| Season Notes |
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| This section will provide a
brief overview of many of the matches wrestlied by the Melrose High
School team. Updates will be made as often as possible. Wayland Tournament The 2006-07 version of the Melrose HS wrestling team started their season Saturday, December 16 at the prestigious Wayland Tournament. Competing against such perennial powers as Wayland, Lowell, Chelmsford and Central Catholic, the young Red Raider team more than held their own, finishing in 8th place with 84 points. Wrestlers placing for the Red Raiders included junior Kevin Dow in 3rd place at 112 pounds, sophomore Nik MacInthosh in 3rd place at 119 pounds, junior Brian Lynch in 5th place at 135 pounds, senior Anthony Belmonte in 6th place at 140 pounds, senior captain Ezra Krechmer in 4th place at 160 pounds, junior Shaun Foss in 6th place at 171 pounds and sophomore John Dunne in 2nd place at 275 pounds. Others participating included freshmen John Upton, sophomores Donald Hume and Brian Kelleher-Calnan and senior Dan Pezzano. Veteran head coach John Puleo leads the Red Raiders assisted by Jim Bleiler and Steve Mirasolo. Once again this year the Red Raider squad consists largely of sophomores and freshmen.. The team hopes to better their 13-9 record of a year ago and once again participate in the Division III team playoffs. The Middlesex League this year promises to be as tough as ever, with Reading, Woburn and Winchester all expected to be among the elite teams in their respective divisions. Holiday Season Once again in 2006-07, the Melrose wrestling team was busy during the holiday break. Activity began on December 23rd with a tri-meet featuring perennial Middlesex League power Woburn and rival Malden Catholic. In the first match Woburn had too much depth for the Raiders, winning by 50-26. Melrose winners were Brian Lynch (135) and Ezra Krechmer (160) with major decisions and Nick Ingersoll (103), John Dunne (275) and Nik MacIntosh (119) with pins. It was the first win for freshman Ingersoll, a first year wrestler. Melrose took Malden Catholic to the final match before losing by 37-30. Ezra Krechmer (160), John Dunne (275), Nik MacIntosh (119) and Sam Quoos (130) won decisions and freshmen Cameron Foss (112) pinned his opponent. Two Melrose residents wrestled for Malden Catholic, Conrad Tiedemann (215) and Brendan Arkins (275). On December 27th, Melrose hosted a quad meet featuring two of the powerhouses of the Middlesex League, Burlington and defending champion Reading. Billerica, of the tough Merrimack Valley Conference rounded out the foursome. After falling behind early, Melrose gave Burlington a good run, eventually losing by 45-26. Winners for the Red Raiders were Shawn Foss (171) and Anthony Belmonte (140) with decisions, Kevin Dow (112) and Nik MacIntosh (119) with major decisions and John Dunne (275) and Brian Lynch (135) with pins. In the next match Melrose took their first victory of the year with a thrilling 42-41 victory over Billerica. The match started at 160 and Melrose gained two pins at the upper weights by Ezra Krechmer (171) and Shawn Foss (189). A forfeit at 103 tied the match at 18 a piece. Billerica won the next two matches with a pin and a technical fall to take a 29-18 lead. Pins by Nik MacIntosh at 125 and Sam Quoos at 130 put the Raiders back in the lead at 30-29. Billerica came up with pins in the next two matches, however, giving them a 41-30 lead with only two matches to go. Anthony Belmonte (145) came through with a first period pin to bring Melrose within 5 at 41-36. That left the Raiders fate in the hands of sophomore Brian Kelleher-Calnan (152), who battled his opponent evenly throughout the first two periods. Brian escaped trouble several times in the match and finally managed to pin his opponent with only 16 seconds left in the match to give Melrose a one-point victory. Victories were sparse for the Raiders in the final match against powerhouse Reading, which was recently ranked 5th in the State by masswrestling.com. After starting the match with a pin by Ezra Krechmer (171) the Raiders only managed two subsequent victories, decisions by Nik MacIntosh (119) and Sam Quoos (125). Melrose finished their holiday activity with the Lowell Holiday tournament on December 29th and 30th. This year’s edition included 52 teams from all over New England, including the top squads in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Raiders’ top finisher was Kevin Dow, who took a very impressive 5th place at 112 pounds. Other wrestlers who made it to second day action included Nik MacIntosh (119), Brian Lynch (135) and John Dunne (275). January First Week Melrose started off 2007 in great form, evening their record at 4-4 with three straight victories. On January 3rd, the Red Raiders dominated Winthrop in a home meet, winning by a 48-15 score. On Saturday January 6th at Wakefield, the Raiders took two more victories, both over Division III rivals from the Cape Ann League. Melrose rode 8 pins to 48-30 victory over Lynnfield/North Reading and followed up with a decisive 51-26 victory over Hamilton-Wenham. More details on these matches will appear shortly in this space. January Second Week The competition picked up during the second week in January, beginning with a dual meet against the Lexington Minutemen in the Marcoux on January 10th. The match started at 103 and the lead see-sawed back and forth during the early matches, with pins tough to come by. The teams found themselves tied at 25-25 with three matches to go but the big wrestlers for Lexington proved to be too much for the young Raiders. The Minutemen closed the match with three straight pins for a 43-25 victory. Winners for the Raiders included Nik MacIntosh (119) and Shaun Foss (171) with pins, Kevin Dow (112) with a major decision and Sam Quoos (125), Brian Lynch (130) and Ezra Krechmer (160) with decisions. The Raiders traveled to Masconomet High School on January 13th for a tough quad meet with Watertown, Dracut and Masconomet. Melrose left with 1-2 record for the day and a 5-7 record on the season. The Raiders took a 45-34 victory over Dracut sandwiched in between losses to Middlesex League rival Watertown (46-24) and Cape Ann League host Masconomet (46-25). Against Watertown, Ezra Krechmer (160), John Dunne (275) and Brian Lynch (130) recorded pins while Shaun Foss (171) and Nik MacIntosh (119) won decisions. Against Dracut the Raiders recorded seven pins, from Ezra Krechmer (160), Shaun Foss (171), John Dunne (215), Evan Zavackas (275), Sam Quoos (125), John Upton (130) and Brian Lynch (135). Nik MacIntosh (119) won a decision. Against Masconomet, Melrose got pins from John Dunne (215), Nik MacIntosh (119) and Brian Lynch (130). Shaun Foss won a major decision at 171 while Sam Quoos (125) won a decision. Dunne, Lynch, Foss and MacIntosh all finished 3-0 on the day. January Third Week Following an exciting 42-32 victory at Pentucket Regional on January 17th Melrose received a well-deserved weekend off. The Raiders took the long trip to the banks of the Merrimack River and were greeted with more ceremony than one usually experiences at a wrestling match. Both teams were introduced by an announcer prior to the meet and one of the Pentucket cheerleaders (yes they had cheerleaders too) sang an excellent rendition of the National Anthem. Melrose got off to an 18-0 start in the match thanks to pins by Nik MacIntosh (119), Sam Quoos (125) and Brian Lynch (130). A decision by Anthony Belmonte (145) was the only Melrose win the next four matches as the score tightened to 21-14. Melrose then took four in a row to clinch the match with a decision by Ezra Krechmer (160) and pins by Shaun Foss (171), Evan Zavackas (215) and John Dunne (275). The Raiders needed every win as Pentucket took the last two matches with pins. Currently the Melrose record stands at 6-7, an excellent showing for a team that has only 3 seniors and 3 juniors on its 21 man roster. Last Week of January After bringing their record to 6-7 Melrose faced off against the powerful Winchester Sachems on January 24th. Winchester was undefeated, cruising toward the Middlesex League title and will be a serious contender for the State Division III title. They showed why taking a 49-10 win over the Red Raiders. Melrose winners were Nik MacIntosh (119) with a major decision and Brian Lynch (130) and Ezra Krechmer with decisions. .The latter two matches were dramatic with Brian holding on for an 8-6 win after taking an early lead, and Ezra coming back from a 4-2 deficit to win 5-4. The Raiders returned to the Marcoux Gym on Saturday January 27th for a Quad meet with Belmont, Hingham and Greater Lowell. The Raiders, with a 6-8 record needed two wins to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot and three to guarantee it. Melrose started with a comfortable 45-31 victory over Middlesex League rival Belmont. Winners were John Dunne (215), Nik MacIntosh (125), Sam Quoos (130), Brian Lynch and Shaun Foss (171) with pins, Kevin Dow (119) with a major decision and Ezra Krechmer (160) with a technical fall. After falling behind early against Hingham, Melrose came back to dominate the later stages of the match, winning 44-27. Winners included Nik MacIntosh (119), up and coming freshman John Upton (130), Brian Lynch (135), Anthony Belmonte (140) and Brian Kelleher-Calnan (152) with pins. Kevin Dow (112) and Shaun Foss (171) won major decisions and Ezra Krechmer (160) and James Arnsenault (145) won decisions. Arsenault, a sophomore and first year wrestler, won a 10-9 come from behind victory over Jeremy Gifert by scoring 6 points in the final period. With the first two wins of the day Melrose evened their record at 8-8 and faced off against a traditionally strong Greater Lowell team. The Raiders dominated the early going with a forfeit at 103 and pins by Kevin Dow (112) and Nik MacIntosh (119). Sam Quoos (125) won a decision and Brian Lynch followed with a pin to put the Raiders up 27-0. The match quickly turned, however, as Greater Lowell won four straight matches with two pins and two decisions to make the score 27-18. With Greater Lowell on the comeback trail, Ricky Garthe, the Gryphons’ top wrestler, moved up from 152 to wrestle Ezra Krechmer. After Garthe took an early lead the match see-sawed back and forth with Ezra winning 9-7 on a reversal in the last 5 seconds of the third period. A pin by Shaun Foss (171) clinched the match and John Dunne (215) finished off the Melrose scoring with another pin. The match ended with Melrose on top 42-30. With only one match remaining against Wakefield, the win guaranteed a .500 record and put the Raiders into the team playoffs for the second year in a row. Special thanks to the team mothers and dedicated alumni mother VG Mulvihill who organized the food sale for the Quad Meet and worked long hours to make it a success. The final dual meet of the season was less successful as Wakefield dominated the match early and won by 44-28. A pin by Brian Lynch in the opening match at 135 and a major decision by Ezra Krechmer at 160 earned the Raiders only points until Kevin Dow (112) won a decision. Melrose finished strong with pins by Nik MacIntosh (119) and Sam Quoos (125) and a decision by John Upton (130). While a loss to arch-rival Wakefield is always disappointing the Raiders can certainly feel proud of their 9-9 record, accomplished with a team consisting primarily of freshmen and sophomores. The brightest spot of the night for Melrose was attendance by nearly 30 Melrose Middle School wrestlers, who competed with Wakefield prior to the varsity meet. The sheer number of wrestlers in the program, as well as the impressive skills that many of them displayed, bode very well for the future of Melrose wrestling. Thanks to Steve Mirasolo for his dedication in setting this program up and keeping it going. Sectionals The Raiders traveled to the Division III North Sectionals at Winchester on February 3rd. The wrestlers were competing for a chance to compete in the State Division III meet. The first four wrestlers in each weight class go the States, with the fifth as an alternate. While the Raiders did not come home with any titles this year, they did themselves proud as six of the fourteen wrestlers qualified for the DIII States in Wayland next weekend. Nik MacIntosh (119) and Brian Lynch (130) both made it to the championship match before losing. Other qualifiers included Kevin Dow (112) and Sam Quoos (125) who finished third and Ezra Krechmer (160) and John Dunne (215) who finished fourth. Other wrestlers who participated included Nick Ingersoll, John Upton, James Arsenault, Anthony Belmonte, Brian Kelleher-Calnan, Shaun Foss, Larry Richard and Evan Ziavras. All but Ezra and Anthony will be returning next year. Congratulations to all and best of luck in the States. Playoff Match Melrose is scheduled to travel back to Wakefield on Wednesday February 14th for a first round match in the Division III North team playoffs. The winner will go against Burlington the following week. As this is being written the match appears to be in jeopardy due to weather. An alternate date is not known at this time. |
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