It may be time for the Merrimack Valley Conference to take notice of Central Catholic.
The Raiders, who earlier clipped a strong North Andover team, won the Commonwealth Cup dual-meet tournament at Reading yesterday with wins over Catholic Memorial (46-21), a Reading team which already has beaten Lawrence (47-27) and, in the finals, always-strong Natick (41-24).
All this came without 160-pound standout Tom Lacroix, who took the day off because of some minor injuries. The three wins give the Raiders a perfect 5-0 record.
"So far, so good," said Central coach Dennis King, who now has 297 career wins. "The kids are really wrestling well and our lower weights have been pretty tough."
Indeed, the first eight Raiders in yesterday's lineup had a combined record of 21-2. Lowell Holiday champ Ryan O'Boyle was dominant at 112, Matt Armano continued his fine wrestling at 125 and, in the surprise of the day, sophomore Matt Kando, a spot starter, came through with three straight wins at 145.
Zack Lattrell, who was also a Lowell champ, remained undefeated at 215.
Also at the Commonwealth Cup, North Andover won two of three meets, falling to Natick 34-29 in the semifinals after holding a 20-4 lead.
"We were a little disappointed in that, but we just lost every close match," said North Andover coach Dave Castricone, whose team is now 9-2.
Wrestling well in defeat were Dan Lora, who had three first-period pins at 119, Brody Kelley (135) and Dan Connelly (152). Kelley and Connelly were unbeaten despite wrestling up a weight class.
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Lawrence won three of four meets in a dual-meet tournament at Hudson, losing only to defending Maine state champion Noble.
Hugo Dominguez bumped up a weight and won four straight matches at 125 and freshman Adrian Sosa continues to impress at 130, going 4-0. Tri-captains Sebastian Jimenez (140) and Kevin Valerio (160) were also undefeated on the day.
Among Lawrence's three wins was a 43-21 decision over defending Division 2 state champion Burlington, marking the first time the Lancers have ever beaten the Red Devils.
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Brooks finished fifth at the 18-team Westerly, R.I., Tournament and crowned four champs in the process — 119-pounder Conor Duffey, 125-pounder Mike O'Boyle, 160-pounder Colin Lahiff and surprising heavyweight champion Ryan Gibeley. Duffey, O'Boyle and Lahiff remain unbeaten on the year.
Springfield Central won the meet and St. John's Prep, paced by 135-pound champ T.J. Crabtree of North Andover, came in third.
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Whittier captured two of three in a home quad-meet with its only loss a 42-39 setback to Billerica. Jake Tannian remained on a roll with three wins at 160, Amesbury's Nick Predki was 3-0 at 171 and Steve Surette was 3-0 at 152.
Shannon Constantine took three forfeits at 103 even though two teams had opponents who could have gone on the mat.
For Haverhill, which was 0-2 on the day, Paris Williams (130), Isaiah Williams (189) and heavyweight Terrance Jean-Jacques all won both of their matches.
Lawrence wins 3 of 4 meets
Team scores: Lawrence 43, Burlington 21; Lawrence 42, Worcester Voke 4; Lawrence 42, Hudson 27; Noble, Maine 42, Lawrence 24
Lawrence records:
103: Elvin Genao 3-1; 112: Jorge Aquino 3-1; 119: Jonathan Cruz 3-1; 125: Hugo Dominguez 4-0; 130: Adrian Sosa 4-0; 135: Argenis Carpio 1-3; 140: Sebastian Jimenez 3-0; 145: Rafael Polanco 1-2; 152: Steve Arce 1-3; 160: Kevin Valerio 3-0; 171: Juan Rodriguez 1-1; 189: Ricardo Lopez 0-3; 215: Josh Espinal 1-1; HVY: Chris Polanco 1-1, Luis Polanco 1-1
Records: Lawrence 8-3
Central captures 'Cup'
Commonwealth Cup team scores: Central Catholic 46, Catholic Memorial 21; Central Catholic 47, Reading 27; Central Catholic 41, Natick 24; North Andover 57, Walpole 15; Natick 34, North Andover 29; North Andover 42, Brockton 19
Local records:
103: Pat Lacroix (CC) 2-0, Danielle Coughlin (NA) 1-2; 112: Ryan O'Boyle (CC) 3-0, Pat MacLean (NA) 2-1; 119: Chris Lacroix (CC) 2-1, Dan Lora (NA) 3-0; 125: Matt Armano (CC) 3-0, Jason Ricketts (NA) 1-2; 130: Mark Strassel (CC) 3-0, Sam King (NA) 1-2; 135: Simon Dellea (CC) 3-0, Brody Kelley (NA) 3-0; 140: Kevin Abisalih (CC) 2-1, Frank McCarthy (NA) 2-0, Jake Munroe (NA) 1-0; 145: Matt Kando (CC) 3-0, Emil Lora (NA) 2-1; 152: Bryan Lawrence (CC) 1-0, Cam Walsh (CC) 0-2, Dan Connelly (NA) 3-0; 160: Koya Sonuga (CC) 0-3, Robert Drover (NA) 1-0, Garrett Alter (NA) 0-2; 171: Dave Stryclaski (CC) 0-3, Ryan Neals (NA) 2-1; 189: Matt Horgan (CC) 0-2, Jake Mehlman (NA) 1-2; 215: Zack Lattrell (CC) 3-0, Adam Bates (NA) 1-2; HVY: Pat Driscoll (CC) 1-2, Rob Querengasser (NA) 2-1
Records: Central Catholic 5-0, North Andover 9-2
Westerly, R.I., Tournament
Team scores (18 teams): 1. Springfield Central 167, 2. Carmel (N.Y.) 137, 3. St. John's Prep 125 1/2, 4. Westerly 121, 5. Brooks 102 1/2
Local placers:
119: 1. Conor Duffey (B); 125: 1. Mike O'Boyle (B); 130: 2. Mike Mayo (SJP); 135: 1. T.J. Crabtree (SJP); 140: 2. Doug Harding (SJP); 160: 1. Colin Lahiff (B); HVY: 1. Ryan Gibeley (B)
Whittier wins 2 of 3
Team scores: Acton-Boxboro 33, Haverhill 30; Whittier 43, Haverhill 18; Billerica 42, Whittier 39; Whittier 66, A-B 18
Local records:
103: Shannon Constantine (W) 3-0; 112: Travis Yell (W) 2-1; 125: Shane Surette (W) 2-1; 130: Paris Williams (H) 2-0, George Katsaros (W) 2-1; 145: Jake Morton (W) 2-1; 152: Steve Surette (W) 3-0; 160: Jake Tannian (W) 3-0; 171: Nick Predki (W) 3-0; 189: Isaiah Williams (H) 2-0; 215: Jared Shennet (W) 3-0; HVY: Terrance Jean-Jacques (H) 2-0
Records: Whittier 3-7
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