The cream of the crop in Massachusetts high school wrestling met at the Mass. Mutual Center in Springfield Sunday and Monday, battling through brackets and consolation rounds to earn their place among the state’s elites.
Locally, St. John’s Prep — behind All-State champion Sam Josey at 190 pounds — once again led in the team standings by finishing third overall with 81 1/2 points. There were also some outstanding individual performances and historic firsts from the qualifiers with North Shore ties.
A freshman coming off of a Division 1 state champion the previous weekend, Josey won all for of his matches at 190 to stand atop the podium as a state champion. He truly earned his crown, scoring a 4-2 decision over Shawsheen’s Logan Holmes in the final to complete his journey.
Prior to that, Josey began the proceedings by defeating Tri-Country’s Anthony Gagne via pinfall just one minute and 25 seconds in. Next came a pair of major decisions in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. First was a 15-5 victory over Nashoba’s Connor Cox, followed up by a semifinal triumph over Cole Bonner of Duxbury High, 13-2.
Two of his Prep teammates, James Lally at 144 pounds and Octavio DeOliveira at 190, battled their way back through the consolation bracket to finish in third place overall.
Lally, who like Josey won a Division 1 state crown last month, lost his first bout at All-States but dominated in the consolation round, winning four straight to emerge at the top of the heap and place third in his weight class. A 4-1 decision over West Springfield’s Beckett LeClair secured his place on the podium.
DeOliveira followed a similar path, falling in his second match but staying resolute and winning four straight matches in the consolation round and earning third place honors overall. A semifinal decision over Silver Lake’s Jack Sawiski sent him to the finals, where he prevailed by forfeit vs. Central Catholic’s Rhys Dewar.
Will Lavallee at 150 pounds added a fourth place finish for the Eagles, going 4-2 during the competition and becoming the third member of his squad to reach a consolation final.
Saugus/Peabody saw Michael Maraio of Peabody, a 150-pounder, finish in sixth place in his weight class. He won his first two bouts by taking down Braintree’s Michael Nigro by pin before scoring a decision over Caydon Boyd of Plymouth South.
Salem also had a sixth place finisher in Kevin Spoon in the 126-pound bracket. He also went 2-3 over the two-day tournament, capturing an opening round triumph over Quabbin’s Abe Brown via technical fall (16-1), then recording an 8-7 decision over Arlington’s Cedrick Daniel.
Brayden Pouliot and Kasey Nako earned points for Beverly with consolation wins: Pouliot at 113 pounds over Stephen Minehan of Marshfield via pinfall; Kako with a major decision over Nashoba’s Josh Phillips.
In a highly competitive 138-pound weight class, Marblehead/Swampscott captain Liam O’Brien went 1-2, with a first round 8-6 decision over Gloucester’s Aiden DeCoste.
GIRLS
Salem High senior Alexia Coleman finished second in the state at 132 pounds, finishing an outstanding career for the Witches.
After earning a bye into the quarterfinals of her weight class, Coleman — who won the Division 2 state crown last month —needed just 42 seconds to defeat Lowell’s Andrea Carvalho by fall. She prevailed similarly in the semifinals, taking down Middleboro’s Faith Young in just 85 seconds to advance to the final.
In the championship match, she locked up with Newton North’s Madeline Ngo in a battle that went the distance in regulation, necessitating overtime. There, Ngo finally managed to best Coleman via a decision/sudden victory, 3-0.