It’s been a grind of a season thus far for the Gloucester High wrestling program.
Between injuries and sicknesses — something virtually all winter athletic programs are dealing with at the moment — the Fishermen have had to adapt a plug and play mentality as they trudge through the meat of their schedule. Younger, newer-to-the-sport athletes have had to take on a bigger burden, and have in turn come up with some significant triumphs along the way to keep their squad in the mix.
On Wednesday, however, GHS approached full strength for the first time this year and delivered a memorable showing on their home mat.
Taking on rival Beverly, head coach Matt Swanson’s group escaped with a narrow 41-39 victory. It was the first time in program history that Gloucester had gotten the best of the Panthers in a dual meet matchup.
“We could’ve done a little better,” admitted Swanson, who certainly holds high expectations for his talented and capable group, “but getting the W is the most important thing, especially in a conference matchup. Getting that first win against Beverly in program history, it’s definitely a hurdle that we’ve been trying to get over for 13 years. So that was very rewarding.”
Now sitting at 3-0 in NEC bouts and 14-5 overall in dual meets despite a daunting schedule that includes numerous non-conference powers, Gloucester came up clutch when it counted most in Wednesday’s clash.
More specifically, junior standout Max Thomas came through once again in the final match of the day, securing a monumental win at 215 pounds to seal the team victory. Thomas was in command of his bout, but only a pin would give his squad enough points to prevail — and that’s exactly what he did.
“A regular win wouldn’t have done it; we needed a pin and he pulled it out,” said Swanson. “In the second period we were starting to get nervous with Max up 6-2, and then he chose bottom (position) in the second period, hit the reversal and got the pin. That was huge, especially against a good wrestler from Beverly. Definitely a nail biter and he came through.”
Thomas was one of five GHS wrestlers to come out with wins by pinfall on the evening. Aiden DeCoste continued to dominate at 138 pounds, Cam Russell won again at 144, Anthony Murawski snared a hard earned pin at 157, and Joe Allen came up big with another pin at 175.
The Fishermen also picked up some forfeits, including a free win for standout Jayden Chadwick at 126.
“We were fortunate to get a couple of forfeits, but they’re still Beverly and they always come out hard against us,” added Swanson. “It’s like a Yankees/Red Sox scenario and of course tonight it came down to the wire.”
At 190 pounds, Zach Hashley fell just short but still garnered some pivotal points for the Fishermen. He fell with one second left on the clock in OT, but avoided the pin and only gave up three points which proved to be massive in the final team scores.
Needless to say, it was a monstrous triumph for Gloucester, who will hope to get another key wrestler, Drew Rodolosi (132 pounds), back into the mix in the coming weeks. The Fishermen head to Brookline this weekend for another tough test with multiple other schools involved.
“The NEC is really tough this year, and (the other teams they face) we want to wrestle the best competition that we can get,” said Swanson. “So it’s definitely a tough schedule, but we’re getting guys back. We’ve asked freshmen and sophomores to come off the bench and step up, and they have.
“We’ll go this weekend without Rodolosi but then we’ll get him back and he’s a must have moving forward.”
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.