Wrestling Coach Scandal Rocks State Title Prep

At the most critical point of the 2010-11 wrestling season, North Andover's legendary head coach for possession of child pornography Monday and resigned, possibly leaving the fate of the team's state title quest in upheaval.

Castricone was arrested at his roofing business after an investigation in which police say they found evidence of child pornography at his home. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning in Lawrence District Court.

The School Department met with wrestling team parents Monday night to discuss Castricone's resignation. School officials would not discuss the case in detail, however.

"We are aware of the arrest as a school, and it is our understanding that it is an ongoing investigation," said Athletic Director Jon Longley.

"The school has been supportive of the police and will continue to be supportive of their investigation at this time," Longley added.

There is no telling how this bombshell will shape Wednesday's state title meet -- whether or not it will distract the team enough to knock out their mojo -- but it has ended the career of the coach who got the team there.

Career Winning Streak Halted

who has served as a coach for nearly 40 years and a coach for North Andover for 25 years, is currently the second winningest high school wrestling coach in the nation.

After leading the Knights to a , Castricone helped lead this year's team get back into the state title meet, which will be on Wednesday night.

Castricone was mysteriously absent from . School officials said the absence was due to a personal matter, but he resigned from his position as the head coach of the North Andover Scarlet Knights wrestling team when the child porn investigation was underway.

Filling in for the Knights was assistant coach Carl Cincotta, who brought 22 years of experience to the job. He will take the reins for North Andover for the remainder of this season.

Knights Charge Ahead

The Knights competed at Winchester High School over the weekend in the which Castricone was also absent from. 

North Andover was able to dominate in the competition, as six of their wrestlers were crowned champions in their respective weight classes.

The wrestling squad's state title bout will be against Natick High School on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Worcester Polytechnic Institute will be the venue. 

Wednesday's meet will be a rematch of last year's Division II State Finals that the Knights were able to capture.

Regardless of the outcome, the State Sectional Individual Tournament continues this weekend in Winchester, where the Knights will look to gain more state titles in the individual arena.