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Owls make it three straight New England titles

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)