RallyNorth.net

North Andover grabs Division 2 state title

NORTH ANDOVER —Freshman Ethan Ford took the mat for North Andover’s first match of Division 2 States. He faced off against Anthony Borelli of Walpole, the Division 2 Central Sectional champion, and promptly pinned him midway through the second round.

“Right then and there he set the tone for the weekend,” said North Andover coach Carl Cincotta. “I knew that was going to be a key factor.”

Ford wound up finishing third, and a short time later Joe Valentino and Jack Perry took first at their respective weight classes to vault the Knights to the top of the leader board. By the time all was said and done, North Andover finished with 131.5 points to claim the Division 2 state title, its eight in the last 11 years and first since 2014.

“We knew from day one that it was a possibility; we had a small team but we had great wrestlers, and we’ve been preparing for these last two days all season long,” Cincotta said. “It was a total team effort this weekend. We had some great performances, we had some guys do better than expected, and the guys who were expected to do a lot did what they were expected.”

Valentino took first at 120, beating Hingham’s Kaya Bogle 4-2 in the championship match to avenge a loss from earlier in the year and claim his first divisional title as a sophomore.

Then minutes later, Perry knocked off Central Catholic’s Joe Sanchez in the 126 championship 5-2, claiming a championship of his own after taking second each of the past two years and avenging an earlier loss to Sanchez.

Adrian Polanco took fourth at 132, Eli Tuttle fifth at 145, and then C.J. Cincotta all but clinched the state title with his third-place finish at 152. Then to help erase any doubt, Michael Coles took seventh at 160 to earn an alternate spot at All-State and give the Knights some breathing room.

GLYNN, CABRERA WIN TITLES

Several Central Catholic wrestlers enjoyed standout days on the mat. Tyler Glynn took first at 106, beating Masconomet’s Trevor Nugent 2-0 in the final after pinning North Andover’s Ford in the semis. Then Carlos Cabrera won the title at heavyweight to wrap up the meet, pinning Algonquin’s Joe Vencile with one second remaining to stay undefeated on the year .

Joe Sanchez was Central’s other all-state placer, taking second at 126, and Mike Glynn and Cam Hebert will be alternates after taking seventh at 113 and 138 respectively.