RallyNorth.net

Sat, Dec 14, 2019 09:00 AM @ Salem

Team	Final
Central Catholic	2
Pinkerton	0
at Salem	0
Windham	0

Central Catholic 2, Pinkerton 0, Salem 0, Windham 0

 

SALEM  —There were storylines galore Saturday at one of the most exciting Blue Devil Classics of the last 15 years.

Upsets flourished, including of a defending New England champion, there were dual titles by Central Catholic's Glynn brothers and a near sweep by the Sills brothers of Windham, an altercation nearly caused a disqualification and the Raiders nearly overtook perennial winner Concord for first.

And there was much more. But, from it all, there was no doubt that Central Catholic freshman Jackie Dehney stole the show.

Competing in her first high school tournament against boys, Dehney captured the 120-pound title in stunning fashion, coming from behind three times to win the crown.

Dehney trailed Wakefield's Luke Fitzgerald by a point in the first match but recovered quickly and then recorded a second period pin and then, in the match of the day, fell behind by five points to highly regarded Ethan Comeau of Concord before roaring back to get her second pin of the day, at 5:43.

Already a fan favorite, Dehney had the crowd behind her when she stepped onto the mat for the finals against Nashua South's Colby Spencer. There were more spectators crowded around the mat than for any other match.

Spencer got a first period takedown in the first period, but Dehney tied it, 2-2, in the second period with a late takedown of her own that got the crowd charged up and won it in the third period, 3-2, with an escape.

"It was awesome ... a lot of fun," said Dehney. "I've had the crowd behind me before, but never that loud."

Dehney wasn't sure if it was her extensive club wrestling experience, or her conditioning, that allowed her to come back three times, saying "a little bit of both," but Central coach Jamie Durkin thinks it was more of the former.

"She has been wrestling for a long time and has great mat awareness," said Durkin. "She knows what to do in different situations."

Dehney was joined in the winner's circle by four other Raiders.

Jimmy Glynn started things off at 106 with a second perod pin of Windham freshman Aiden Williams, brother Mike rallied from a 6-5 deficit for a second period pin at 145, Matt Shaw won a hotly conested 145-pound final and Owen Buffagna recorded his third pin of the day at 182, the finale in the first period.

"It's been a long time since we've had five champions here so I'm really happy with that," said Durkin. "We wrestled really well for this early. I'm not even sure how we didn't win."

Concord, which has won the Blue Devil Classic 13 of the last 14 years, only had three champs, but it also had two-runners-up and five third plasces and five fourth places.

"They should name this the Crimson Tide Classic," quipped Salem assistant Keith Dearden.

Classic at 220

In the most anticipated match of the day, Pinkerton's Sterling McLaughlin knocked off Salem's Beau Dillon, 4-3, in the 220-pound finals. McLaughlin was sixth in New England last year at 182 and Dillon was the 195-pound New England champ. They've wrestled in practice at the Doughboy Wrestling Club.

After an escape, McLaughlin got a second period takedown to take a 3-0 lead in the second period. But Dillon got an escape and a reversal to tie it before McLaughlon got a final escape for the win.

"I didn't have a real strategy — I just went with my gut and pushed myself as hard as I could," said McLaughlin. "I love Beau — he's a great opponent — but this is the match I was looking forward to all week."

Dillon probably doesn't ned to fret much. He lost at the Blue Devil Classic last year and then came back to win New England.

Upset at 126

If McLaughlin's win was a mini-upset, Windham's Payton Sills pulled off a major one. Trailing Salem standout Matt Adams in the second period of the 126-pound finals, Sills caught Adams in an awkward position, put him in a cradle and pinned him at the 3:09 mark, after which he ran around the mat in glee.

"This 100 % the biggest win I've ever had," said Sills. "I've wrestled him so many times's and tried so hard to beat him I'm just so happy to do it."

Sills' brother, Conner, looked like he would make it a pair of titles for the family but, after leading much of the match, he gave up a late escape and takedown in the 132-pound finals to lose, 3-2.

Salem consolation

The host Blue Devils, who finished third as a team, had its share of disappointments on the day, but they still had two champions.

George Boudreau won the 138-pound class, taking the finals by injury default after Pinkerton semifinal winner David Hammond went to the hospital with a neck injury and senior Josh Ozoria dominated the heavyweight division, with four pins, including three in the first period.

 

Dehney was