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Some R&R for Methuen

METHUEN —  If you're a wrestling fan, and you want a little R&R, you might want to head over to Methuen.

But, unless you're a fan of the Rangers, it might not be that relaxing.

The R&R stands for 195-pounder Anthony Romano and 220-pounder Jay Ramos, an energetic one-two punch in the Methuen lineup. It was together for the first time all season Wednesday night and had a direct impact in Methuen's 42-39 victory.

At the start of the new year, neither was in the lineup. Ramos was out with a knee injury while Romano was rehabbing an elbow injury suffered in football.

Ramos, a senior and first-year varsity wrestler, returned shortly thereafter and is 9-0 with nine pins  ever since while Romano wrestled in his first meet Wednesday. Both had pins against Haverhill.

"That was fun and it felt really good to be out there," said Romano, a returning starter who was just cleared for competition Monday. "I've stayed in good shape and feel like I'm ready to go."

"It's definitely good to have him back and he adds strength to our lineup," said Methuen coach Bill James. "We're playing a little catch-up with him, but I think his conditioning is pretty good."

As for Ramos, who saw limited JV varsity action last year after two years of entirely JV competition, the season has been a just reward for him,

"It was a little frustrating the last two years but I knew I'd be a starter this year," said Ramos.

The R&R pins were two of six for Methuen, which improved to 13-2 on the year. The others were by Michael Crowe (120). Joe Gangi (138), Dom DeMaio (160) and CJ Brown (170). Brown remained  unbeaten (28-0) on the year with 24 pins while Gangi is now 20-5 and Crowe stands at 18-6.

"This was a big win for us," said James, who pointed to 126-pounder Adam Rader for staying off his back as a key.

RETURN OF NICOLOSI

One of the biggest news for Haverhill was the return of 145-pound standout Jake Nicolosi, who returned to the lineup after missing three weeks with an MCL knee sprain. He remained unbeaten (10-0) with a 50-second pin.

"It felt really good to be out there again," said Nicolosi. "And I didn't really feel my knee at all."

Two other Hillie standouts had even faster pins as 113-pounder Ben Davoli had a fall in 34 seconds at 113 while Steven Wise pinned his man in 45 seconds. Davoli improved to 29-2 on the year.

Also recording pins for the Hillies were Edgar Feliciano (132), Israel Tricoche (182) and heavyweight Jay Levy. In the only decision of the night, and clearly the most exciting match of the meet, Haverhill senior Elijah Moncrief edged Adam Rader, 8-6, at 126 pounds.