Published January 29, 2020
By RYAN MARSH
WAKEFIELD — On Friday night, the Warrior wrestling team hosted Wilmington, Tyngsborough and Pentucket at the Charbonneau Field House for the last home meet of the season.
Wakefield was 9-2-1 heading into the match and was looking to add on to an already dominant season with three more wins. Wakefield’s goals may have looked tall, but the team accomplished them with ease.
Wakefield crushed Wilmington 39-12, Pentucket 48-9 and escaped with the win in a close match against a good Tyngsborough team, 27-24.
The Warriors had a fantastic match against the Wilmington Wildcats, only losing three matchups.
Tommy Grover won in a decision over his opponent 3-2, while Luke Fitzgerald secured six points for the Warrior cause with a pin on his opponent in 2:58.
MATT CUNNINGHAM went 3-0 on Friday night, including this pin of Tyngsborough’s Matt Beauchesne. (Wakefield Wrestling Photo)
Wakefield lost decisions in the next two matches and the Wilmington fans began to grow louder. But the Warrior wrestlers quickly silenced all that Wilmington cheering with Wakefield winning the rest of the matchups.
Nick Roberto (138 lbs, DEC 4-1), Brock Johnson (145 lbs, F 1:54), Matt Cunningham (152 lbs, DEC 16-9), Joāo Valdevino (160 lbs. Forfeit), Jimmy Grover (170 lbs, F 1:19) and Dan Lamonica (285 lbs, F 1:58) all defeated their opponents and gave Wakefield their first win of the day.
Wakefield’s hot streak continued early against Tyngsborough. The matches went back-and-forth most of the contest, with Wakefield and Tyngsborough both winning then losing matches back-to-back.
Brock Johnson stepped onto the mat, trying to get his team some momentum and did exactly that. Johnson and his opponent engaged in a battle that no fan could take their eyes off of. Johnson won the match with a 2-1 decision and helped bring the momentum back to Wakefield. The next two wrestlers, Matt Cunningham and Joāo Valdevino, both won their matches by pins, giving Wakefield a big lead.
Although the Warriors were on a hot streak, Tyngsborough quickly put out the fire and won four more matches of their own. Down by three points, Dan Lamonica needed to win by a decision in order to bring the overall match to a tie. Lamonica not only got Wakefield the three points, but he also won by pin to get Wakefield six points and secure the second team victory of the day.
DAN LAMONICA is declared the winner via pin against Tyngsborough’s Collin Michalik. Lamonica went 2-0 on Friday night. (Wakefield Wrestling Photo)
The third and final match of the day was a blowout against Pentucket. The Warriors only lost two matchups in this battle as the Wakefield wrestlers excelled and showed their true colors.
Luke Fitzgerald was the highlight of the first three wrestlers with a win by pin (3:49) which helped Wakefield take the lead after the first three matches. Following a loss in the 126-pound class, Wakefield then won the next six matches.
Anslem Schools (132 lbs), Matt Cunningham (152 lbs), Joāo Valdevino (160 lbs) and Jimmy Grover (170 lbs) all picked up victories by pins during the six-win streak while captain Brock Johnson (145 lbs) and Robbie Fossett (182 lbs) both won by decisions.
The match ended with a clash of heavyweights in which senior Sam Valenti pancaked his opponent in 2:11 and grabbed a final six points for the Warriors. Wakefield demolished Pentucket by a score of 48-9, which capped off the day in a strong way for the Warriors.
Many Wakefield wrestlers dazzled in the meet but multiple wrestlers had perfect records on the day including Brock Johnson, Matt Cunningham, Joāo Valdevino, Jimmy Grover, and Dan Lamonica.
The Wakefield Warriors entered the contests looking to win all three, and they did just that.
The Warriors next have road matches against Burlington (tonight, 7 p.m.) and Wayland (Saturday, 10 a.m.) followed by the 3rd Annual Brawl in the Hall in Melrose against the Melrose Red Raiders on Wednesday, Feb. 5.
