The Bow Falcons three-peated with a dominant performance in the Division III wrestling championship last Sunday. Now, their sights are set on the Meet of Champions.
The best wrestlers in the state will descend upon Pinkerton Academy on Saturday, starting at 9 a.m. Bow qualified 10 wrestlers, all with hopes of making it deep into the meet.
The event will feature top wrestlers in each division from around the state, including athletes from Concord, Kearsarge and John Stark.
Bow heads in with strong chances. Senior captains Chase Flagg (190 pounds), Jake Todisco-Coulon (138 pounds) and junior Sean Flaherty (113 pounds) all won their weight class championship matches last weekend.
Top-seeded sophomore Kevin Mullen was the runner-up in the 215-pound class in a match-up with John Stark’s Noah Patenaude that ended 8-2.
“Tough spot, but Kevin is only a sophomore and has a lot left in this sport. I’m always going to ride with Kevin Mullen,” Head Coach Bill Chavanelle said.
Flaherty was the first as the lightest of the trio. He got a late reversal and dominated on top against Plymouth’s Mason Morrison. Coming in as a freshman, he wasn’t even sure he would wrestle. Now he’s among the best in the state.
Todisco-Coulon won his second D-III state championship with four consecutive wins. He was coming off consecutive losses in dual meets, but bounced back when it mattered most.
The championship match was a tight contest until midway through the second period, when he locked up a cradle to get the pin on Newport freshman Joe Gosselin.
“His celebration afterwards was very warranted as he screamed and cheered with the crowd,” Chavanelle remarked.
Flagg’s victory was the one that secured the team title and cemented him as the best in the division. Winnisquam was on Bow’s heels but was down to its last wrestler.
Flagg beat the Bears’ Noah Bassett in the dual meet between the two schools earlier this month, 1-0, and repeated the result against him in the D-III championship match to win the individual title.
It was even more special as the win gave Flagg his 100th career win.
The other six Bow wrestlers to place top-four and book a spot in the MOC were: Senior captain Herbie Madden (third, 150), freshman Carter Geddes (third, 175), senior Hunter Hutchinson (third, 285), junior Shane Rabalais (third, 126), senior captain Ryan Dolder (fourth, 144) and junior Brayden Brown (fourth, 157).
Concord
Concord qualified 12 wrestlers and finished second in the Division I championship on Sunday. Senior Dominic Schinella was the only one to win his weight class with an upset over Timberlane’s Scott Patti in the 126-pound title bout.
Seniors Isaiah Puckett (215 pounds), Max Chung (175), Jaxon Carter (144), and junior Biswas Darji (106) all came in as runners-up and will look for redemption in the MOC.
Other Concord qualifiers outside of podium spots were seniors Owen Gregg (fourth, 132), Ryley Holt (fourth, 165), and Wayne Gutierrez-Sakakeeny (fifth, 285), junior Jakob Manseau (sixth, 190), sophomores Leo Chung (fifth, 157), Ramon Reynolds (fifth, 138) and freshman Daniel Sheehan (fifth, 150).
Kearsarge
Cougar junior Noah Sevigny won the D-III 175-pound title by decision, 12-7, over White Mountain’s Alden Willey.
Recent Concord Monitor Athlete of the Week Gage Richard was one of four Cougars to reach the MOC with a second-place finish in the 144-pound class.
Junior Jacob Mullen (132) placed third and junior Wyatt Brothers placed fourth, as well, to qualify.
John Stark
The Generals qualified five wrestlers after the D-III championship. Junior Noah Pautenaude’s win was the highlight of the day for them as he led the group.
Senior Sean Crean finished fourth at 126 after falling to Bow’s Rablais. Junior Lyncoln Jablonski finished second at 132 after falling in the final bout. Junior Hunter Griffin also finished second at 150 in a closer bout, losing by major decision, 14-6.
At 190 pounds, junior Noah Espinoza squeaked into the MOC after falling to Bow’s Flagg in semis and bouncing back to place fourth.
Winnisquam
The Bears qualified seven boys in total and finished runners-up as a team to Bow in the divisional championship.
Senior Dylan Griffin (132) won the title by beating Stark’s Jablonski by fall. Sophomore Dayton Brigante (120) had a solid outing, ultimately falling to ConVal’s Lane Williams in the divisional champs. His teammates, senior Aiden Sufert (126), juniors Colin Parenteau (157) and Noah Bassett (190) all finished in second place.
Sophomore Lucas Durphey (113) lost narrowly, 8-4, to Mascenic’s Chase Sasner to finish fourth. Fellow sophomore Andrew Field (215) bounced back from a first-round loss and placed third.
