By JENNIFER GENTILE
BURLINGTON—The reigning Div. 3 State Champion Melrose High wrestling team brought home more hardware after taking the top spot at the MIAA Div. 2 North Sectionals held on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Burlington High. This adds to the many titles Melrose has clinched in recent years and it sets them up for an appearance at States this weekend at Algonquin High where seven Melrose wrestlers will vie for spots on podiums.
Melrose topped nearest opponent Whittier Tech, by a hair, thanks to a mesmerizing final heavyweight bout that pitted Melrose against Whittier Tech, tied with Melrose going into the last medal round match.
It was clutch performance from first year wrestler, Melrose junior Alejandro Lopez whose pin over his Whittier opponent sealed the victory as a finale to the tournament.
“I think half the gym was watching,” says Melrose head coach Larry Tremblay. “Our boys just erupted and jumped on him. He [Lopez] is a hard worker on the mat and outside of school, and we are so excited we will have him back next year.”
And a new D2 North Champion was crowned with Melrose’s Johnny Moraes earning gold in the 126, for his 37th win.
Notes his coach, “Overall, we wrestled great. I’m so happy for Johnny and the whole team. We nip-tucked the whole tourney. At one point we were in 5th and then first and with a small lead going into finals. We love bringing back trophies to Melrose.”
Some key moments that helped pave the path for victory were clutch final performances by silver medalist Jack Shea in the 113 and bronze medals clinched by Scott Santos and Marco Albanese.
“Jack is a scrapper and did great. Scott’s been great all year with I like Marco’s chances at States,” says their coach.
Others placing included Michael Thomas, Luke Brodeur, Pedro Ribeiro who took 4th place and will all represent Melrose at States. Others placing included Owen Savage and Quinn Fogarty, both in 5th place and will serve as alternates for this weekend at States. Thomas recently earned his 100th win at the annual Brawl in the Hall that went to Wakefield this year, and Tremblay has enjoyed seeing his growth.
“Mikey is always tough and he just won his 100th which we are proud about,” says the coach. “I also thought our first year Owen Savage came up big for us with three pins.”
Tremblay also notes that senior Gabe Laverde has wrestled his last meet after sustaining an ankle injury in his final appearance at Sectionals. “Gabe has had a great career with us. He’s done so many good things on this team.” Laverde finishes with a 28-12 season.
Melrose qualified 7 wrestlers for D2 states next week at Algonquin High, including Sectional champ Johnny Moraes, Sectional runner up Jack Shea, Marco Albanese, Scott Santos, Mike Thomas, Luke Brodeur and Pedro Ribeiro.
After winning three state championships since 2017 in D3, Melrose made the shift to Div. 2 and continue decorating the cases of Melrose High with hardware, and Saturday was no exception.
While Melrose is considered one of the favorites going in, they are up against stiff competition. Notes Tremblay, “Milford is going to be tough. They are sending essentially their entire team. So we are on the hunt for the podium. But watch out for us next year.”