Ferrer a Dominant Force for Lions

wrestler Lou Ferrer, a sophomore, just completed his second season as the starting heavy weight for the Lions.  He finished second in the All State tournament for his weight class, losing to just one opponent, Zach Smerlas from Lincoln-Sudbury with a close score of 3-2.

Ferrer and the Lions finished the season with a record of 12 – 8. They placed sixth in the D-I North Sectional competition, and sixteenth in the D-I state tournament.

Ferrer, a 275 lb. powerhouse, is described by his coach, Bruce Rich, as a very athletic and extremely strong competitor. Rich expects him to be a force to reckon with next year, as he will likely be the top ranked heavyweight going into the 2011-12 season.

“This year, Lou was second at the Chelmsford Invitational, and he won the D-I North Sectional tournament. He was our best placer,” said Rich.

Despite a disappointing sixth place finish at States, Ferrer  advanced to the All State wrestling tournament in late February. At All States, Ferrer was on his game, and finished second in his weight class.

“There are 18 wrestlers in the tournament bracket at All States, and Lou got all the way to the finals. Along the way, he knocked off the D -II state champion from Somerset and D-III state champion from South Hadley. In the finals, Lou was up against the D- I state champion from ,” said Rich. 

Aside from his runner up title at the All State meet, Ferrer also finished second at the Chelmsford Invitational, a stacked one day competition that attracts top notch athletes from New York, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.

“We were second in the Chelmsford Invitational tournament with 21 teams. That’s a high powered, one day, mid-season tournament. That was our strongest show all year, and Lou was actually second place,” said Rich.

In addition to being a starting wrestler for Chelmsford, Ferrer is also a standout football player.

“Lou is a top football player for us; he starts as a defensive tackle. He started as a freshman, and that very seldom happens in our program,” said Rich, who is also the head football coach at Chelmsford High.

Coach Rich believes that competing in both wrestling and football has helped Ferrer become better conditioned for both sports.

“I think the wresting is great preparation for the football, and vice versa. The carry over is tremendous… and the conditioning that you get from the wrestling makes football look like a leisure sport.  The football and wrestling certainly go hand in hand,” said Rich.

Ferrer will spend the spring and summer training for football and wrestling, with hopes of improving even more in the future.

“The fact that Lou was able to get to the finals at the state tournament as a sophomore is a tremendous accomplishment, I could see him wrestling or playing football in college, or both,” said Rich.