Wakefield pins Reading, Greater Lawrence; falls to #5 Shawsheen Tech.
SENIOR CO-CAPTAIN Jake Goodchild continues to set the tone for his Wakefield teammates. Goodchild had a 3-0 record in the 145 weight class during Saturday’s Quad Meet, including this 17-2 technical fall against Amouris Gomez of Greater Lawrence. (Donna Larsson Photo)
Published in the January 16, 2018 edition.
WAKEFIELD —The Warrior wrestling team returned home to Charbonneau Field House for a quad meet on Saturday, still riding the momentum of Wednesday’s wild last-match victory over Catholic Memorial, 39-36.
While there were no last-second fireworks over the weekend, Wakefield went 2-1 to complete an excellent day with wins over Greater Lawerence and Middlesex League rival Reading, and a loss to Shawsheen Tech, who is currently ranked number five in the state.
Top Reading, 51-24
The Warriors started their day against Reading, and while it must have been difficult not to look ahead to their eventual matchup with Shawsheen’s tough team, the result against Reading would determine whether this meet would be a success.
Anselm Schools started things off with a pin in 3:49 at the 106 weight class.
Chirs Alves then picked up a pin in a similar time of 3:43 at 120 lbs.
Aidan Armstrong followed that up with a pin in 3:21 at 126 and Luke Hopkins made it three in a row with a quick pin in 31 seconds at 132.
Senior co-captain Jake Goodchild embarked on what would be another phenomenal day with a pin in 2:34 at 145 lbs.
Senior co-captain Kevin Tran got a big 7-5 OT decision over Reading’s Dan Graham in the 160 weight class.
Mike Yirrell won via injured default at 170 and after a forfeit win for Robbie Fossett at 182, senior co-captain Aiden Coleman picked up a pin in 2:34 at 220 lbs., while Wednesday’s hero Derek DiMascio pinned his opponent in 1:58 at 285.
Control Greater Lawrence, 53-21
Wakefield didn’t skip a beat heading into their next match against Greater Lawrence, quickly putting together seven consecutive match wins to take a commanding lead.
Jameson O’Callahan started it off with a forfeit win and Armstrong got a pin in 1:26.
Hopkins followed that up with an 11-7 decision at the 132 weight class.
The Warriors kept the pressure up getting wins from Brock Johnson (pin, 1:10 at 138 lbs.), Goodchild (17-2 tech. fall at 145 lbs.), Matt Cunningham (8-4 dec. at 152 lbs.) and Tran (pin, 1:21 at 160 lbs.).
Following three straight victories for the Reggies, the Warriors closed strong with another string, this time three straight from Coleman (pin, :33 at 220 lbs.), Dan Lamonica (pin, :33 at 285 lbs.) and Schools (pin, 5:05 at 106 lbs.).
Drop final matchup against Shawsheen
Finally, the Warriors got to measure their early-season success against one of the state’s best as they lined up across from Shawsheen Tech’s number-five ranked team in Massachusetts.
More-so than a win, seeing the young Warriors compete their hardest against a team like this would surely be enough to please the fans and the coaches.
Don’t tell that to these senior captains though.
Kevin Tran, Aiden Coleman and Jake Goodchild, as they have done so often this season, showed their younger teammates that Wakefield wrestling isn’t about moral victories. The trio all got wins against the Rams to each go a perfect 3-0 on the day. Tran got a pin in 3:58, Coleman got a pin in 2:50 and Goodchild battled for a well-earned 9-7 OT decision over Shawsheen’s Stephan Saint-Juste.
Following the lead of their captains the Warriors also got wins from Yirrell (15-9 dec. at 170 lbs.) and DiMascio (7-3 dec. at 285 lbs.).
Overall, the meet was a good microcosm of the season as Wakefield is guaranteed to give their best shot to every team they play, no matter who it is.
The Warriors have an overall record of 14-3 as they prepare to host another quad meet on Friday, Jan. 19, 5 p.m. at the Galvin Middle School.
