Black and Gold finishes third at Cohasset Tournament

Published January 9, 2020

By DAN TOMASELLO

COHASET — The Lynnfield-North Reading co-op wrestling team has been very busy the past two weeks, as the Black and Gold competed in two tournaments, a super quad meet and a dual meet.

The Black and Gold (4-5) finished third in the Cohasset Tournament on Saturday, January 4. LNR concluded the seven-team tournament with 186 points.

Eleven wrestlers placed in the Cohasset Tournament. Senior captain Sean McCullough earned his third straight tournament championship this season after going 4-0 in the 182 lb. weight class.

Sean McCullough pinned a Nauset grappler in 31 seconds during the first round. He defeated a Cohasset grappler by fall in 12 seconds in the semifinals. He defeated another Nauset wrestler by a takedown at 1:11 during the finals.

“All three of Sean’s consecutive championships at Cohasset have been at 182 lbs.,” said LNR head coach Craig Stone. “He has now won three consecutive tournaments this season, Wakefield, Pentucket and Cohasset. He has an individual record of 20-0.”

Senior captain Stuart Glover finished first in the 138 lb. weight class after concluding the tournament with a 3-0 record. In the first round of the tournament, Glover pinned a Tri-County grappler in 33 seconds. He defeated a Wilmington wrestler by fall at 4:20 during the semifinals. In the finals, Glover pinned a Rockland grappler at 2:36.

“Stuart was also the Cohasset Tournament champion in 2017 at 106 lbs.,” said Stone. “He is a four-time Cohasset Tournament place finisher and has been in the finals three times.”

Senior Giovanni Colucciello became a two-time Cohasset Tournament place finisher after finishing second in the 195 lb. weight class. In the first round, he pinned a Hanover wrestler in 23 seconds. During the semifinals, Colucciello defeated a Cohassett grappler by fall at 1:25. He was pinned by another Hanover wrestler at 5:21 during the finals.

“Giovanni only weighs 182 lbs. and wrestles up in the 195 lb. weight class,” said Stone.

Junior Christian Real-Costa became a three-time Cohasset Tournament place finisher after placing third in the 113 lb. weight class. Senior captain Timmy Leggett also became a three-time tournament place finisher after securing a third place finish in the 132 lb. weight class.

Senior Gerry Callagy went 3-1 during the Cohasset Tournament’s 170 lb. weight class, which enabled him to finish third and become a two-time tournament place finisher. Senior Brandon Ouellette became a two-time Cohasset Tournament place finisher after securing a third place finish in the 220 lb. weight class. Senior Greg Camier became a three-time tournament place finisher after placing third in the 285 lb. weight class.

Sophomore Ethan Barnes-Felix (145 lbs.) finished fourth in the 145 lb. weight class. Sophomore Ryan McCullough became a two-time Cohasset Tournament place finisher after finishing fourth in the 152 lb. weight class. Senior Dan Ryan placed sixth in the 160 lb. weight class.

Stone commended the co-op team’s performance during the Cohasset Tournament.

“We were able to place all 11 wrestlers we brought to the tournament,” said Stone. “For the third consecutive season tournament, Wakefield, Pentucket and Cohasset, we have constantly improved on last year’s performance by scoring more team points and having more place finishers than the previous three years.”

Pentucket Holiday Tournament

The Black and Gold finished sixth in the 21-team Pentucket Holiday Tournament on Friday, December 27. LNR concluded the tournament with 108 points.

Six wrestlers placed in the tournament. Sean McCullough finished first in the 182 lb. weight class after going 4-0 during the tournament.

Sean McCullough began the tournament pinning a Gloucester wrestler at 1:44 during the first round. He defeated a Timberlane grappler by fall at 38 seconds in the quarterfinals. Sean McCullough pinned a Marblehead-Swampscott wrestler at 3:21 in the semifinals. In the finals, he defeated a Exeter, New Hampshire wrestler by a 9-1 decision.

“Third time is the charm,” said Stone. “Sean was also a finalist the last two years. He was not to be denied.”

Glover finished third in the 138 lb. weight class after concluding the tournament with a 4-1 record. Glover’s second place finish enabled him to become a three-time Pentucket Holiday Tournament place finisher.

Real-Costa became a two-time Pentucket Holiday Tournament place finisher after he finished third in the 113 lb. weight class. Real-Costa concluded the tournament with a 4-1 record.

Senior Cam Randazzo finished fifth in the 152 lb. weight class after concluding the tournament with a 3-2 record. He also placed in last year’s tournament.

Colucciello placed fifth in the 195 lb. after he concluded the tournament with a 3-2 record.

Leggett finished sixth in the 132 lb. weight class after concluding the tournament with a 2-2 record. He has placed in the Pentucket Holiday Tournament twice.

Barnes-Felix (145 lbs.) went 1-2 during the Pentucket Holiday Tournament. Camier (220 lbs.) went 1-2 during the tournament. Callagy (170 lbs.) and senior Steven Kane (285 lbs.) each went 0-2 during the tournament.

Stone said he was pleased with the Black and Gold’s performance in the Pentucket Holiday Tournament.

“We continue to improve on last year’s performances and placed more wrestlers than we have in the last four years at the tournament, which is a testament to the hard work and commitment of this year’s team,” said Stone.

Super quad meet

The Black and Gold went 2-2 during a super quad meet against North Andover, Beverly, Greater Lawrence and Arlington on December 31.

LNR defeated North Andover 36-20 during the meet.

Real-Costa (120 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 29 seconds. Leggett (138 lbs.) brought his counterpart to the ground at 3:13. Glover (145 lbs.) won his match by fall at 1:28.

Barnes-Felix (152 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 1:33. Colucciello won his match by fall at 32 seconds. Sean McCullough (195 lbs.) brought his counterpart to the ground at 4:13.

“This was the first win over North Andover in the history of the co-op,” said Stone. “The match was tied 12-12 after first four weight classes. LNR went on to win the next four of the six matches for the victory. I was elated for our seniors, who have worked really hard for the past four years.”

The Black and Gold defeated Greater Lawrence 42-24.

Leggett (132 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 14 seconds. Glover (145 lbs.) won his match by fall at 4:35. Barnes-Felix (152 lbs.) brought his counterpart to the ground at 3:23. Sean McCullough (182 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 35 seconds.

Real-Costa (120 lbs.), sophomore Aidan Smith (138 lbs.) and Callagy (170 lbs.) won their respective matches by forfeit.

“The match was tied 6-6 after the first two weight classes,” said Stone. “LNR led the rest of the way. This was also our first win over Greater Lawrence in three meetings since we moved up to Division 2 four years ago. It was another satisfying win to build on.”

The Black and Gold fell 53-24 to Beverly during the meet.

Leggett (132 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 3:20. Glover (138 lbs.) won his match by fall at 1:07. Senior Nik Marotta brought his counterpart to the ground at 2:43. Sean McCullough (182 lbs.) pinned his opponent in 31 seconds.

“Beverly returned 90 percent of their lineup from last year and eight sectional place finishers,” said Stone. “The effort was there, but Beverly returned too much experience from last year.”

The Black and Gold fell 57-12 to Arlington during the quad meet.

Leggett (132 lbs.) brought his counterpart to the ground at 49 seconds. Sean McCullough (182 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 2:32.

“Arlington is one of the top teams in the Middlesex League as well as Division 2,” said Stone. “It was a tough way to end a productive day.”

Falls to Triton

The Black and Gold fell 54-26 to Triton on January 2.

Real-Costa (113 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 1:12. Leggett (132 lbs.) won his match by fall at 31 seconds. Smith (138 lbs.) earned his first varsity win after he defeated his counterpart by an 18-9 major decision.

Sean McCollough (182 lbs.) defeated a returning sectional place finisher by a 16-4 major decision. Senior Brandon Ouellette (285 lbs.) pinned his opponent at 29 seconds.

“Triton returned six sectional place finishers from last year,” said Stone. “They look to be this year’s Cape Ann League champs, and will be one of the top teams in Division 3 North. Previously this season, they defeated Masco, who was last year’s CAL champs.

The dual meet was both discouraging and encouraging at the same time. Discouraging in the sense that we had winnable individual matches that we lost, but encouraging in the sense that we were able to compete with a talented Triton team throughout our lineup.”

Upcoming matches

The Black and Gold host Masconomet on Wednesday, January 8, beginning at 6:30 p.m. LNR will compete in a super quad meet against Melrose, Salem, Essex Tech, Gloucester and Swampscott-Marblehead on Saturday, January 11, beginning at 10 a.m. at North Reading High School.