In wrestling terms, Brian Quam is still very much new to the sport.
It was only just last year that the Triton 138-pounder took it up, but the improvement since he did has been stark. Ever since deciding to dedicate himself to getting better that day, Quam spent the entire summer working his tail off and getting over 30 matches in.
Well, his resilience paid off.
Quam had already put together a fantastic junior season for the Vikings, and just last week took third at the CAL/NEC Open. But on Saturday, at the Division 3 North Sectional at Tewksbury High, he went a perfect 4-0 with three pins to take home the 138-pound championship. His performance highlighted a banner day for the Vikings, who took fourth out of 13 teams with 163 points, and who sent 12 wrestlers and saw 10 of them finish inside of the top-6 in their respective divisions.
“I was really happy with the team’s performance,” said Triton coach Shawn McElligott. “The star of the day was of course junior Brian Quam, who’s only wrestling in his second year. His hard work paid off, by pinning three of his four opponents to become a Sectional champ.”
Entering as the No. 3 seed in his bracket, Quam earned a pin in the first round (1:34), followed by a decision in the second (8-7) to make it to the semifinals. A familiar foe in Pentucket’s Lucien Parenteau awaited him there, but Quam pinned him in 1:18 to move on to the finals and face off against No. 4 seed Mark Haskins of Danvers.
And it almost wasn’t to be.
Quam trailed 4-0 midway through the second period after allowing two takedowns, but earned a massive reversal that led to a pin — and a 138-pound title — in 3:10. With the finish, Quam now advances to next week’s Division 3 State Meet at Wakefield on Friday. All wrestlers who finished inside of the top-4 in their weight class qualified for States.
And Quam won’t be alone next week.
The Vikings earned three other State qualifyers, and five more will be first alternates. As expected, 215-pound star Douglas Aylward went 3-1 to place second. He also entered as the No. 3 seed in his division, but pinned his first three opponents before falling to Gloucester’s Jayden Toppen in the finals via an 11-3 decision. Aylward only has two losses on the year, and both of them are to Toppen — last year’s All-State champion.
Elsewhere, both Nik Rigol (106) and Austin Scolamiero (113) went 2-2 in their respective classes to place fourth and move on to States. The Vikings also earned fifth-place finishes from Sam Imlach (126), Alex Sabino (132), Lucas Bistany (144), Jake Mies (150) and Nolan Merrill (175) — who will all be alternates — and Ben Imlach finished sixth at 120. “The surprise of the day was junior Jake Mies,” said McElligott. “He was a backup most of the year, but has been coming on as of late. After losing to the No. 1 seed in the opening round, he won three of four to place 5th, and is now going to States as an alternate. I’m very proud of Jake.”
PENTUCKET RIGHT BEHIND IN SIXTH
Also at the Division 3 North Sectionals was the Pentucket/Newburyport co-op team.
And as a unit, the Panthers placed sixth overall and will send two to States next week. Junior standout Tanner Kamuda continued his excellent season, going 3-1 to place second at 132 and punch his ticket back to States. He pinned his first two opponents before earning a 4-0 decision in the semifinals, but in the finals fell to top-seed Aydin Lamb of Wakefield via pin.
Pentucket’s other standout on the day was 190-pounder Mason Skinner. Entering as the No. 3 seed, he pinned his first two opponents before falling in the semifinals, but rebounded with two straight pins in the consolation bracket to finish up a 4-1 day and take third.
So moving on to next week, both Kamuda and Skinner will represent Pentucket.
And lastly, Parenteau (138), Martin DeJesus (126), Karsyn Otero (144) and James Cordaro (157) took sixth for the Panthers.
Division 3 North Sectionals
Meet Results (13 teams): 4. Triton; 6. Pentucket
Local placers (top-6):
106: 4. Nick Rigol (T) 2-2; 113: 4. Austin Scolamiero (T) 2-2; 120: 6. Ben Imlach (T) 2-3; 126: 5. Sam Imlach (T) 2-2, Martin DeJesus (P) 2-3; 132: 2. Tanner Kamuda (P) 3-1, 5. Alex Sabino (T) 2-2; 138: 1. Brian Quam (T) 4-0, 6. Lucien Parenteau (P) 2-3; 144: 5. Lucas Bistany (T) 4-2, 6. Karsyn Otero (P) 2-3; 150: 5. Jake Mies (T) 3-2; 157: 6. James Cordaro (P) 3-3; 175: 5. Nolan Merrill (T) 3-2; 190: 3. Mason Skinner (P) 4-1; 215: 2. Douglas Aylward (T) 3-1