GLOUCESTER — In its best finish since 2015 when it won the team title, the Lynnfield-North Reading wrestling team finished second Saturday in the MIAA Division 3 North Sectional Championship at Gloucester High School.
Lynnfield tallied 197.5 points. Wakefield High took the team title with 220 points. Tewksbury rounded out the top-three with 180.5 points.
“It was a great day, and an outstanding performance from the entire team,” Coach Craig Stone said. “Four years ago, we finished the season with 23 losses and were near the bottom of most tournaments we entered. This year we have 23 wins, won the Cape Ann League, and were the Division 3 North finalists. I cannot say enough about the dedication, discipline, and drive of each team member and how they have supported each other through times of stress and times of success.”
Ten of 13 Black and Gold wrestlers placed with No. 1 seed Cam Arya (165) and No. 1 seed James Fodera (190) leading the way with first-place finishes in their respective weight classes.
Arya (3-0) started the day with a bye, then rattled off three straight pin wins to claim the crown. The No. 1 seed, he defeated Colin Todd of Tewksbury (2:22), No. 5 seed Ryan Hogan of Wakefield (4:56) and No. 2 seed Kaio Debrito of Northern Middlesex in the final (5:04.) This was the first career tournament win for Arya. He finished fourth last year at 150 pounds.
Fodera (3-0) ran his streak of tournament wins to six. He started with a first-round bye. The No. 1 seed, he defeated No. 8 Nick Roehrich of Wakefield in the quarterfinals (1:21), No. 4 Zachary Hashley of Gloucester in the semis, 18-3, and polished off No. 2 Mohaned Said of Wilmington in the final (1:48). This was the third consecutive year that Fodera has placed at the sectional meet. He finished runner up in 2024.
No. 2 seed Nathan Barstow (113) and No. 3 seed David Glynn (157) contributed runner-up finishes. Dylan Matthews (285) helped the cause with a third-place effort.
Barstow (3-1) also had a three-pin day. He advanced to the championship bout with three straight pins (4:33, 26 seconds, 3:23) only to lose an 8-0 major decision in the final to top-seeded Jack Lightfoot of Tewksbury. Barstow also lost to Lightfoot in the finals last year at 106 pounds.
Glynn (3-1) won his first two matches with pins (3:10, 1:10), then upended No. 2 seed Ethan Martinez of Weston 8-1 in the semis only to come up short in the final against No. 4 seed Sean Callanan of Wakefield, 16-11. Glynn had lost to Callanan, a returning state-place finisher in a dual meet earlier in the season 9-6.
Matthews, the No. 3 seed, sailed through the first two rounds with a pin win (34 seconds) and 12-3 major decision before being relegated to the consolation bracket with a loss to No. 2 seed Chris Laine of Gloucester (2:47). After winning an 8-0 major decision in the consolation bracket, he clinched third place with a 1:35 pin win over Nick Serino of Triton. Matthews (3-2) finished fifth last year at the same weight.
Zach Inafuku (106), Zack Morse (215), Jakob Hulett (120), Abdel Abdalla (150) and Jason Kouyoumdjian (126) also placed. Inafuku (2-2) placed fourth in his first time placing at sectionals. Morse (3-2), who placed sixth last year, also finished fourth.
Hulett (2-2), who placed for the second straight year, and Abdella (4-2), who placed for the first time, won their final matches of the day to grab fifth, and Kouyoumdjian (2-3), in his first time placing, finished sixth.
Isaac Medford (138) and Griffin McCarthy (144) won one match apiece
By virtue of placing, Inafuku, Barstow, Glynn, Arya, Fodera, Morse and Mathews qualified for the MIAA Division 3 State Championship Friday and Saturday at Foxboro High School. Hulett is an alternate and could wrestle if someone in his weight class does not wrestle.
