LAWRENCE — Sophomore Jason Pendergast and the Methuen wrestling team may have come of age last night in a 38-21 victory over Lawrence.
Methuen coach Bill James was concerned about youth prior to the season following an 11-11-1 campaign a year ago. But four sophomores and a freshman came through with wins to keep the surprising Rangers unbeaten at 7-0.
With Methuen clinging to a 26-21 lead, Pendergast earned an 8-6 decision at 125 pounds over standout Lawrence freshman Adrian Sosa. Trailing 6-5 entering the third period, Pendergast got an escape and takedown and then held on to improve to 14-6 on the year.
Not bad for a guy who struggled to a 10-14 record as a freshman.
"I'm a completely different wrestler this year," said Pendergast. "I knew he was a good wrestler, but I worked hard for it. Every win is important, but I knew it could be a turning point for us."
As if he was following the lead, classmate Mike Mouawad followed with a 6-5 decision at 130 to clinch the victory. Another sophomore, C.J. Doherty, capped the win with a pin at 135.
Earlier, sophomore Scott Delrossi got a late takedown for an 8-7 decision at 171 and freshman Paul Sughrue continued to impress with a 14-4 major decision at 112.
Four seniors also came through for Methuen — Chris Bouchard (189) and Shaun "Tank" McCarthy (215) recorded first-period pins, Mike Eyssi (145) had a major decision and heavyweight Colin Bleem claimed a 5-1 decision in a match stopped four times for blood timeouts.
"It was a great meet for us and I thought our kids really stepped up," said James. "That was a huge win for both Jason and Mike. We had a lot of positives tonight and I hope we can build from this."
The meet started at 140 pounds with Lawrence taking an early lead as Sebastian Jimenez held off a late rally by Edwin Alfonso for a 7-5 decision. Pins by Kevin Valerio (152) and Juan Rodriguez (160) put Lawrence ahead 15-4, but the Rangers pulled ahead with four straight wins and never trailed again.
The Lancers, who dropped to 8-4, captured two more matches, but Methuen was probably not upset at either setback.
At 103, Sarith Has had a late takedown to avoid a major decision at the hands of Jorge Aquino and, at 119, Nate Giaocchini narrowly lost, 6-5, when Lawrence standout Hugo Dominguez got a takedown in the closing seconds.
Methuen 38, Lawrence 21
103: Jorge Aquino (L) dec. Sarith Has 11-4; 112: Paul Sughrue (M) major dec. Elvis Genao 14-4; 119: Hugo Dominguez (L) dec. Nate Giaocchini 6-5; 125: Jason Pendergast (M) dec. Adrian Sosa 8-6; 130: Mike Mouawad (M) dec. Shaquille Fuentes 6-5; 135: C.J. Doherty (M) pin Argenis Carpio 3:12; 140: Sebastian Jimenez (L) dec. Alfonso Alfonso 7-5; 145: Mike Eyssi (M) major dec. Rafael Polanco 16-2; 152: Kevin Valerio (L) pin Jack Khoury 2:34; 160: Juan Rodriguez (L) pin Dylan Fielding 2:35; 171: Scott Delrossi (M) dec. Christian Morales 8-7; 189: Chris Bouchard (M) pin Janer Reyes 1:18; 215: Shaun McCarthy (M) pin Joshua Espinal 1:57; HVY: Colin Bleem (M) dec. Luis Polanco 5-1
Records: Methuen 7-0, Lawrence 8-4
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