THE WARRIORS took 4th overall at the Nashua South Invitational on Saturday. (Wakefield Wrestling Photo)
Published in the January 14, 2020 edition.
NASHUA — The Wakefield High wrestling team crossed the border on Saturday to Nashua, ready to compete against a strong collection of teams across New England.
The Warriors put together a strong outing, leaving team with 157 total points and 4th place overall.
Bishop Guertin was first with 208.5 followed by Salem (198) and Nashua South (163). The Warriors placed ahead of Cranston West (154), Natick (132), Merrimack (131) and 12 other teams.
Wakefield had plenty of wrestlers stand out, including Joao Valdevino (1st), Jimmy Grover (2nd), Jameson O’Callahan (3rd), Luke Ickes (3rd), Matthew Cunningham (4th) and Nathan Ickes (4th).
Valdevino went 4-0 on the day. Valdevino, who was the first Warrior to medal in the Lowell Holiday Tournament since 2015 back on Dec. 28, pinned all of his opponents on Saturday, culminating in a great matchup against Bishop Guertin’s Matt Frechette in the championship which Valdevino won by pin in 2:58. He beat Finn Mullay of Nashua North (F, 2-0, 0:40) in the first round, Excel Academy’s Rayyan Lakehal (F, 7-0, 1:30) in the quarterfinals and Hollis Brookline’s Hunter Hudzik (F, 2-0, 1:44) in the semifinals.
Jimmy Grover went 3-1 at 170 to nab second. He beat Salem’s Joe Colecchia (F, 5-0, 0:33), then Natick’s Eric Washington (DEC, 7-1) and Merrimack’s Gabriel Victal (DEC, 3-1) in the semifinals. Grover was edged (F, 2-1, 2:56) in a great championship match by Bishop Guertin’s Andrew Ha.
O’Callahan had a great day competing at 126 lbs. He made it to the semifinals with two pins, first over Alexis Laro of Nashua South (F, 2-0, 0:19), then over Bishop Guertin’s Calvin Jozokos (F, 4-0, 4:34). O’Callahan was pinned by eventual champion Matt Adams of Salem, but came back to beat Conval’s Cam Jordan (F, 2-0, 1:25) and Baker Kattan (DEC, 4-2) to finish 4-1 on the day for 3rd place.
Cunningham went 4-2 on the day for his 4th-place finish at 152. He beat Salem’s Mike Williams in a tough matchup (F, 13-5, 5:57) and was edged by Landon Giampietro of Cranston West (F, 3-2, 3:05) in another grueling match. Cunningham stormed back for three straight wins over Conval’s Evan Shippee (F, 7-11, 1:42), Natick’s David Seiche (F, 5-0, 1:25) and Bow’s Andrew Blis (Dec, 10-9).
Luke Ickes went 4-1 at 195 to get 3rd. He beat Jacob Robert of Cranston West (F, 7-0, 2:41) and Toby Brown of Nashua North (DEC 18-13). Ickes responded to an epic bout against Natick’s Sam Assencoa in which he fell in 7:29 by beating Milford’s Ben Kilgore (DEC 2-0) and then Nashua North’s Tyler Griffen in the 3rd-place match.
Nathan Ickes went 3-2 to get 4th. He beat Nashua South’s Jimmy Brown (F 2:43) and Rory O’Connor of Milford (DEC 7-0). Ickes fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Beau Dillon of Salem but he responded in his next one with an 8-2 decision over Nashua South’s Jimmy Brown.
Brock Johnson went 3-2 competing in an always loaded 145 weight class. He beat Zach Gauthier of Nashua South (F, 2-0, 2:38), fell to Conval’s Chris Robbins by an 8-4 decision in the quarterfinals but went on to beat Salem’s Brayden Fleming (F, 2-0, 1:15) and Milford’s Ethan O’Connor (F, 7-0, 3:02).
Anselm Schools finished at 2-2 on the day at 132 with wins over John Ledford of Milford (F, 6-0, 0:32) and Sammy Papadopoulos of Natick.
Dan Lamonica picked up three wins at 285. He beat Salem’s Jordan Scott (F, 5-0, 1:29), Jose Diaz of Cranston West (F 1:35) and Drew Lawnence of Natick (F 2:42).
The Warriors will travel to Triton tomorrow night.
