WAKEFIELD — The Lynnfield-North Reading wrestling team hit the mats Saturday, opening the season with a ninth-place finish (112.5 points) out of 16 teams at the annual Anthony Lisitano Memorial Wrestling Tournament at Wakefield High School.
Senior Zack Morse took gold in the 215-pound bracket, finishing 4-0 and improving on a third-place finish last year. A returning sectional place finisher, he won his first match by pin (1:11), then pinned Jean Sanchez in the quarterfinals by pin in 3:44. He advanced to the final with a 10-6 decision over Issac Molleman of Arlington. The final match against Dominic Santo of Haverhill went right down to the wire before Morse came from behind and pinned Santo with just six seconds left in regulation.
At 120 pounds, junior Jason Kouyoumdjian (3-1), who did not place last year, also reached the finals only to come up just short. Unseeded, Kouyoumdjian upset No. 3 seed Izick Diaz of Greater Lawrence in the first round by pin in 2:40. He then defeated Trevor Lawrence of Reading in the quarterfinals by technical fall, 21-6. He needed a little more than a minute to pin John Najarian of Wakefield in the semifinals only to lose to Conlon Geary of Haverhill, a returning state place finisher in the final, 16-1.
Sophomore Zach Inafuku (106 pounds), who did not place last year, finished fourth with a 2-2 record.
Junior Jakob Hullett (126 pounds) and senior David Glynn (165 pounds) finished 3-2 and placed fifth in their respective weight classes. Both wrestlers also placed fifth last year.
Freshman Logan Barstow (132 pounds), senior Jack Cuddy (175 pounds), junior Caleb DeSouza (144 pounds), junior Caleb DeSouza (144 pounds), sophomore Griffin McCarthy (157 pounds) and freshman Logan Barstow (132 pounds) all won matches, scoring team points, but did not place.
Wayland won the team title with 220 points. Host Wakefield finished second with 205.5 points and Methuen finished third with 175.5 points.
“We graduated four very talented seniors in Isaac Medford, Abdel Abdalla, Cam Arya and James Fodera last season, so we are filling in this year’s returning lineup with JV wrestlers from last year and newcomers,” said coach Craig Stone. “We also are waiting for junior Nathan Barstow to return to the lineup after having offseason shoulder surgery. Considering all of this, I was very pleased with our performance at the tournament and look forward to continued improvement and further accomplishments this season.”
The Black and Gold are back in action at the Lowell Holiday Tournament Dec. 19-20 at Lowell High School, following which LNR hosts Excel Academy, Weston and North Middlesex in a quad meet Dec. 23.
