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NEW HAVEN, Conn. —  Making history is never easy, but that just makes it all the more rewarding as the Timberlane wrestling team showed last night.
Trailing after Friday’s first round, and down by as many as 16 points earlier in the day, the Owls stormed back to edge Burlington, Mass., and capture its third straight New England title.
Overall, Timberlane has now has won eight New England titles, including five in the last six years.
Led by 103-pound champion Zach Bridson, the Owls finished with 89 points to Burlington’s 75.5. First-day leader Cumberland, R.I, was third, while local teams Pinkerton Academy and Haverhill finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“What a great way to cap the season!”, exclaimed Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian. “This is one of the best comebacks of any team I have ever had. We were really tested here, but the kids showed tremendous character. I am awfully proud of them.”
Bridson led the way, completing a sensational 46-1 season by dominating his weight class and defeating Andrew Chase of Bristol, Conn., with an 18-5 major decision in the finals, all but clinching the team title.
Like the rest of the Owls, the pressure has been on Bridson, a sophomore and returning New England finalist. But he responded like a seasoned veteran.
“There was pressure — I felt like I was a target, but I jut wanted to go out and  wrestle my best,” said Bridson, who is ranked fifth in the nation.
“I felt like I was embarrassed last year, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again this year. This just puts the icing on the cake, especially because it helped us win as a team.”
The Owls also had three other placers.
Junior heavyweight Ben Tammany was one of several heros. After dropping his first match Friday, he won five straight to finish third, the highlight being a pin in the consolation semifinals of New Bedford’s Dennis Costa. That avenged his opening loss.
Nick Lawrence also took third, at 160, winning his last four matches and, just as important, getting major decisions in his final two periods.
Adding a sixth for Timberlane was 130-pounder Matt Morris, who battled through sickness for the entire tournament.
Also, sophomore 112-pounder Will Smith captured three matches, including a 9-4 decision over Methuen freshman Paul Sughrue.
“We had a lot of kids contribute, which shows what kind of team we have,” said Chooljian.
“But it is also nice to have an individual champion. Zach deserved it.”
Bridson was one of three local champions, the others being Haverhill’s dynamic unbeaten tandem of Isaiah Williams and Terrance Jean-Jacques.
Williams, who had a rare close match (12-9 decision) in the quarterfinals, defeated Algonquin’s Mike Wrin for the third week in a row, 7-2 in the 171-pound final to finish the season at 49-0 with his second straight New England title.
Jean-Jacques, meanwhile, was dominant for most of the tournament while improving to 52-0, but he needed a 2-1 overtime victory over Weymouth’s Dan Murphy in the finals.
Finishing second was 140-pound Pinkerton senior Collin Crowell, who dominated in his first three matches and then wrestled a terrific match in the finals, leading 4-3, before getting pinned last in the third period by Needham’s Jordan Michelson.
Malden Catholic’s Devon Visconti of North Reading finished second at 135, dropping a controversial 2-1 decision in the finals to Burlington’s Matt Sherman, whose points came on penalties. It was the fourth loss of the year for Visconti (51-5) to Sherman.
Brother Kyle Visconti finished fourth at 119, falling in the consolation finals to Greater Lawrence’s Matt Buco. He had beaten Buco three times this year, but Buco wrestled a smart match and got his revenge with a 5-3 decision.
Also grabbing an impressive third place was Pinkerton’s 130-lb. junior David Owens, who lost his first match and then won six straight, including a pin in the consolation finals.
Central Catholic, after a strong opening round, came away with three medals. Sophomore 112-pounder Ryan O’Boyle ended his day with a pin to place fifth, while senior Tom Lacroix followed with a fifth at 160. Zack Lattrell settled for sixth at 215, defaulting his final match.
Finally, St. John’s Prep’s T.J. Crabtree of North Andover finished sixth at 135.

New England Championships
Top team scores (out of 128 teams): 1. Timberlane 89, 2. Burlington 75.5, 3. Cumberland (RI) 69,4. Pinkerton 58.5, 5. Haverhill 57, 6. Danbury (Conn.) 5.0. 7. Tyngsboro 57, 8. Central Catholic 54, 9. Framingham 42, 10. Lowell 39.5
Winners and local placers:
103: 1. Zach Bridson (Tim); 112: 1. Sam Shames (Newton North), 5. Ryan O’Boyle (Central); 119: 1. Chris Contanzo (Danbury, Conn.),  3. Matt Buco (Gr. Lawrence), 4. Kyle Visconti (MC/North Reading); 125: 1. Mike Meyers (Warwick, R.I.); 130: 1. Nick Flannery (F), 3. David Owens (Pink), 6. Matt Morris (Timb); 135: 1. Matt Sherman (Burlington), 2. Devon Visconti (MC/North Reading), 6. TJ .Crabtree (St. John’s/North Andover); 140: 1. Jordan Michelson (Needham), 2. Collin Crowell (Pinkerton); 145: 1. Dan Telhada (Franklin); 152: 1. Matt Dehney (Dracut); 160: 1. Derek Golner (Tyngsboro) 3. Nick Lawrence (Timb), 5. Tom Lacroix (CC); 171: 1. Isaiah Williams (Hav); 189: 1. Alex Najjar (Shawsheen); 215: 1. Patrick Gillen (Shelton, Conn.); 6. Zack Lattrell (Central); HVY: 1. Terrance Jean-Jacques (Haverhill), 3. Ben Tammany (Timb)

SALEM — The two-man team from Haverhill did what the area’s other full squads could not — bring home championships at yesterday’s All-State wrestling meet. Bringing a proud ending to a season marred by low roster numbers and dual meets lost by default, Isaiah Williams continued his undefeated march to a second straight New England crown, persevering for a 7-2 victory over Algonquin’s Mike Wrin at 171 pounds. Hillie heavyweight Terrance Jean-Jacques ended the Cinderella run of Bridgewater-Raynham’s Cody Jaramillo, 5-0, to also stay unbeaten. “The same thing happened last week,” Williams, now 45-0 this season, said of Wrin’s non-confrontational style that allowed the opponent to last all six minutes but have no real shot at victory. “I don’t really have a problem with it. He couldn’t do anything from neutral on me.” When a fellow wrestler passed by and asked what happened, Williams told him, “He just laid there.” For a difference reason, Jean-Jacques also was frustrated by Jaramillo — a sixth place finisher in Division 3 last week who defeated the Division 2 and Division 3 champs to make the All-State finals. “He was smaller and it was harder to get my moves off,” the now 37-0 Jean-Jacques explained. “I tried to work the upper body but it was hard. He knows how to fight.” Continuing to impress at the state level was Lawrence 119-pounder Hugo Dominguez, surprising Division 2 state champ Kyle Visconti of North Reading and Malden Catholic in the semifinals, 8-5, before dropping a 9-3 verdict in the finals to New Bedford’s Corey Melo. “In my bracket, I had Visconti who had pinned me before and Melo who had pinned me,” Dominguez said. “But I think I can beat anybody. It’s not cocky, I just go in confident.” Using a frenetic style (“I don’t know any other way to wrestle”), the senior kept Visconti off-guard but Melo’s superb technical skills allowed effective countermoves. “I wasn’t expecting to beat Visconti and I can’t remember how I did it. I wrestled hard for six minutes and won by three,” Dominguez concluded. “Good outcome this weekend and I hope to place at New Englands (next week in New Haven).” Dominguez hopes to wrestle at AIC, where he has already been accepted, Rhode Island College or Bridgewater State. Also finishing second but under different circumstances was Ryan O’Boyle of Central Catholic at 112 pounds. After sneaking out to a 4-3 lead over Sam Shames of Newton North after two periods, Shames’ takedown flipped the lead early in the third period. With 15 seconds left, O’Boyle challenged Shames’ control and slowly muscled his opponent to his back but the referee blew his whistle for a stalemate with five seconds remaining, drawing boos from the 1,000 fans in attendance. Shames rode out the restart to take the title. Raider teammates Tom Lacroix, who finished third at 160 pounds, Zach Lattrell (third at 215) and Pat Lacroix (sixth at 103) will also be headed to New Englands. North Reading’s Devin Visconti of Malden Catholic also made it to the finals, dropping a 2-1 decision at 135 to Burlington’s Matt Sherman, who beat Visconti at the Division 2 state meet the week before. Area wrestlers competing for another week include Greater Lawrence’s Matt Buco (third at 119), St. John’s Prep’s C.J. Crabtree of North Andover (fourth at 135), Methuen’s Paul Sughrue (fourth at 112) and C.J. Doherty (fifth at 135), Lawrence’s Jorge Aquino (fifth at 103) and Kevin Valerio (sixth at 152), and North Andover’s Adam Bates (sixth at 215). Hall of Fame Murrays In awards presented prior to the finals, Central Catholic graduates Bob and Bill Murray of Salem were inducted into the state Wrestling Coaches Assoc. Hall of Fame as three-time state champions. Wayne and Linda Jalbert of Haverhill were honored by the coaches organization for their 19 years of involvement with the Hillies Boosters Club.

Team pride without a team Haverhill’s Isaiah Williams and Terrance Jean-Jacques experienced vast personal success that couldn’t translate to team victories due to low numbers. But they didn’t allow the circumstances to turn the season into a set of individual meets. “It gets us down when there’s not enough people to win a dual meet,” said Jean-Jacques, a transfer from Governor’s Academy. “But we still look at it as we’re a two-man team fighting for Haverhill. We’re still winning for our team.” Haverhill coaches and wrestlers wore logos featuring the number 6. “It’s from a poem written by 2004 team captain Rich Stone,” said Haverhill head coach Brett Legault. “You wrestle six days a week for six minutes a match to win six points for a pin.”   Massachusetts All-States at Salem High School Winners and New England qualifiers (top 6) 103: 1. Mike Mui (Hingham), 5. Jorge Aquino (Law.), 6. Pat Lacroix (CC); 112: 1. Sam Shames (Newton North), 2. Ryan O’Boyle (CC), 4. Paul Sughrue (Meth.); 119: 1. Corey Melo (New Bedford), 2. Hugo Dominguez (Law.), 3. Matt Buco (Gr. Law.), 4. Kyle Visconti (Malden Cath./North Reading); 125: 1. Jake Sherman (Burlington); 130: 1. Nick Flannery (Framingham); 135: 1. Matt Sherman (Burlington), 2. Devin Visconti (Malden Cath.), 4. T.J. Crabtree (SJP/North Andover), 5. C.J. Doherty (Meth.); 140: 1. Jordan Michaelson (Needham); 145: 1. Dan Telhada (Franklin); 152: 1. Matt Donohoe (Tyngsboro), 6. Kevin Valerio (Law.); 160: 1. Derek Golner (Tyngsboro), 3. Tom Lacroix (CC); 171: 1. Isaiah Williams (Hav.); 189: 1. Alex Najjar (Shawsheen); 215: 1. Andrew Companeschi (Shawsheen), 3. Zach Lattrell (CC), 6. Adam Bates (NA); 285: 1. Terrance Jean-Jacques (Hav.) Miscellaneous Awards Outstanding Wrestler — lightweights, Nick Flannery, Framingham; heavyweights, Isaiah Williams, Haverhill

NASHUA, N.H. — Timberlane junior heavyweight Ben Tammany sure knows how to cap off a title celebration. With the Owls already having long since wrapped up their seventh straight Meet of Champions team title in overwhelming fashion, Tammany put an exclamation point on the day with a stunning pin in the finals. Facing Franklin behemoth Matt Kaplan, who entered the match with a 43-0 record and a tradition of  recording fast pins, Tammany kept his distance in the first minute and then had a sudden takedown. He quickly turned Kaplan and then got the pin with 20 seconds to spare in the first period. “I’ve been thinking about him all year,” said Tammany, who improved to 34-5. “I knew he was a strong kid and I thought I could wear him down. “This makes me feel very good and I can’t wait for next week (New England tournament).” That gave the Owls their seventh champion and 11th qualifier for New England and a whopping 265 points, compared to 92 for runner-up Winnacunnet, marking the biggest point spread in MOC history. “What a great way to end the tournament,” said Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian. “To have seven champs, 11 qualifiers and 16 placers (in the top six) is a tremendous accomplishment.” Tammany’s pin once again showed that — for the third straight year — the Owls are, top to bottom, dominant. They had champions at the start (Zach Bridson) and finish (Tammany) of the lineup. Bridson started the finals with a bang, improving to 42-1 with a 42-second pin of Salem’s Ryan Bolduc for his third straight pin of the day. Will Smith followed at 112 with his second win over Salem’s Jon Rheaume in two weeks, this time by a 10-2 major decision, giving up the first two points and then scoring 10 straight. Matt Morris gave the Owls their third crown, at 130, winning when Pelham’s Mike Perruccio defaulted because of sickness. Perruccio earlier won a New Hampshire Referee Scholarship for his outstanding season and should be ready for New England (Friday and Saturday in New Haven, Conn.) while Morris improved to 32-6. The fourth champion, Alex Smith, who many felt should have been named tourney Outstanding Wrestler, recorded a 31-second pin in the finals, had three first-period pins on the day, six straight over the last two weeks, and is now 40-6 on the year. Following at 152 was Dylan Lockard, who recorded a 3-0 decision in the championship match, while Nick Lawrence continued his strong run at 160 with a 16-4 major decision to improve to 48-5. Finishing second for Timberlane was banged-up Nate Lawrence, who lost to Outstanding Wrestler Kyle Gaffney of St. Thomas at 171, while senior Kevin Vadeboncoeur (119), junior Shane Tremblay (189) and senior Wes Grew (215) all qualified for New England by taking thirds. Tremblay had a tremendous rally, coming back from a 6-2 deficit in the last minute to prevail 9-6, and Vadeboncoeur’s match in the consolation finals was just as exciting as he prevailed in overtime, 4-3. The area’s only non-Timberlane champion, Pinkerton senior 140-pounder Collin Crowell, could have also made a case for being tourney OW. He dominated his weight class, recorded a pin at 1:05 in the finals and improved to 33-1 for the year. Also for the Astros, who finished third as a team, Tanner Burke finished second at 119 after leading Victor Peters for two periods, and surprising Daniel Barker was runner-up at 135. In addition, 103-pounder Alex Gerhold and 130-pounder Dave Owens finished third to qualify for New England. The Astros would have been second but had three points deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct. Joining Perruccio at New England for Pelham will be Josh Medeiros, who was third at 112.

Meet of Champions Top team scores (31 teams): 1. Timberlane 265, 2. Winnacunnet 92, 3. Pinkerton 90, 4. Salem 66, 5. Concord 65, 6. Merrimack 58, 7. Con-Val 51, 8. Bishop Guertin 46, 9. Plymouth 43, 10. St. Thomas 40, 11. Goffstown 38, 12. John Stark 31, 13. Pelham 30 1/2, 14. Londonderry 27, 15. Milford 25, 16. Memorial 25 Winners and local New England qualifiers (top 3): 103: 1. Zach Bridson (Tim), 2. Ryan Bolduc (Sal), 3. Alex Gerhold (Pink); 112: 1. Will Smith (Tim), 2. Jon Rheaume (Sal), 3. Josh Medeiros (Pelham); 119: 1. Victor Peters (Win), 2. Tanner Burke (Pink), 3. Kevin Vadeboncoeur (Tim); 125: 1. Jeff Cole (Merr); 130: 1. Matt Morris (Tim), 2. Mike Perruccio (Pelham), 3. David Owens (Pink); 135: 1. Bob Daniels (Con), 2. Daniel Barker (Pink); 140: 1. Collin Crowell (Pink); 145: 1. Alex Smith (Tim); 152: 1. Dylan Lockard (Tim); 160: 1. Nick Lawrence (Tim); 171: 1. Kyle Gaffney (St. Thomas), 2. Nate Lawrence (Tim); 189: 1. Dylan Ryan (Exeter), 3. Shane Tremblay (Tim); 215: 1. Tyler Baulier (Merrimack), 3. Wes Grew (Tim); HVY: 1. Ben Tammany (Tim)

NASHUA  —  When expectations are high, as they are for the Timberlane wrestling team, satisfaction does not come easily.

But, thanks to unsung youngsters like sophomore 112-pounder Will Smith, there was plenty of satisfaction for the Owls in yesterday’s Division 1 state meet.

Timberlane held a commanding lead after the first roound of the Division 1 wrestling tournament at Nashua North last night, compiling 103 points to just 62 1/2 for runner-up Winnacunnet. In all, 11 Owls qualified for this morning's semifinals. Pinkerton, which is in fourth place, and Salem both advanced five qualifiers.

MARLBORO — Revenge is always sweet, but it couldn’t have been any sweeter than it was for North Andover last night.

While avenging an early-season loss to No. 1 seed Natick in overwhelming fashion, 38-18, the Knights captured their second Division 2 State Dual-Meet wrestling title in five years.

Timberlane showed its depth over the weekend by dominating the New Hampshire JV state meet, winning 10 of 14 weight classes and placing 15 wrestlers overall. With 153 points, the Owls were far ahead of runner-up Concord (70).

Conor Duffey (112), Mike O'Boyle (119) and Colin Lahiff (160) each finished 4-0 and league champs yesterday at the ISL championships. 

Londonderry's James Chase for the second year in a row was honored for the most pins in the shortest period of times in the lower weights at the Cavalier Classic. He notched four pins. Teammate John Paul won it for the upper weights. The Lancers won the tourney.

By wrapping up its dual-meet season with a 68-9 romp over Merrimack, the Timberlane wrestling team finished with a pair of milestones.

First, the Owls reached what is believed to be a season-high victory total by finishing 23-1 and, second, the  23 wins put coach Barry Chooljian over the 400-win mark  the first coach in New Hampshire to reach that total.  He is now 402-41-5 in 27 years.