Wrestling, 5-6, ended its season strong with two wins and sent multiple athletes to All-States following a rocky start to the season.
The Tigers entered the post-season with great force, sending seven wrestlers to States and two athletes qualifying to continue to compete in the All-State tournament, with junior Maddie Ngo placing 5th, making her an alternate for New Englands.
“Our record wasn’t that great, but there were a lot of tournaments where kids got a lot of matches in, and we were thrilled to have multiple place-winners throughout the matches,” said campus aide John Staulo, head coach. “We have a young team and we improved a lot.”
The Tigers entered the regular season with two wins, defeating Walpole 45-12 on Thursday, Dec. 12, and Needham Wednesday, Dec. 16, 43-30 at home.
North’s season continued over December break, at the George Bossi Lowell Holiday tournament at UMass Lowell on Friday, Dec. 20, where the Tigers fell short of a victory.
As the Tigers returned from break, they approached the tough part of the season, according to Staulo. Luckily, the team was able to get back into its groove. “A bit into January, everyone gets back onto the same page following the break and everyone gets back into it,” said Staulo.
The Tigers first meet back after break was an away meet at Framingham on Wednesday, Jan. 8, where they fell to the Flyers 56-21.
Following Framingham, North traveled to Milton on Wednesday, Jan. 15 and lost 54-34. After the meet, the energy began to shift amongst team members, and the Tigers adopted complete focus, according to junior Zachary Demeo, a captain along with senior Yotam Elloul.
“It was a low point, and following that we started practicing harder. It was definitely a turning point for us,” said Demeo.
The Tigers continued their season at Woburn, with multiple athletes placing in the tournament.
North then traveled to Braintree, falling to the Womps in a hard fought loss.
As the season neared its end, North then competed at a five-team match. After losing against the first three, the Tigers rallied and came together in a back-and-forth victory to beat South, a longtime rival according to Staulo.
“One of our freshmen went out there and got the pin that sealed our win. It brought our spirits up and that went on to have us do well at sectionals and go to states,” said Elloul.
The Tigers continued and brought the strong momentum from the win against South into their next two matches, beating Watertown 50-26 Tuesday, Feb. 4, and Brookline 49-30 on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in back-to-back away matches.
Following the regular season, the post-season began with Sectionals. The Tigers sent five athletes, including Demeo, Ngo, sophomores Dan Phaneuf and Peter Angella, and junior JP Dubay.
After Sectionals, the Tigers had seven wrestlers compete at States, including juniors Bae Derby and Gess Dango, accompanied by Angella, Demeo, Dubay, Ngo, and Phaneuf. At States, Ngo and Dango advanced to continue to compete at All-States.
At All-states, with strong efforts from both athletes according to Staulo, Dango was eliminated, but Ngo will continue to the New England Tournament as an alternate after earning fifth place in the tournament.
