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NORTH ANDOVER — When you get to this stage of the year, it doesn't matter how you finish things off. Not as long as you cap the season with a title on the biggest of stages.

Dylan Barreiro's last victory of the campaign might not have been the prettiest, but the Pinkerton junior will now always have the tag of 195-pound New England champion.

Trailing 1-0 entering the final period, Barreiro took advantage of penalty points — one for stalling and another for starting before the whistle — to pull out a 3-1 win over Connecticut champ Khamri Thomas.

"He was backing up on me," said Barreiro, who ran his season record to 46-0. "He has a defensive style, and I have an offensive style, so I kept pushing the pace."

In the final, Barreiro tied the bout with 1:19 remaining and picked up the point for Thomas stalling shortly after. After avoiding being taking down with 6 seconds left, Barreiro received the final point when Thomas broke for a quick takedown before the whistle with 5 seconds remaining.

"It was a heck of a day overall," said Barreiro, who will take a 113-14 record into his senior season. "Once I got to the semis, I knew I just had to keep going and keep going. But with (Thomas') defensive style, I knew the championship would be low scoring."

In earlier matches, Barreiro opened action with a pin in 76 seconds followed by major decision scores of 11-1 in the quarters and 14-6 in the semifinals.

"Confidence is my game," Barreiro said. "I've been training and working my (butt) off, and now I finally got to my goal."

Butterbrodt finishes in style

Two-time defending champion and St. John's Prep senior Ian Butterbrodt, a North Andover native, capped his sterling career with a pin in 1:49 of Mt. Anthony's Jack Luciano at 220 pounds.

"My goal is always the same, at least at any good tournament," Butterbrodt replied when asked if he prepared any differently for this weekend. "My coach tells me to go to a room ... tell your family to stay away, so I won't see all the T-shirts with 'Team Butterbrodt' on them."

It was the third time Butterbrodt bested Luciano. The first meeting was a 1-0 decision, but the second outing was a prelude to the third.

"He's a tough kid," Luciano said. "I've wrestled him a couple times and given him a pretty decent match, but he's just so tough. Going out I knew what to expect, but I was really hoping for something more than I put out.

Finishing his high-school career as the state's all-time leader in victories with 223, Butterbrodt recorded earlier decisions over the Connecticut and Maine champions before routing the Vermont champ in the finals.

Other area placers

In one of the top consolation comebacks, defending New England champ Jean-Luc Lemieux of Londonderry rallied from an opening-round upset to the fifth-place finisher from Massachusetts to finish fourth at 138. Lemieux had won five consolation matches, including four pins en route to a 5-3 loss to the Rhode Island champ.

"Overall, I don't think (yesterday) was that bad," said Lemieux, who finished the year 49-5 one year after a 50-0 finish. "I didn't expect to do well after my first match, so just placing today was good for me."

Brian Lonergan of Timberlane, who lost in the semis, also rebounded to finish fourth at 182.

Another semifinal casualty was Pentucket's Josh Wesolowski, who finished fifth after a 10-8 victory over

"In the back of my mind, I knew this was going to be my last high school wrestling match," Wesolowski said. "I have all my coaches and family here, so I knew I had to get a win. I just did what I had to."

Another fifth-place finish went to Richard Bilodeau of Londonderry, who scored a 6-3 decision over Dan Wensley of Wakefield.

SALEM — Fritz Hoehn had had enough.

One week after nonchalantly winning his third consecutive Division 2 state title, the North Andover senior entered the All State tournament focused on reversing the losses he'd suffered in his previous three attempts at an overall state title.

Turned out he was pretty emphatic about avoiding another disappointment.

Hoehn recorded his third technical fall in four weekend matches, dominating Springfield Central's Jastice Bolden in a 17-2 win that was stopped with 50 seconds remaining.

"I've never won this before," said Hoehn, who was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler at the upper weights after running his season record to 52-0. "I've lost three times in the finals here so I wanted to make sure I was ready to go. It feels pretty good."

An Edinboro University commit, Hoehn, who also recorded a tech fall over Bolden in a dual tournament earlier in the season, previously had lost title bouts at 138 pounds as a freshman, 152 pounds as a sophomore and 160 pounds last year.

"This is like something over my head because of those three losses being a No. 1 seed," said Hoehn, a two-time fourth-place finisher at New Englands. "So it just feels real good to win this one. It's a big one. I should be going to New Englands (confident)."

Hoehn, who is now 191-15 on his career, also piled up 17 points winning his first two matches before defeating Methuen sophomore Darius Franklin in the semis. In the title bout, he had Bolden on his back in 20 seconds.

Butterbrodt success

St. John's Prep senior Ian Butterbrodt, who last week became the state's all-time leader in victories, claimed his third straight state title.

But it didn't come as easily as most would have predicted for the wrestler who has won 219 matches. In fact, Butterbrodt found himself trailing 4-1 with less than a minute left in the second. But the defending New England champ reestablished control, racking up five points the final 46 seconds of the period for a 6-4 decision over Arlington's Nick Rose.

"He was strong," Butterbrodt said of Rose, who won the D2 title last week. "But that's cool. I'm not really used to feeling someone coming at me hard. So when a kid comes out and gives it his all, it's different."

Methuen medalists

Senior Billy Wehring and sophomore Franklin, the only two Rangers in the tournament finished strong after semifinal losses with third-place finishes

Wehring, who suffered a two-point loss in the semis, atoned for a regular-season loss to Central Catholic's Jack Kiely with a 4-0 win in the consolation semifinals before defeating Woburn's Nick Camacho.

Meanwhile, Franklin rebounded from his second loss to Hoehn in two years, staking a claim on a bright future after his 5-1 win over Catholic Memorial's Josh Beche, who lost to Hoehn in the D2 tourney.

Last year, Franklin's season ended at 27-1 when he tore right-knee ligaments in an 8-4 dual-meet decision to Hoehn.

"He gave me my first loss in my wrestling career," said Franklin, 41-5 on the season. "I was a little nervous coming in. I was kind of afraid, because I didn't know if I could place. But after that first match when I pinned my kid (in 3:22), I wanted to strive for more and go after it.

Area roundup

Pentucket senior Josh Wesolowski continued his outstanding career by finishing third at 132 after dropping his semifinal to D1 champ Russel Fey of Lincoln-Sudbury. A fourth-place finisher last year, Wesolowski scored a 9-2 decision over Mr. Everett's Bradley Lupiani.

Other area placers were Haverhill's Reece Millington (145) and Central Catholic's Donovan Nolan, who both finished sixth, and Lawrence' Rafael Medina (160) and Haverhill's Luc Chretien (195), who both finished seventh.

Coaches honored

Former Methuen star and Pentucket coach Sean Kiley was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Lawrence coach Rob Niceforo was honored with several other coaches for compiling 200 career wins.

Odds and ends

There were five rematches of last week's divisional finals, including three from Division 3. The only two upsets also came from the Division 3 ranks.

Springfield Central's Jonathan Viruet won his third straight All-State title with a 160-pound championship.

BEVERLY — The Division 2 state wrestling tournament featured a Brandon Desfosses buzzer-beating, title-winning takedown and included a Fritz Hoehn three-peat as well as a Central Catholic freshman winning his first.

But the evening clearly belonged to Stephen Cincotta.

Just ask the members of the impromptu family reunion on the side of the mat who were unable to contain tears of joy — not even a wrestling coach of a father, who got a bit misty. Those tears were prompted by a North Andover senior winning a 182-pound state title that two years ago seemed as improbable as a date with Kate Upton.

Forced out of action early his sophomore year for labrum surgery on both shoulders, Cincotta returned to the mat this year but didn't wrestle in a tournament until winning the previous week's sectional to protect the shoulder.

"I really can't say that I imagined it," Cincotta said after his convincing 11-7 decision over Malden Catholic's Ian Steckel. "I just knew I had to keep working hard to get here. And that's what I did. I finally figured out that hard work pays off because I'm a state champion and that's the best feeling."

The shoulder surgeries six months apart actually weren't the first time under the knife for Cincotta, who also had work done three times on his right elbow, twice for meniscus tears in his right knee in middle school and a surgery on a finger.

"I'm glad I came back from all these injuries," said Cincotta, who does his best to downplay the pain he endures. "After my first (shoulder) surgery, everyone told me I was done .. and that I'm crazy for doing this. But I had so much success in the youth (wrestling), that I wanted to do something in high school because that's where it matters."

Cincotta plans on wrestling in this week's All States but regardless of how he fares, it might be the last time he dons the uniform.

"My goal was to help the team win a state championship and win the state championship for myself," said Cincotta, who is 26-2 on the season and 46-10 in his career. "I'm pretty happy with this. At this point there really isn't anything else I can do for the team.

"I've done everything I can do for the team, and that's what's most important. So that's where my journey (probably) ends."

Whatever he and his family decides after this weekend, Cincotta probably can't build on the ecstasy he provided yesterday.

"We knew this (division title) was the goal," said father and coach Carl Cincotta. We didn't know if he'd make it to this point, and that was the biggest issue. He's had a very, very tough year. He's been in pain everyday. It's difficult for him to finish a practice because of the pain."

Desfosses drama

The Central Catholic junior averted disaster early in this 145-pound bout with top-seeded Ronan Ball of Nashoba late in the first period when his ankle gave way. He did a great job not falling in the center of the mat, instead stumbling backward to the edge of the mat.

"I felt something that wasn't right," Desfosses said, while icing his ankle in the trainer's room after his match. "I had a tough time putting pressure on it ... I was in a lot of pain. But I knew I was going to be able to finish up."

Considering Desfosses had been pinned by Ball early in the season, things appeared bleak during the injury timeout, and after falling behind 4-2 with less than 80 seconds remaining, the situation seemed dire. But an escape with 63 seconds left ignited some hope.

"I knew if I kept putting pressure on him, I knew he'd make a mistake and I could capitalize on it," he said.

That looked prophetic when he pulled Ball down with 4.6 ticks on the clock, but unfortunately that potential takedown was ruled off the mat.

"I thought right then and there, that there was no way I could win it," said Desfosses, who finished third at 132 last year. "But I thought I couldn't give up, so I went after it."

And a powerful leg dive drove his opponent to the mat as the horn went off.

"Yeah, I did," said Desfosses when asked if he surprised himself.

A decision on whether he can wrestle this weekend will be decided after a doctor's visit.

Freshman first

Desfosses teammate Joey Sanchez not only kicked off the finals on a winning note, but also raised expectations for his upcoming three years with a 10-6 decision over South Easton's Brett Wordell for the 106-pound title. Sanchez led 7-6 before putting Wordell on his back with about 30 seconds left.

The victory capped a dominating tournament for the youngster, who entered as the top seed and pinned his first three opponents.

"I always wanted to be a state champ," said Sanchez (41-3). "I knew with the right amount of training, it would happen. It feels awesome. Now I want to be in the top three of All States and make it to New Englands."

Hoehn wins third

The most dominating wrestler of the affair was no surprise as Hoehn pinned all four of his opponents in a combined 4:04. The finale against Catholic Memorial's Josh Bechen ended in 92 seconds.

Knights runners-up

North Andover's Jack Perry at 113 finished second as did the Knights, who were four points behind team winner Nashoba's 127. Other top placers were Stephen Manning (120) and Mathieu Messina (195), who both finished fourth, and Peter Taylor, who was fifth at 126.

Central Catholic was sixth with 87 points and received a third-place from Jack Kiely at 120 and a fourth from Donovan Nolan at 160.

Whittier's Sidney Taylor earned a fourth place at heavyweight after the first-year wrestler lost a semifinal earlier in the day. Chris Eyssi of Greater Lawrence was sixth at 182.

READING — It turned into a successful day for area wrestlers at yesterday's Division 2 North Sectional, but no one had a bigger afternoon than the Knights from North Andover, who have grown accustomed to strong sectional showings.

North Andover's westling team won the close matches on its way to a 35-28 victory over Lawrence, denying the Lancers a chance to tie for the MVC Division 1 crown. Dauma Fernandez had a pivotal 12-11 win at heavyweight, Jack Perry won 17-14 at 113, Peter Taylor prevailed 3-1 at 120, Connor Ford won 6-4 at 126, Matt Alexander prevailed 10-7 at 145 and Kyle Milovanovic had a reversal in the closing seconds for a 6-5 decision at 152. The Knights finished the dual-meet season at 21-6.

In the match of the night, Connor Ford delivered a 4-3 decision at 126 to highlight North Andover's 56-22 victory over Marlboro.

NORTH ANDOVER — Anyone looking for some heat in a frightful week could have found some much needed heavyweight sizzle in the North Andover High School gymnasium.

On a night that featured four lead changes and a tie in the first eight bouts alone, Methuen remained undefeated on the season with a tough 37-30 victory over the defending Division 2 state champion Scarlet Knights in a matchup of perennial area powers.

The outcome wasn't secure until Ranger heavyweight Angel Ramos, a part time starter, earned a 3-1 decision over Dauma Fernandez, but coach Bill James received several pivotal performances earlier.

Maybe the biggest came at 152 when sophomore Trevor Abdallah needed only 41.8 seconds to pin Costa Vergados, was moved up from his normal 145. The win put the Rangers (20-0) ahead for good at 22-18.

"I was just thinking about winning for the team," Trevor Abdallah said. "I knew I needed to get a pin or a major (decision) to help my team out. This is obviously a big match for us coming in undefeated against a very good team. To get a win is very good for us."

Before Abdallah put the Rangers ahead, however, twin brother Travis ignited Methuen a 13-12 lead with a 9-6 decision over Adrian Polanco at 132. After a scoreless first period, the two combined for 14 points in the second, when Abdallah turned a 3-0 deficit into a 6-3 advantage in a matter of seconds. North Andover's Conor O'Sullivan, however, put the Scarlet Knights (16-5) back up by five with a pin over Cam Heffernan.

Dan O'Connell set up Trevor Abdallah's 145-pound bout with a 7-5 decision over Kyle Milovanovic.

"That 132 pound match was huge," said James, who earned his 252nd career victory. "I thought basically from 132 to 145, those would be the key (weights) for a win and for us to win two out of three was big for us. That was a big win by Travis and then Trevor did the job at 52."

North Andover clawed to within one with a pin by Fritz Hoehn at 170 and a decision by Stephen Cincotta at 6-0. Saul Cabrera, however, put the Rangers ahead by seven with Methuen's fourth pin of the evening.

"In my head I knew all I had to do was get some points," said Cabrera, who improved to 30-3.

The victory was Methuen's first over North Andover since a 34-33 win in 2011, which was the last time it went undefeated — an accomplishment the Rangers can match with victories over Chelmsford, Haverhill and Central Catholic to close out the regular season.

"Every MVC match is a battle," said James, whose squad had lost its past two matches over the Knights by a combined 96-38. "But we have a lot of challenges ahead of us. These kids are smart enough to know that nothing is going to be given."

North Andover bounced back from a loss to Lowell earlier in the week with a big 38-30 win over Chelmsford to stay in the Merrimack Valley Conference race, setting up a showdown with Methuen at home Wednesday. Adrian Polanco and Stephen Manning had pivotal pins against the Lions and Jack Perry and Fritz Hoen both had a pair of pins for the Knights, who also beat Dracut 51-22.

North Andover, usually strong in the lower weights, won the last upper weight classes against Lowell, but dropped the first six weights in a 37-30 loss to Lowell.

North Andover romped past Daniel Hand (Conn.) and host Keene (64-160 but got punished by Vermont power Mount Anthony 53-20. Fritz Hoehnremained unbeaten with three wins at 170 while Jack Perry (113) and surprising heavyweight Dauma Fernandez were also unbeaten on the day for the Knights, now 14-3 on the year.