LONDONDERRY – A year ago, Dominic Schinella didn’t win a match at the Division I championship. None of his teammates reached the finals. What a difference a year makes.
Schinella, a senior, upset top-seeded Scott Patti of Timberlane in the 126-pound title bout and four of his teammates received runner-up medals as the Concord High School wrestling team finished second at the NHIAA Division I championship on Sunday at Londonderry High School, its best finish since 2021.
The Crimson Tide (221 points) couldn’t match the firepower of the Timberlane Owls (281), who won four individual titles and had nine total finalists, but 12 of the 14 Concord grapplers qualified for the Meet of Champions, the most that the Tide has produced in the post-Covid era.
Schinella’s victory was symbolic of the hard work and improvement that Concord has seen across its lineup this season.
“I’m a lot stronger, faster, and leaner,” Schinella said following his victory. “Not an easy road. It’s been a long journey to get here. Last year, I went 0-2. It feels so good to get a state title here the next year.”
Schinella’s path to his crown was a grueling one. It took all six minutes to claim a 13-2 major decision over Pinkerton’s Dylan Gethner in the quarterfinals and it took until the third period for Schinella to defeat Nashua North’s Sebastian Ochoa by technical fall, 24-9.
Less than two weeks ago, Patti decisively beat Schinella 16-0 in Concord’s dual against Timberlane in the regular-season finale. Patti had the upper hand on Schinella for most of the final bout, taking a 4-0 lead early in the second period. He may have held on for the victory had the bout continued, but Schinella didn’t give him a chance. No. 2 Schinella had a nice takedown and held on long enough to complete the pin, upsetting top-seeded Patti and sending the Concord fans into a raucous.
“I went into the match calm and composed,” Schinella said. “I’m like, I’m just going to go out there and swing and see how I do.”
Seniors Isaiah Puckett (215 pounds), Max Chung (175), Jaxon Carter (144), and junior Biswas Darji (106) all reached the finals of their respective weight classes.
Puckett was literally one second away from giving the Tide another champion. He pinned Salem’s Jack McElroy in the quarterfinals and beat Pinkerton’s Harry Yuan 1-0 in the semifinals before dropping a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Timberlane’s Kyle Lindblad in double overtime.
With the score 1-1 at the end of the third period and a scoreless first overtime, Puckett escaped from Lindblad to go up 2-1. Lindblad returned the favor with a reversal to go up 3-2 with nine seconds left. With just one more chance to keep his championship hopes alive, Puckett got on top of Lindblad with one second left. The referee initially awarded Puckett two points, which would’ve given him the victory, but then ruled that time had expired.
Although Puckett didn’t win, he avenged some of his previous losses suffered throughout his career on his way to the final.
“I’ve lost to most of these guys before,” Puckett said. “But this is probably the best team we’ve had (in a long time). We’re in contention. … It’s amazing to see how far these guys have come. It’s all hard work. Putting in the time.”
Darji reached the 106 finals thanks to a pin and technical fall, before getting pinned in the first period of the finals by Timberlane’s Matt Boucher. Carter won by a technical fall in the quarters and a disqualification in the semifinals after his opponent made an illegal move, before dropping a 16-4 major decision in the finals to Keene’s Leo Runez.
Both Darji and Carter lived up to their No. 2 seeds, while No. 1 Chung fell to No. 2 Colton Seuss of Timberlane in the 175 finals, 4-1.
“The kids worked hard. The last finals round was a tough round, but everybody showed up and wrestled hard,” Concord head coach Ham Munnell said. “I’m proud of the kids and coaches. Dominic had a great tournament.”
Concord’s Jaxon Carter (top) grapples with Keene’s Leo Runez in the 144-pound finals at the NHIAA Division I wrestling championship on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Londonderry High School. Puckett finished dropped the bout in a major decision to finish second at 144. Credit: DAN ATTORRI / For the Monitor 
Concord’s Isaiah Puckett attempts to make a move on Timberlane’s Kyle Lindblad in the 215-pound finals at the NHIAA Division I wrestling championship on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Londonderry High School. Puckett lost the final in double overtime after the referee ruled that Puckett’s winning move occurred after time expired. Credit: DAN ATTORRI / For the Monitor 
Concord’s Max Chung (right) gets a handshake from Concord High wrestling head coach Ham Munnell following his semifinal victory at the NHIAA Division I wrestling championship on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Londonderry High School. Chung finished runner-up in the 175-pound class. Credit: DAN ATTORRI / For the Monitor 
Concord’s Biswas Darji wrestles against Salem’s Ella Paris in the 106 semifinals at the NHIAA Division I wrestling championship on Sunday, Feb. 22 at Londonderry High School. Darji finished runner-up in the 106-pound class. Credit: DAN ATTORRI / For the Monitor
Sophomore Ramon Reynolds outperformed his No. 7 seed to finish fifth at 138, while seniors Owen Gregg (fourth 132), Ryley Holt (fourth 165), and Wayne Gutierrez-Sakakeeny (fifth 285); junior Jakob Manseau (sixth 190); sophomore Leo Chung (fifth 157); and freshman Daniel Sheehan (fifth 150) also advanced to the Meet of Champions, which will be held Saturday at Pinkerton Academy and include the top wrestlers from all three NHIAA divisions.
“Everybody we brought, we thought could place,” Munnell said. “Some of our younger kids like Leo Chung and Sheehan did well, taking fifth. Overall, a solid showing.”
The results that the Tide earned on Sunday were akin to what Concord used to see on a regular basis pre-Covid. The Crimson Tide finished runner-up to Timberlane six years in a row between 2016-2021, but didn’t crack the top three until this past weekend.
As offseason camps, clinics and tournaments have returned, and as the youth wrestlers have developed, Concord has improved.
“We’re better. The kids have put time in,” Munnell said. “And now the youth program (Concord Wrestling Club, which was founded in 2022) is starting to show up (at the high school level).”
The future is bright, but the Tide’s focus, for now, is fixed on Saturday’s Meet of Champions and spending at least one more week together as a team.
“The team is at a very good point,” Schinella said. “I love my brothers and sisters. We’ve got MOCs, we’ll see how it goes.”