NORTH CHELMSFORD — Wrestling might be as individual a sport as there is, but the 50 or so beaming Lawrence wrestlers posing for a team picture yesterday afternoon sure did look like an ecstatic team.
And after its incredible performance in winning the Division 1 North Sectional dual-meet tournament at Chelmsford High School, they had every reason to be.
"It shows they've been working hard," Lancers' coach Rob Niceforo said after Lawrence won its three matches by a combined score of 128-57, including a 46-23 rout of St. John's Prep for the title. "It shows they appreciate it and they're happy. It's nice to see, and they deserve it."
The Lancers now advance to the Div. 1 state semifinals Wednesday, probably on the road against Springfield Central, Franklin or Bridgewater-Raynham. The pairings will be officially determined tomorrow.
After cruising to victories over Merrimack Valley Conference opponents Andover (43-13) in the quarterfinals and Methuen (41-19) in the semifinals, Lawrence found itself trailing St. John's Prep 23-18 after the first nine weights in the championship. But 171-pound senior Juan Rodriguez ignited the Lancers (23-2) with a quick pin in 1:16 over Teaghan Costello that sparked his teammates.
Rodriguez (29-3 after winning three matches yesterday) received his motivation when Lawrence native Jamie Morey of St. John's Prep pinned Marionel Garcia with three seconds left for a victory that surprised even Morey, who was trailing 3-2 with 53 seconds remaining.
"They're both friends of mine, but (Garcia) never should have gotten pinned," Rodriguez said. "It was a good move (by Morey), but he never should have gotten the pin. I was pretty pumped up after that."
Rodriquez' was the first of four straight pins for Lawrence as 189-pound senior Jesus Flores took care of David Kou in 3:15, 215-pound senior Joshua Espinal needed only 1:20 to dispatch Winslow Estevez and junior heavyweight Janer Reyes knocked off Haverhill native Corey Jean-Jacques in 5:18. By the time the run was over, Lawrence had turned its five-point deficit into an insurmountable 42-23 advantage.
"Those pins motivated me a lot and boosted my confidence," said Espinal, who won all three of his matches. "Winning means a lot, especially for us seniors who've been here for four years. At the beginning of the year, we thought we could do it, but we still had to prove it. Right now, I'm concentrating on the dual meets. Worrying about the individual stuff comes second."
Other winners for Lawrence, which advances to Wednesday's state semifinals, were 103-pounder Elvis Geneo, Kyle Gerena at 112, Jon Cruz at 119, Edgardo Rios (who earlier had a big win over Methuen's Paul Sughrue) at 125 and Shaquille Fuentes at 145.
Other local victors for St. John's Prep included North Andover's T.J. Crabtee, who claimed a 9-1 victory over Juan Herrera at 140, and Lawrence's Samson Lam, who eked out a 2-0 win over Anthony DeLeon at 152. Crabtree's victory upped his season record to 39-0.
"I'm going undefeated and winning all-states," said Crabtree, who was 51-9 and took sixth at New England last year. "If I'm undefeated through Massachusetts going into the New Englands, I'll feel good."
Methuen wrestled well in the consolation finals, beating Lowell 35-22 for third place with some fine performances coming in the middle and upper weights.
Div. 1 North Dual-Meet Sectional
Championship: Lawrence 46, St. John's Prep 23; Third place: Methuen 35, Lowell 22; Semifinals: Lawrence 41, Methuen 19; St. John's Prep 34, Lowell 31; Quarterfinals: Lawrence 41, Andover 15; Methuen 32, Shawsheen 28; Lowell 46, Westford Academy 16; St. John's Prep 35, Chelmsford 34; First Round: Andover 43, St. John's Shrewsbury 13; Shawsheen 36, Leominster 9; Chelmsford 55, Acton-Boxborough 18; Consolation Quarterfinals: Shawsheen 53, Andover 19
Lawrence vs. St. John's Prep:
103: Elvis Geneo (Law) major dec. Louis Bernstein 18-7; 112: Kyle Gerena (Law) dec. DJ Lemieux 5-2; 119: Jon Cruz (Law) pinned Rich Glazier 0:56; 125: Edgardo Rios (Law) pinned Jared Costa 5:04; 130: Mike Mayo (SJP) pinned Adrian Sosa 4:21; 135: Alex Kwmuntis (SJP) dec. Argenis Carpio 15-10; 140: T.J. Crabtree (SJP) dec. Juan Herrera 9-1; 145: Shaquille Fuentes (Law) dec. Doug Harding 5-1; 152: Samson Lam (SJP) dec. Anthony DeLeon 2-0; 160: Jamie Morey (SJP) pinned Marionel Garcia 5:57; 171: Juan Rodriguez (Law) pinned Teaghan Costello 1:16; 189: Jesus Flores (Law) pinned David Kou 3:15; 215: Joshua Espinal (Law) pinned Winslow Estevez 1:20; HVY: Janer Reyes (Law) pinned Corey Jean-Jacques 5:18.
Records: Lawrence 23-2; St. John's Prep 27-6-1; Methuen 20-3
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