Tewksbury Wrestlers Impress At Dual Meet Sectionals

There's an old saying that "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," and the lent some credibility to that theory by winning three matches and losing only one at the Division 2 North Dual Meet Sectional Tournament Saturday at North Andover High.

After battling against Merrimack Valley Conference opponents all winter long, the Redmen wrestlers were more than equal to the task Saturday, taking convincing victories over Beverly and Greater Lowell Regional, then avenging an earlier loss to Masconoment. Tewksbury's only loss was to top-seeded North Andover, which won the sectional title.

"Our kids wrestle with the best in the state all year long," said TMHS coach Brian Aylward. "The Merrimack Valley Conference is one of the best, if not the best, (wrestling) conferences in the state. We've got some 2- or 3-win teams in our conference that can go out and wrestle the best team in another conference and do very well."

Such was the case Saturday as Tewksbury topped no. 8 seeded Beverly 51-27, then rolled over No. 4 seed Greater Lowell Regional 58-22. The highlight of the day was a 37-34 victory over Masconomet, reversing an earlier loss to the Chieftains.

"We had a real good day," Aylward said. "As a team, it was our best day of the season."

Junior 160-pounder Chris London led the Tewksbury effort with a perfect, 4-0 day in a very competitive weight class.  Tewksbury also had four different wrestlers who won three matches. continued his stellar season with a 3-0 day,  while senior 145-pounder Cody Smith, sophomore 125-pounder Joe Berger and went 3-1 in their weight classes.

Sean Wackrow (140) and Derek Tarpey (171) also won two matches each on the day.

But perhaps the biggest winner of the day for the Redmen was one of their smallest and youngest competitors, freshman 103-pounder Mike McAteer. Tewksbury was trailing Masconomet with three matches left, and the Redmen have not fared well in the lighter weight classes this season.

But McAteer picked a great time to earn his first varsity win, giving the Redmen some unexpected points at that juncture in the match. McAteer's win set the stage for sophomore 119-pounder Nick Stavros, who pulled out a third-period pin to give Tewksbury the three-point win.

 Stavros had been winless on the day up until that point.

"It was a good win," Aylward said. "McAteer's win put us in position to pull it out, and Stavros got the pin we needed. He (Stavros) fought hard for it. He was on his back, then he had the other kid on his back. He really had to earn it."

The only bad news on the day was that Tarpey, the junior 187-pounder who had been wrestling very well lately, suffered a broken collarbone and is out for the remainder of the season.

The rest of the Redmen go on to compete in the Division 2 North Sectional meet this weekend at Winchester High School. The top four placers in each weight class this weekend go on to the state championship meet.