SENIOR CO-CAPTAIN Kevin Tran went 3-0 once again at Wakefield’s recent quad meet against Wilmington, Saugus and Pentucket. Tran provided the highlight of the meet with a huge 15-7 major decision over Dom Clark of Saugus, the number-nine ranked wrestler in the state at the 160 weight class.(Donna Larsson File Photo)

Published in the January 22, 2018 edition.

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Memorial High School wrestling team hosted their first meet at the Galvin Middle School on Friday looking to continue their Quad Meet success for the 2017-18, with their last Quad of the season against Wilmington, Saugus and Pentucket. Wakefield went out on top, picking up a massive 41-39 win against their Freedom rival Wildcats, and following that up with two more wins to pick up the sweep.

Pull off two-point win over Wilmington

In an excellent matchup, the Warriors held on for a win over Wilmington, thanks to an incredible effort from the higher weight classes late in the match.

The Wildcats won the first three matchups in the 106, 113 and 120 weight classes, before Wakefield’s Aidan Armstrong picked up a decisive pin in 37 seconds at 126 lbs.

Wilmington took 132 before Wakefield won back-to-back, first on a forfeit win for Brock Johnson, then on a pin in 1:38 from senior co-captain Jake Goodchild at 145 lbs.

Following two consecutive win for Wilmington, the Warriors responded with four straight victories to seal the win.

Senior co-captain Kevin Tran kicked the run off with a pin in 2:56 at 170 lbs, followed by a pin in 1:30 for Mike Yirrell at 182, a pin in 41 seconds for Steve Mercurio at 195 and an 18-3 technical fall for senior co-captain Aiden Armstrong at 220. It was a wicked run for the Warriors who all season long have demonstrated an ability to capitalize on momentum for consecutive wins to take control of a match.

Crush Saugus, 40-6

Wakefield put the pressure on Saugus from the outset and maintained control throughout the matchup, going 9-1 to seize a 40-6 win.

The highlight came from Kevin Tran, who matched up against Saugus’ Dom Clark, who is currently ranked #9 in the State in the 160 weight class. After a good battle from two of the state’s best, Tran gave the home fans a 15-7 major decision victory.

Wakefield got a better showing from the lower weight classes in this one, as they got wins from Anselm Schools (pin, 3:28 at 106 lbs.), Luke Fitzgerald (pin, 1:33 at 113 lbs.), Chris Alves (4-1 dec. at 120 lbs.) and Armstrong (pin, 2:57 at 126 lbs.).

As was the case against all three teams, Wakefield
dominated the middle weight classes against Saugus,
including Goodchild (4-3 dec. at 145 lbs.), Tran’s big win, Yirrell (pin, 4:57 at 170 lbs.) and Robbie Fossett (9-1 maj. dec. at 182 lbs.).

Beat Pentucket, 42-30

Wakefield got all they could handle against a tough Pentucket team, but were able to hold on for a 12-point win. The Warriors got forfeit wins for Goodchild, Jameson O’Callahan and Matt Cunningham, which was key during the lower weight class bouts as the Sachems took two pins and a decision in the 126, 132 and 138 weight classes.

Tran got Wakefield back on track as the star of the meet pinned Pentucket’s Tim Beech in 2:36 at 160 to go 3-0 on the day.

In a back-and-forth rest of the match, the Warriors got three big pins to safely come away with a 42-30 win and a 3-0 record. The last three pins came from Fossett (1:39 at 182 lbs.), Derek DiMascio (1:02 at 220 lbs.) and Dan Lamonica (:58 at 285 lbs.).

The Warrior wrestlers (17-3) now have plenty of momentum heading into one of the biggest matchups of the season as they travel to Freedom-rival Burlington on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to face an always talented Red Devils team. Wakefield will then look forward to hosting the Middlesex League Meet at the Charbonneau Field House on Saturday morning, starting at 10 a.m.