RallyNorth.net

Owls win historic 4th straight New England title

Sunday, March, 06 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Timberlane wrestling team celebrated Senior Night for the second time last night.
With a little help from junior star Zach Bridson, who finished third at 112 after a heartbreaking loss in the semifinals, the Owls cemented their way into the record books by capturing their fourth straight New England title. Until last year, no team had ever won more than two straight crowns.

This was the 47th annual New Englands.
Led by a remarkable senior class, which has tasted nothing but success at the New England tourney, the Owls captured their ninth crown overall with a remarkable 133 points.
Timberlane placed six wrestlers, five of whom are seniors. Senior twins Nate and Nick Lawrence were champions.
“Good luck to someone finding a senior class that has accomplished so much,” said elated Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian. “To win four straight titles and then win four New Englands is something else.
“I’ve had some great teams but I’ve never had a class like this. People don’t realize how hard it is to win this once, but to win four straight is unbelievable.”
Finishing a distant second with 76 points was Vermont power Mount Anthony while Methuen took fourth with 66 1/2 points and Pinkerton was fifth with 62.
Leading the way for the Timberlane seniors were the “big guys,” as Chooljian likes to call them — 160-pounder Nate Lawrence, 171-pounder Nick Lawrence and heavyweight Ben Tammany.
Nate Lawrence, who has been plagued by injuries during his career, was particularly impressive, controlling Connecticut standout Dillard Carter from the start on his way to a 7-1 decision in the finals.
“I felt good today and I felt strong,” said Nate, who improved to 45-6. “I didn’t feel nervous at all. This has been my goal since day one and it just feels great.”
Nick Lawrence, who placed third at 160 last year, had a closer match in his fourth meeting with athletic senior Corey Beck of Pinkerton. Lawrence prevailed again, but by a narrow 3-2 decision.
“I wasn’t as aggressive as I usually am because he’s so dangerous,” said Nick, who improved to 42-3. “I was a lot more cautious today.”
Beck, 39-6, had a remarkable season after taking two years off.
At heavyweight, Ben Tammany finished second after falling in triple overtime, 3-2, to Joe Demichele of Daniel Hand High.
Tammany (42-3), who stunned unbeaten Massachusetts chamption Zach Smerlas, was at least Demichele’s equal, but the Connecticut champ got to choose his position for the final frame and was able to take bottom and get an escape.
Also placing for the Owls, in what would have been a major surprise in the preseason, were 145-pounder Andrew Tanner and 189-pounder Shane Tremblay, both seniors. Tremblay had two late back points in the consolation semifinals and finished fourth, ending his season at 36-8, while Tanner came in fifth to end up 43-8.
“Those two really stepped it up,” said Chooljian. “From where they came as freshmen to placing in New England is a tribute to them and it’s also a tribute to the program.
“We had just a great tournament and I couldn’t be happier. We brought nine wrestlers and all nine scored.”
Big tourney for Rangers
With three underclass finalists, Methuen’s Bill James was not only pleased with the Rangers but probably looking ahead to next year, when they may be the tournament favorites.
Finishing second for Methuen were Christian Monserrat (103), Paul Sughrue (119) and C.J. Doherty (145). Doherty put up a great battle against Devin Visconti of Malden Catholic and North Reading before falling 1-0 in the championship match.
Gold for O’Boyle, Visconti
Overall, it was once again a great tournament for the region, especially at the lower weights. Local wrestlers earned six medals in the first four weight classes, with Central Catholic’s Ryan O’Boyle (119) and Malden Catholic’s Kyle Visconti (125) of North Reading both coming in first. Both Viscontis brought home the gold.
For 14 weight classes, the region had 16 placers overall.