THE WAKEFIELD wrestling seniors, pictured here at the Brawl in the Hall, represented the Warriors well in their final competition at the Charbonneau Field House for states on Feb. 17 and 18. Pictured from left to right is Emma Fitzgerald, Luca Simion, Bryan Fabbri, Ben Burdetsky, Oisin Cullen and Tommy Grover. Fabbri, Cullen and Grover all placed at states. (File Photo)
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WAKEFIELD — The Div. 3 state wrestling tournament took place at Wakefield High on Feb. 17 and 18.
The Wakefield wrestling community put on another tournament to remember and the Warriors finished in 3rd as a team with seven place winners taking home a medal.
“By all accounts it was a great success on and off the mat,” said Wakefield head coach Ross Ickes. “We have terrific parental support, the kids worked hard, the parents worked hard. It was great.”
The top 3 was nearly identical to the Div. 3 North sectional tourney only Melrose came out on top as state champions while Tewksbury took 2nd overall. Wakefield’s 3rd made it official that the North runs Div. 3.
Wakefield’s top place-winner was Andrew Valley who took home 3rd at 126. Sean Callanan (152) and Aydin Lamb (138) got 5th, Bryan Fabbri (120), Zach Arria (170) and Oisin Cullen (145) got 6th and Tommy Grover took 8th (132).
“All of our place winners worked hard and wrestled at or above their rankings,” said Ickes.
THE FIELD HOUSE was rocking for the Div. 3 state tournament. Pictured, Wakefield head coach Ross Ickes looks on during Andrew Valley’s semifinal matchup. (Courtesy Photo)
Ickes was also proud of Joe Lamonica who got a win in the 220 bracket against the higher ranked Will Marani of Duxbury via pin, just one month back from a knee injury.
Valley, ranked 6th, started his day off with an 8-2 decision over Wayland’s Michael Keenan. He went on to beat No. 3 Steven Shortt of Duxbury with a pin in 1:33, earning a trip to the semifinals. Valley fell to Mount Everett’s Tyler Candelari but finished with a 9-0 major decision over David Hunt and a 3rd-place 8-3 decision over rival Johnny Moraes (No. 7) of Melrose.
Arria, No. 4, also made the semifinals for the Warriors at 170 after pinning Hanover’s Austin Parker in the first round and topping Ashland’s Liam Fleming (5th) in a 5-3 decision in the quarterfinals. Arria fell to eventual champion and No. 1 ranked Gabriel Thomasson in the semifinals but those two semi matchups featuring Warriors on their home mats provided a great memory for the team.
“That environment, not just the semifinals but states in general, that’s what we train for,” said Ickes. “That’s our season. Everything else is preseason. We build for it, and talk about it constantly.”
Lamb, a freshman, took 5th following his 3rd at sectionals. Lamb, ranked 8th, started with a pin in 1:51 against Jake Zocco of Wayland before falling to top-ranked Anthony Innello of Duxbury in the quarters. Lamb responded by going 3-1 the rest of the way with wins over Jaime Nunez of Excel (13-1 MD), Mark Haskins of Danvers (F, 3:01) and Omar Cruz of Mount Everett (F, 5:41).
Callanan, ranked 10th, beat No. 7 Cole Wilson of Quabbin in a 17-7 major decision in round one before falling to runner-up and No. 2 David Murphy of Scituate in the quarters. Callanan also went 3-1 the rest of the way with wins over Ryan Fleming of Tewksbury (5-1 DEC), Tommy Dicker of Watertown (8-5 DEC) and his most impressive win of the day, a pin in 3:26 against 3rd-ranked Alex Willard of Hampshire.
It was certainly a strong day for multiple Warriors, but Ickes was especially proud of three seniors who placed: Cullen, Fabbri and Grover.
ANDREW VALLEY, 4th from right, made the podium with his 3rd place finish in the 126 weight class at states. (WMHS Athletics Photo)
Cullen, ranked 9th at 145, got a 7-1 decision over No. 8 Cam Antoniuk of Ashland in round one before falling to eventual champion and No. 1 Anthony Mann of Hanover. Cullen went on to get wins over Smith Vocational’s Forrest McSweeney (11-2 MD) and Duggan’s Jeremiah Cruz (F, 1:28) to secure 6th.
Fabbri, ranked 14th at 120, fell to No. 3 Michaell Harris in round one but came back with an incredible run of three straight victories over No. 11 Jaylon Pardo of Norton (F, 3:56), No. 4 Avery Deorsey of Sandwich (F, 3:19) and No. 9 Max Manning of Mount Everett (8-5 DEC) to secure 6th.
Grover, wrestling in the 132 class, considered to be one of the best in the state by Ickes, had wins over Dominic Dignard of Monument Mountain (F, 3:37) and Adam Addeche of Foxboro (9-2 DEC).
“It was a great way to send off the seniors,” said Ickes. “Getting a medal at states in your own gym – hopefully it’s something they remember for a long time.”
