SABRINA DAFONSECA earned 1st place at the Brendan Grant Memorial Tournament in Belmont over the weekend. (Courtesy Photo)
BELMONT — The Wakefield High wrestling team traveled to Belmont High on Saturday to compete in the Brendan Grant Memorial Tournament.
The Warriors took home two gold medals in addition to a 2nd place, 3rd place, 4th, 5th and 6th places finishes as they ended up in the top five of team scores in the event.
The two gold medalists from Wakefield were Sean Callanan and Sabrina DaFonseca.
DaFonseca, in her first season wrestling for the Warriors, took 1st place in her division, going 3-0 in the tournament, all by a pin to earn the gold. DaFonseca defeated Gessica Dango of Newton North (F, 1:56), Darian Chartier of Framingham (F, 3:00) and Caroline Souto of Watertown (1:16) in the round robin format.
Callanan lived up to his top ranking in the 157 division, finishing 1st out of 16 wrestlers. He topped Davaughn Walker of Mansfield (F, :22) in the first round before closing out a tough Jason Brown of East Providence (F, 3:18) in the quarterfinals. Callanan won by forfeit in the semifinals before setting up a championship bout with No. 2 ranked Miles Mattaliano of Concord-Carlisle. Callanan’s early takedown set the tone and earned all the points he would need as he held on for a 3-1 decision for the title.
Earning a 2nd place trophy for Wakefield was Kip King in the heavyweight 285 division. All signs pointed to a championship showdown between King and Arlington’s Brady Bekkenhuis, the No. 2 and No. 1 ranked wrestlers respectively in the heavyweight division at the Grant Tourney.
The two did not disappoint as they both made their way to the finals. In the quarterfinals, King defeated Savoi Hightower in sudden victories by a 4-1 decision, his takedown in the overtime period the difference. In the semifinals, King pinned Mansfield’s Nathan Pailler in 2:41.
Bekkenhuis, a standout lineman for the Spy Ponders, listed at 6’6” 290 and committed to play football at Boston College, pinned his first two opponents quickly. In the Finals, King battled for 3:45 before Bekkenhuis was able to get a pin for the win.
Taking 3rd for Wakefield was Jack Hodgdon in a crowded 144 bracket. Hodgdon went 4-1 in the tournament to earn the bronze. He defeated Gabriel Homeier-Toker of Dedham (F, 2:57) in the first round and Jacob Pereira of Mansfield in a hard-fought 9-8 decision before falling to Cam Ackerman of Woburn by an 11-4 decision. Hodgdon bounced back by defeating Matthew Oldford of King Philip in a 7-0 decision before taking 3rd via forfeit.
Ahmed Othman earned a 4th place finish for the Warriors in the 215 bracket. He was pinned by Joe Vitolo of East Providence in the first round but responded with four straight victories. Othman beat Enzo Passos of Belmont (F, 4:35), Dylan Delaney of Arlington (16-1, TF) and Michael Klovski of Lexington (F, 2:08) in a tour of the Middlesex League before a forfeit set him up in the 3rd place bout against Colby Sulkala of Mansfield. In perhaps the best battle of the entire tournament, Sulkala outlasted Othman in six periods, earning an escape in the last second of the 6th to steal a victory.
Michael Barry went 3-2 to take 5th in the 120 bracket. He had wins over Luis Esparza of Waltham (F, 3:04), Noam Grinberg of Sharon (F, 1:50) and Anthony Sateriale of Dedham (8-3 DEC).
James Fabbri went 3-3 to take 6th place at 138. He defeated Brock Minor of King Philip (F, :53), Manu Mahenthiran of Arlington (F, 4:27) and Mathew Jacob of Concord-Carlisle (TF, 24-8).
In a Middlesex League matchup against Lexington on New Year’s Eve, Wakefield earned a 58-9 victory at the Charbonneau Field House. Wakefield went 11-3 in individual bouts to earn the win. Contested bout winners were Josh Johansen at 126 (DEC, 11-7), Aydin Lamb at 138 (MD, 11-4), James Fabbri at 144 (DEC, 1-0), Callanan at 157 (F, :47), Jaden Fullerton at 165 (F, 1:59) and Christian DiFlorio at 175 (F, 1:59).
On the same night, Wakefield also took on Lowell in a non-league bout and came up short 45-29 in a good matchup against a strong team. Warrior winners in that one were Barry at 120 (F, 1:25), Johansen at 126 (TF, 19-2), Lamb at 132 (F, 1:40), Callanan at 157 (F, 1:41), Othman at 215 (DEC, 9-4) and King at 285 (DEC, 5-1).
Wakefield is now getting ready for a dual meet against Watertown on Thursday, 7 p.m. back at the Charbonneau Field House.
