RallyNorth.net

Sat, Mar 02, 2019 09:00 AM @ Providence CD

Team	Final
North Andover	20
Providence CD	0

Dillon wins title; Salem in 4th

At the beginning of the year, Salem junior Beau Dillon was in the dumps.

The 195-pound junior had failed to place at the Lowell Holiday Tournament a week earlier and he had been disappointed when he started the season placing third in the Blue Devil Classic.

But Saturday, Dillon was on Cloud 9 sitting on top of the podium as a New England champion.

After winning his first two matches with decisions, edging Masconomet's Joey Perkins 5-4 in the quarterfinals, he pinned Lowell standout Aaron Diaz in the semifinals and then crushed Joe Gjinaj of Fairfield Warde, Conn., 9-1 in the finals.

Dillon got an early takedown, nearly put Gjinaj on his back for three points and then dominated the match to raise his record to 53-5 and become Salem's first New England champion since current assistant Trevor Dearden in 2008.

"He had a great tournament and it (his improvement) is just having more experience — he's basically a third-year wrestler — and a lot of hard work," said Salem coach Nick Eddy. "He's one of the hardest working kids in the room."

Dillon credits teammate Tristen Cabinta, who finished second at 160 pounds Saturday, with much of his improvement.

"I owe a lot to him (Cabinta)," said Dillon. "I was confident going into the year but then after I finished third at the Blue Devil Classic and didn't place at Lowell, I didn't have that confidence. But Tristen worked on some things with me and I started getting my confidence back."

Dillon also thought he might have benefited from some tough in-state competition in his weight class, which was proven at New England as Pelham's Conor Maslanek pinned Pinkerton's Kyle Setzer for third place. Dillon wrestled Setzer four times this year, winning three.

Dillon's championship, plus Cabinta's second-place at 160 and a fifth from junior Matt Adams at 120 propelled Salem to fourth place behind Danbury, which won its second New England title in three years and third overall, just a half-point out of third.

"We knew we had the guys to contend and they wrestled great," said Eddy.

Cabinta lost in the finals to Springfield Central star Cesar Alvan, 9-4, to finish a spectacular season with a 57-3 record with all three losses coming to Alvan. Adams won his final match with a first period pin of Danbury's Tyler Johnson to finish 47-4 on the year.

Knox runner-up

Sometimes, all good things must come to an end and, for Pentucket freshman Tyler Knox, it didn't come until the New England finals.

After starting the tournament with two first-period pins, Knox advanced to the finals with a solid 6-1 decisions in the semifinals. But in the finals, he came up against Coventry, R.I., star Joziah Fry and finally lost, 9-5, in what was clearly a competitive match.

Still, Knox completed an outstanding freshman season with a 49-1 record and a particularly strong showing in the All-State meet, where he pinned Chelmsford standout Evan Kinney in the finals.

Taking thirds

Central Catholic junior Mikey Glynn had a superb tournament to place third. Often overshadowed by older brother Tyler, he was in top form, defeating Pembroke's Ryan Parameter 5-4 in the consolation finals for his 49th win of the season.

Maslanek was the other local to place third at 195 and he was the talk of the tourney. Barely missing a berth in the finals, losing 5-4 to Gjinac in the semifinals, he came back to gain revenge on Pinkerton's Kyle Setzer in 1:03 in the consolation finals. Setzer had pinned him in the Meet of Champions.

Earlier in the day, Maslanek had defeated All-State champ Darby McLaughlin of Springfield Central, 3-0, after starting the tourney by pinning the defending New England champ, Mount Anthony's Sampson Wilkins. He finished his superb sophomore season with a 50-2 record.

"He wrestled great and just two little mistakes kept him from the finals," said Pelham coach Bob Riddinger. "He was getting a lot of accolades from people today."

Valentino takes 5th

North Andover's Joey Valentino, who entered the tournament 53-0 as the 126-pound All-State champion, where he was also the tourney Outstanding Wrestler, had a tough draw in the quarterfinals, but recovered to take fifth. He won his last match with his usual prowess on takedowns, 14-6 over Cranston West's Chris Gomez.

After winning his first match Friday night, Valentino had to face Danbury star Ryan Jack in the quarterfinals.Jack, a national champion won by technical fall, 20-5, and went on to record a pin in the finals.

Also placing for Pinkerton in addition to Setzer was 182-pounder Sterling McLaughlin, who came in eighth.