At the end of the day, the Triton wrestling team really left no doubt.
Competing against 15 other teams at the annual Big Red Tournament down in Tyngsborough, the Vikings won an impressive five individual championships to roll to the overall title with 231.5 points. The Vikings far outpaced North Andover in second place (148.5), and Franklin County took home the bronze (139.5).
“It was a great day,” said Triton coach Shawn McElligott. “It was our first tournament win in a bit, so that was a good one to get.”
Winning weight classes for Triton was Nik Rigol at 113 (first tourney win), Austin Scolamiero at 126 (first tourney win), Alex Sabino at 132 (first tourney win), Sam Imlach at 138 (first tourney win) and Brian Quam at 150. The Vikings also picked up seconds from Jake Mies at 157 and Anthony Navaroli at 215, a third from Riley-Anne Tarmey at 106, and fourths from Ben Imlach at 144, Amir Alami at 175 and Nolan Merrill at 190.
For the trio of Rigol, Quam and Imlach, it was four straight pins on their way to a title. Scolamiero got an early takedown in his final and was able to hold on for a 5-3 decision, while Navaroli was impressive in getting to the finals before falling in a close match.
Perhaps the star of the day, though, was Sabino.
Down 3-1 early in his semifinal matchup, he came roaring back to take a 12-7 lead into the third period before eventually pinning his opponent. Then in the finals, he was again down 3-0 early, but kept his composure and made another comeback to earn a title belt.
“His hard work in the offseason really showed here,” said McElligott.
Elsewhere, Tarmey continued her great early season with four pins, and Mies had an impressive semifinal match pining the No. 2 seed before losing in the finals. Then to finish up the day, Alami battled like a senior, only losing to the eventual champion and third-place finisher.