At 14-1-1, Red Raiders poised to take league
Published in the January 20, 2017 edition
ISAAC SIEDE’S decisive victory against Wakefield paved the way for a Melrose 51-27 victory. (Donna Larsson photo)
BY JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High Red Raider wrestling team’s joyride season continues. On January 14 the team reached their 14th win of the season by sweeping the competition in a meet at North Reading High.
Melrose saw a 53-24 victory over Essex Tech, a shutout over Smith Tech, a 56-22 victory over North Reading/Lynnfield and a 47-18 win over Triton to leave unbeaten for the day.
At 14-1-1, Melrose is poised to take the ML Freedom League by a comfortable margin should they prevail against Watertown on Wednesday, Jan. 25.
“The team has been playing great,” says head coach Jim Bleiler. “It’s been a real group effort. They’ve just dominated.”
Meanwhile, North Reading/Lynnfield co-op wrestling coach Craig Stone considered Melrose a very tough opponent. “Melrose is having an outstanding year, fresh off winning the Wayland Tournament,” said Stone. “They are shaping up to be the team that could win the Division 3 state championship this year.”
The occasion also marked the 100th victory of senior captain Antonio DiFronzo, currently undefeated this season in the 195 weight class, where he is also ranked first statewide.
Melrose is currently ranked first as a team in Div. 3, making them a team to beat heading into post season. The sixteen Raiders have been strong top to bottom but has seen dominating performances of late from DiFronzo, Hunter Adrian, Steven MacIntosh, Sean Hebert, and consistent performances from Mike Calvert, Collin Casey, Mandip Singh, Cam Rosie, Pat Whelan, and Jake Fortier in heavyweight.
A big test for Melrose came earlier in the week when they earned a 51-27 road win against Wakefield on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Melrose saw a 27-27 deadlock broken up by surprise standout Isaac Siede, who helped pave way to victory. “He’s been doing great this season,” says his coach. “And in that meet we pinned everyone from 170 up. It was a big win for us.”
Picking up wins were Hunter Adrian at 106 (pinned C.J. Hagen), Sean Hebert at 120 (pinned Aiden Armstrong) and Steven Macintosh at 126 (pinned Brock Johnson), which gave Melrose an early lead. Wakefield battled back, earning forfeit points and winning a few key weights. Melrose’s Mike Calvert lost a close one to Wakefield’s Ryan Smith, which gave Wakefield a brief lead. Melrose’s Mandip Singh took a decision over Matt Murdoca to tie it 21-21, and Cam Rosie fell to senior Ben Piercy to give another lead to Wakefield, 27-21. However, Siede’s win paved way for remaining match wins and Melrose enjoyed pins in the 182, 195, 220 and 285 weight classes. Pat Whelan pinned Mike Yirrell, DiFronzo pinned James Connors, Collin Casey pinned Aiden Coleman, and Jake Fortier brought it home by pinning Dan Demeglio for grand finale and 51-27 victory.
Melrose, at 14-1-1 has only lost to one opponent this season: Chelmsford, a top ranked, division one heavy weight. The Red Raiders are now considered among the best in the state, exactly where coaches Bleiler and asst. coach Tim Morris want to be.
“Our goal is to first win the league, then sectionals and go for the state,” says Bleiler. “We have to stay healthy, practice smart. We have some tough teams on the horizon, Pentucket being one of them, but we’ll be ready.”
Melrose hosts a dual meet on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. at Melrose High. Local fans who want to see them in action better act fast, it’s one of their last home meets before postseason play. Their last home contest is Feb. 8 against Woburn.
