Haverhill High, in Division 1, and Whittier Tech, in Division 2, came within whiskers of sectional championships as the wrestling postseason got under way on Saturday.
The Hillies finished with 211 points, just behind champion Saint John’s Prep, which had 213 points on the day.
Haverhill had three individual champs on the day at Methuen, Cale Wood at 120, Brent Nicolosi at 165 and Matt Harrold at 215.
Central Catholic also had three champ: two-time New England champ Nate Blanchette at 175, Jackson Meehan at 190 and Caden Smith at 150.
Smith looked to be in trouble in the semis, down 1-0 late but rallied for the tight 2-1 win with a last-second escape. He dominated his final with a major decisions.
Other sectional champs from the area at D-1 North were Andover’s Yandel Morales at 126 and Methuen’s Dom Gangi at 113.
Whittier Tech traveled to Burlington for the Division 2 North meet.
The Cats rode a pair of titles from Anthony Midolo at 157 and Aiden Fogarty at 113 to nearly take out champion Melrose.
The difference there was a mere three points: 190.5-187.
Here’s a look at all the local placers:
DIVISION 1 NORTH
Team Scores: 1. Saint John’s Prep 213.5; 2. Haverhill 211; 3. Shawsheen 208; 4. Central Catholic 177; 5. Methuen 151.5; 6. Andover 133; 10. North Andover 91.5
106: 2. Cole Glynn (CC); 3. Aiden Morris (Hav); 6. Randy Roque (Law)
113: 1. Dom Gangi (Meth); 2. Michael Morris (Hav); 3. Izaiah Santiago (CC)
120: 1. Cale Wood (Hav); 2. Jason Ballou (And); 5. Antonio Rios (Meth); 6. Dom Armano (Law)
126: 1. Yandel Morales (And); 5. Joe Tavares (Meth)
132: 2. Nicholas Archambault (And); 4. Denzel Morales (Law); 6. Jayden Muir (Hav)
138: 3. Shea Morris (Hav); 4. Anthony DeMaio (Meth); 5. Josh Lister (NA)
144: 5. Charles Tedeschi (And); 6. Sebastian Hunter (NA)
150: 1. Caden Smith (CC); 5. Kyle Rhoton (NA); 6. Adrian Luck (And)
157: 2. Vinny DeMaio (Meth); 5. Rhys Deward (CC)
165: 1. Brent Nicolosi (Hav); 2. Joey Bolduc (Meth); 4. Caden Chase (CC)
175: 1. Nate Blanchette (CC); 2. Anthony Archambault (And); 3. Jayden Flanagan (Hav); 5. JeanCarlos Martinez (Law)
190: 1. Jackson Meehan (CC); 3. David Timmons (NA); 4. Kevin McAninch (Hav)
215: 1. Matt Harrold (Hav); 4. Gabriel Spanks (NA); 5. Gabe Spanks (NA)
285: 2. Brian Waller-Reitano (CC); 3. Frank Gouveia (NA); 4. Shany Velasquez (Hav); 5. Jacob Medeiros (And)
DIVISION 2 NORTH
Team Scores: 1. Melrose 190.5; 2. Whittier Tech 187; 8. Greater Lawrence Tech 116.5
106: 3. Logan Souza (WT)
113: 1. Aiden Fogarty (WT)
120: 5. Justin Toglia (GLT)
126: 3. Jayden Franco (WT); 6. Luis Rosario (GLT)
132: 6. Leuan Smith (GLT)
144: 2. Dylan Smith (GLT); 6. Cole Lintner (WT)
150: 3. Josh Matos (GLT); 4. Luke Massaro (WT)
157: 1. Anthony Midolo (WT); 3. Kaelib Reynolds (GLT)
165: 3. Michael Pena (GLT)
175: 4. Braedan Jaber (WT)
190: 2. Matheus Binda (WT)
215: 2. Logan Hauck (WT)
285: 6. Nick Anderson (WT)