Warriors take third overall, medal in 10 out of 14 weight classes

THE WMHS wrestling team, the Middlesex League Freedom division champs, finished third overall in the Div. 3 North sectional meet and had wrestlers medal in 10 out of the 14 weight classes. (Donna Larsson File Photo)

THE WMHS wrestling team, the Middlesex League Freedom division champs, finished third overall in the Div. 3 North sectional meet and had wrestlers medal in 10 out of the 14 weight classes. (Donna Larsson File Photo)

Published in the February 16, 2016 edition.

TRITON — The Wakefield Memorial High wrestling won the Middlesex Freedom division title outright and showed that it was a strong team even though it had some young competitors.

The Warriors showed that they are a force in the postseason, too, based upon their performance at the Div. 3 North sectional meet which was held Saturday at Triton Regional High School.

Wakefield medaled in 10 out of the 14 weight classes and finished third overall in the team scoring with 144 points. The Warriors were behind only host Triton (197.5 points) and Danvers (158.5 points).

There were 13 teams in the sectional meet and Wakefield beat out Tyngsboro (143 points), Pentucket (135 points), Georgetown (115.5 points), Melrose (100.5 points), Saugus (89 points), Gloucester (85 points), Bedford (81 points), Wilmington (66.5 points), Essex Tech (54.5 points), and Marblehead (46.5 points).

Wakefield crowned one champion as Mike Lima, a senior, won the 285 weight class. Lima posted a 2-0 record to win the crown. After a first round bye, Lima pinned Tyngsboro’s Scott Dillon at 3:42. He then defeated Triton’s John Falasca by major decision, 11-2.

Senior captain Evan Gourville captured second place at the 170 weight class. Gourville posted a 2-1 record. Gourville pinned Melrose’s Josh Roderick at 1:16 and then pulled out a 5-3 overtime decision over Tyngsboro’s Jack Wagner. In the final, Gourville dropped a 3-0 decision to Bedford’s Dan Greaney.

Jack Spicer, a junior, earned a third place finish at the 113 weight class. Spicer posted a 3-1 record. Spicer pinned Essex Tech’s Colin Bracken at 1:08. He then lost by fall to Saugus’ Mike Titus at 5:37. Spicer rebounded with pins over Wilmington’s Ethan Kamensky at 31 seconds and Pentucket’s Jacob Wengler at 3:47.

Two Warriors placed fourth in the meet. Freshman Aidan Armstrong and junior Joe Marinaccio competed at the 106 and 160 weight classes.

Armstrong posted a 3-2 record at 106. He pinned Triton’s Dylan Karpenko at 2:46. He the lost by fall to Saugus’ Sean Herbert at 1:25. Armstrong pulled out a 10-4 decision over Pentucket’s Sam Marchant and pinned Danvers’ Grady Cahn at 2:58. Armstrong then lost by fall to Tyngsboro’s Pat Carney at 4:35 for his fourth place finish.

Marinaccio had a 2-2 record at 160. The junior lost by fall to Triton’s Sage Duford at 1:00. He then pinned Pentucket’s Andrew Gould at 25 seconds and Bedford’s Jeremiah Suburu at 1:06. In his final bout, Marinaccio lost a 13-10 decision to Danvers’ Matt Reidy.

Wakefield then had two wrestlers take fifth place in the meet. Sophomore Jake Goodchild and freshman Mike Yirrell competed at the 132 and 182 weight classes.

Goodchild posted a 3-2 record at 132. Goodchild lost by major decision (15-2) to Georgetown’s Jon Blythe. The sophomore then pinned Melrose’s Bobby Voustanis at 2:49 and Essex Tech’s Cam Lampert at 4:46. Goodchild then lost by fall to Saugus’ Dan McCollough at 5:27. In his final contest, Goodchild pinned Bedford’s Ryan Richard at 39 seconds.

Yirrell compiled a 4-2 record at 182. The freshman pinned Tyngsboro’s Dan Powers at 1:24. Yirrell then lost by fall to Pentucket’s Kalon Boston at 1:50. He then won by pin over Bedford’s Jared Patterson at 1:38 and prevailed by a 3-0 decision over Saugus’ Dom Clark. The freshman then lost an 8-1 decision to Gloucester’s Tom Donohue. In his sixth bout, Yirrell pinned Danvers’ Andrew Brennan at 4:52.

The Warriors had three wrestlers place sixth overall in the meet. Sophomore Ryan Smith, junior Matt Murdocca, and junior Ben Piercy competed at the 138, 145, and 152 weight classes.

Smith posted a 2-3 record at 138. Smith lost by fall to Triton’s Jared Durkin at 1:30. The sophomore then won by major decision (13-2) over Tyngsboro’s Brett Peterson and he pinned Danvers’ Mike Neff at 39 seconds. Smith lost by technical fall (17-2) to Durkin in the rematch and then he lost by fall to Pentucket’s Matt Garfi at 1:17.

Murdocca compiled a 1-3 mark at 145. The junior lost by fall to Essex Tech’s Nick Walker at 1:51. Murdocca rebounded with a 6-2 decision over Wilmington’s Pat Carroll. The junior then lost by an 11-6 decision to Tyngsboro’s Jason Wojick and an 8-4 decision to Melrose’s Mike Calvert.

Piercy posted a 2-3 record at 152. Piercy started strong with pins over Tyngsboro’s Nick Janos at 1:35 and Georgetown’s Billy Waswillios at 3:44. But then the junior lost by fall in his final three bouts. Piercy lost by fall to Danvers’ Quinn Holland at 1:23, Janos at 1:26 in the rematch, and Pentucket’s Ben Jenkins at 1:37.

The Warriors several more wrestlers that competed in the meet, but they did not place. They were junior Jake Allen (0-2 at the 120 weight class), freshman Dale Denham (0-2 at 126), freshman Derek DiMascio (0-2 at 195), and sophomore Aiden Coleman (0-2 at 220).

Wakefield will have five wrestlers moving on to the Div. 3 state meet which will be held Friday and Saturday at Taconic High School in Pittsfield.

Armstrong will face Norton’s Andy Murphy in a first round match at 106, Spicer will be pitted against Dedham’s Elian Rivera in the first round at 113, Marinaccio’s first round match at 160 is against Hampshire Regional’s Brandon Weyant, Gourville will square off against Wayland’s Ari Nagesha in a first round bout at 170, and Lima will wrestle against Advanced Math and Science Academy’s Mason Bradford in a first round contest at 285.

Goodchild and Yirrell are alternates for states at 132 and 182.