrano (138 lbs.) defeated his opponent by fall in 1:18.

Sean McCullough (182 lbs.) defeated a returning sectional place finisher by a 6-0 decision. Callagy (195 lbs.) pinned his counterpart in 1:30. Real-Costa (106 lbs.) won his match by forfeit.

“LNR gave the 2018 Division 3 Central champions all they could handle,” said Stone. “Dedham returned nine sectional place finishers in their lineup. LNR has only two.”

The Black and Gold fell 54-27 to Salem, New Hampshire during the super quad meet.

Leggett (132 lbs.) pinned a returning New Hampshire state runner-up in 2:42. Metrano (138 lbs.) defeated his counterpart by fall in 1:10. Reardon (152 lbs.) defeated his opponent by a 14-9 decision.

Sean McCullough (182 lbs.) brought his counterpart to the ground in 46 seconds. Camier (220 lbs.) won his match by forfeit.

“Salem is one of the top high school teams in New Hampshire,” said Stone. “We had some good individual matches, but just not enough firepower to challenge them throughout the lineup.”

The Black and Gold fell 36-21 to Wakefield.

Glover (126 lbs.) pinned his counterpart in 3:46. Leggett (132 lbs.) won his match by injury default. Reardon (152 lbs.) won his match by an 18-17 decision. Sean McCullough (182 lbs.) pinned his counterpart in 1:09.

“Wakefield was the runner-up at the 2018 Division 3 North Sectional Tournament,” said Stone.

Stone said he was pleased with LNR’s growth during the super quad meet.

“It was a physical day of wrestling,” said Stone. “We had some good individual performances from Leggett and Sean McCullough, who were both 5-0. Metrano, who bounces around from 132-128, also had a nice day going 3-1 with three pins, while Glover was 4-1. Callagy and Reardon were also able to grab three wins apiece.”