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Wellesley may have won the team title but North Andover likely provided the most fireworks Friday at the Division 2 state swim meet. Michigan recruit Malia Amuan took home four titles (2 individual, 2 relays) including smashing the meet and state records with a 49.73 in the 100 freestyle. The old state mark was a 50.09 by Eagle-Tribune MVP Michaela Chokureva of Andover in 2019. She also demolished the 22-year-old meet record in the 200 IM, finishing about a half-second off the state record. She had plenty of help as Hannah Wieczorek, Allie Shea and Diya Ackerman-Vallala also had brilliant meets with Wieczorek also bringing home four golds. The Knights finished fifth as a team.

Central Catholic placed six wrestlers in the semifinals and held a commanding lead in the team standings of the Division 2 state meet in Milton. Advancing for the Raiders were Jimmy Glynn (106), Stephen Donovan (132), Mike Glynn (138), Nate Vachon (145), Matt Shaw (152) and Anthony Mears (220). Also advancing to the semis were North Andover's Ethan Ford (132) and Jack Carbone (195).

Kate McDonell had a career-high 36 assists and Nyah Mazzone had a whopping 22 digs as Methuen tripped up Milton, 3-1.

BY JEFF HAMRICK

sports@eagletribune.com

MILTON — A few months ago, Joey Sanchez seriously considered bypassing his senior year of wrestling. After all, the Mass Maritime Academy baseball recruit had proven enough on the mat, winning a division title as a freshman before finishing second the next two years.

But after grappling with his decision before recommitting right before the season start, the Central Catholic senior elected to give wrestling one last go.

Saturday afternoon at Milton High School, Sanchez reaped his rewards, earning his way back atop the Division 2 podium. Seeded second at 145, Sanchez recorded two early pins and a quarterfinal shutout before knocking off top-ranked Brevin Cassella of Nashoba 3-1 in overtime.

"That kid earlier in the season beat me (2-0), so it was definitely something I wanted to get back at," said Sanchez, who won at 106 as a freshman and finished second at 132 and 126 the past two years. "I've been here before, so (going into overtime) I had calm nerves."

Central Catholic, which finished second 3.5 points behind team champ North Attleboro with 105.5 points, also received a championship at 106 from sophomore Mike Glynn. Four of the six area wrestlers to reach title matches won, and one of the losses was by Tyler Glynn, who dropped the 126 title to North Andover's Joey Valentino.

Other champions were CJ Cincotta of North Andover at 152 and Greater Lawrence's Malib Pastrana at 195. North Andover finished seventh in the team race.

In the 145 final, Sanchez recorded a first-period escape, but gave one up with 31 seconds left in the third that forced overtime. But he was able to run his season record to 43-5 on a takedown near the edge of the mat with 27 seconds left.

"It's all a blur right now," Sanchez said. "My coaches were telling me this was my last chance here if you want to be a state champ. So, that definitely gave me more energy to go and take him down."

And now, Sanchez, a center fielder on the diamond, has a chance to finish his wrestling career with an all-state title this weekend.

"I made up my mind about two days before the first practice I decided that I wanted to come back and be with my boys," he said. "I sat down and really thought about it."

Valentino wins second

The 126-pound  finale between Valentino, who won at 120 last year, and Central's Tyler Glynn was one of four rematches between Division 2 North finalists a week earlier. In addition to Valentino, Mike Glynn, Cincotta and Pastrana each repeated wins by decision.

Valentino (48-0) used back points to take a 5-1 lead in the second period against Tyler Glynn (a 106-pound champ last year) and held on for a 5-2 decision.

"I just wrestled like it was a regular match," Valentino said. "This year (winning) is a big one, but the first (title) I guess is the most special ... I just wrestled (Glynn) the same way. I was aggressive and just wrestled my match."

Cincotta wins clan's second

A few years since older brother Stephen won a division state crown, CJ Cincotta claimed one of his own with a convincing 10-5 victory over Reading's Darren Driscoll. Last year, Cincotta (46-1) finished third at the same weight.

"I had more goals this year," said Cincotta, who claimed decisions over Driscoll in the regionals and three times last year as well. "I worked harder in practice. And that extra work and drive just makes you want to win more. So, I wasn't going to let anyone beat me today."

Pastrana ends Greater Lawrence drought

Winning the school's first division state title in eight years, Pastrana reached the finals with three pins. In the title match, the Reggie senior easily knocked off Dracut's Andrew Desmarais 14-4.

"I was more defensive this time (against Desmarais)," said Pastrana, who took a 10-5 decision in the regionals. "He had to earn every point he got. This time I was blocking down on defense and on offense I was getting good shots."

Before Pastrana (40-1) won yesterday, the previous Reggie Division winner was Matthew Bucco at 119 in 2010 according to Greater Lawrence coach Juan Nieves.

Familiarity at 106

In the first title match of the afternoon, Mike Glynn knocked off Dracut's Dante Rossetti 8-3. Rossetti now accounts for six wins on Glynn's 45-2 season record.

Solid finals for locals

Of the 12 area wrestlers in place matches, 10 won.

Third place winners were Nate Vachon (120) of Central Catholic and Christian Hernandez (170) of Greater Lawrence. Whittier's Andrew Buzzell also advanced to All States by finishing fourth at 220. And in fifth place were North Andover's Ethan Ford (113) and Jamil Nickerson (120).

At the Eastern Mass. Division 3 meet, Pentucket got some terrific efforts from its jumpers en route to a fifth place finish. Saige Tudisco broke her own school record with an 18-4.5 for a second in the long jump and Katie Giusti tied her personal best with a 5-4 for a third in the high jump.

Central Catholic won two of three meets in a quad-meet, losing only to Milton (36-27). Tom Pagliarulo continued his fine season, going 3-0 at 106.

CANTON | The branding on Marblehead co-captain Tori Snow's electric blue hockey stick reads "Warrior." There isn't a better word to describe Snow and her teammates' near Herculean effort last night in the Division 2 state semifinals.