Previewing tomorrow night’s 7th Brawl in the Hall
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High wrestling team hosted four schools in a super quad meet at the Charbonneau Field House on Saturday.
The Warriors, who also honored their seniors at the event, picked up victories over Greater Lowell Tech and Lynn Vocational but fell to Whittier Tech and Middlesex League foe Arlington.
The Spy Ponders and Wildcats may have handed Wakefield rare losses this season but they also helped the Warriors tune up for the biggest meet of the season: The 7th annual Brawl in the Hall tomorrow night at Memorial Hall against rival Melrose to determine the Middlesex League Freedom Division title. A preview of the meet appears below.
Wakefield made quick work of Greater Lowell (67-11) and Lynn Vocational (59-12).
Victories against Greater Lowell belonged to Kevin Fabbri (106, F 5:08), Michael Barry (120, F 1:54), Josh Johansen (126, F 2:54), Aydin Lamb (132, TF 20-1), Patrick Boyle (138, F 1:43), Jimmy Fabbri (144, F 1:37), Sean Callanan (157, F 3:05), Ryan Hogan (165, F 3:11), Christian DiFlorio (175, MD 10-0), Nick Roehrich (190, F 1:04) Ahmed Othman (215, MD 11-0) and Kip King (285, F 2:24).
Contested wins against Lynn Vocational included Othman (F, 1:11), Roehrich (F 1:40), Hogan (F 3:32), Callanan (TF 19-3), Johansen (F :50) and Jason Correia (113, F :45).
Whittier defeated Wakefield by a score of 48-29. The Wildcats started with a 20-0 lead after winning bouts 106 through 126 with two pins, a technical fall and a decision.
Wakefield made it 20-17 with three straight wins by Lamb (132, F :35), Boyle (138, TF 21-6) and Jimmy Fabbri (144, F 3:31).
Callanan’s pin in 3:33 at 157 later made it 25-23 but four wins in a row for Whittier from 165 to 215 sealed the victory for the visitors. King finished on a strong note with a pin in 1:38.
Arlington, the best team in the Middlesex Liberty Division, also came ready to play. The meet came down to the heavyweights but the Ponders were able to hold on.
Kevin Fabbri and Correia started things off well at 106 (F 4:53) and 113 (TF 16-0) respectively.
After Arlington tied it at 11, Lamb (132, DEC 3-1) and Erik Hubbard (138, DEC 11-8) made it 17-11.
A major decision and a pin at 144 and 150 gave Arlington a 21-17 advantage.
In a true, back-and-forth contest, Callanan tied it with a 9-0 major decision at 157 but Arlington went up 28-21 with a major decision at 165 and a decision at 175.
Wakefield went back to work as Roehrich (190, DEC 12-5) and Othman (215, DEC 4-3) cut it to within one, the Spy Ponders up 28-27 going into the final and most anticipated bout.
In a rematch of an earlier meeting in a tournament this season, King squared up with Brady Bekkenhuis, a 6’6” 285 lb Boston College football commit. King proved his toughness, battling until the end, but Bekkenhuis came away with a 7-5 decision to seal the win for Arlington.
Warriors ready for another epic Brawl in the Hall
What’s a Brawl in the Hall without the league title on the line? Wakefield and Melrose wouldn’t know.
The 7th Brawl in the Hall at Memorial Hall in Melrose will take place tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. For the 7th consecutive time, the winner will be crowned Middlesex League Freedom Division champions.
The two teams enter with even 3-3 records in the Brawl. Per usual, the meet will be a springboard to the postseason for both teams, which are always in the mix for sectional and state titles.
The Brawl got started in 2018 with Wakefield taking the inaugural contest behind big wins from Luke Fitzgerald, Aidan Armstrong, Kevin Tran, Mike Yirrell, Aiden Coleman, Derek DiMasco and Dan Lamonica to win the Freedom title.
Brawl No. 2 Saw Melrose earn their first Brawl win thanks to wins from Sean Thomas, Shea Fogarty, Hunter Adrian, Stevie MacIntosh, Sean Herbert and Jackson Curran who clinched it in the final match of the night.
The 3rd Brawl in 2020 featured two loaded teams and the Brawl was a close classic with Wakefield prevailing with wins by Fitzgerald, Nick Roberto, Brock Johnson, Joao Valdevino, Jimmy Grover and Lamonica.
The 4th Brawl was delayed a year due to covid, however, Wakefield won the last dual meet wrestled on a school campus at Melrose in 2021 to win the Middlesex League behind clutch wins from Fitzgerald, Jason Hubbard, Anselm Schools and Matthew Cunningham.
The 4th Brawl at Memorial Hall took place in 2022 with Melrose winning the match and Middlesex League title behind wins from Sean Thomas, Alec McLaughlin, Nico Chiulli and Dom Delgado.
Melrose prevailed in the 5th Brawl in 2023 to win the Middlesex League thanks to wins from Marco and Oto Albanese, Alec McLaughlin, Stephen Fogarty, Nico Chiulli and Braden Marceau.
The Warriors won the 6th Brawl last year behind strong performances from Andrew Valley, Aydin Lamb, Sean Callanan, Jaden Fullerton and Zach Arria.
So that’s where this classic match-up stands after six meets in Historic Melrose Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall, three wins for Wakefield and three for Melrose.
Tickets for tomorrow night are $5 at the door and the match-up will be broadcast live on:
www.youtube.com/@melrosehightv