Perry Finishes Sixth at All-States, Qualifies for New England Championships

SALEM--While Wakefield High senior Brendon Perry ultimately fell short in his quest for a state wrestling championship, it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort.

Perry lost his semifinal contest against James Smith of Natick by technical fall at the marathon two-day MIAA All-State wrestling championships yesterday at Salem High School’s Veterans Memorial Field House.

“Nobody wrestles harder than he does for six minutes,” said Wakefield head coach Ross Ickes. “He does not stop ever. He just goes and goes and goes, he’s got a great motor. He loves the sport and I couldn’t be prouder of him.”

Perry, the division 3 champion at 135 lbs., beat Alec Laganas in the preliminary round with an 11-4 decision, moving on to face Shawsheen Tech’s Anthony Finn, who Perry pasted with a 12-7 decision to reach the semifinals and the second day of wrestling.

Perry became the fourth ever division 3 state champion in the history of Wakefield High last week, beating Norton’s Scott Coleman in the final at Holliston High.

Things got worse for Perry after bowing out of the hunt for top state honors, as he lost both of his consolation round matches. Perry, who will wrestle at Roger Williams University next year, fell to Scott Mcquaide of Chelmsford by pin just 45 seconds into the consolation semifinals, and Lincoln-Sudbury’s Nick Murphy in the fifth-place match by a narrow 7-6 decision.

“Going out with three straight losses is tough,” said Ickes. “But this is a tough tournament.”

Despite the ignominious manner of his departure from the competition, Perry did enough to sneak into the New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships in New Haven, CT on March 4.

“I’m happy for Brendon that he qualified (for New England’s),” said Ickes. “He’s got desire, conditioning all those things ... he’s got all the intangibles.”

Also in action was fellow senior Mike Arangio, who went 2-2 at the tournament, ultimately being knocked out by Sarith Has of Methuen on an 8-6 decision in the consolation semifinals. The senior will have cause to feel hard done by however, as a controversial decision by officials cost him the match.

“They called no takedown and they reversed it in overtime,” said Ickes. “It’s a big grievance, it was bad ... it’s unfortunate. It’s a tough sport in that way.”

Arangio will wrestle for the University of Southern Maine next year.

“(Perry and Arangio) are two of the best I’ve ever coached,” said Ickes. “They’re both great kids. It’s just sad to see days like this end.”