On a night when Bow wrestlers defeated Winnisquam, the senior wrestlers took a few minutes away from the mat to read a stanza of a poem dedicated to head coach Bill Chavanelle.
“An ode to a coach,” senior Chase Flagg began.
“Rebuilding is over. It’s go time now. We’ve gotten this far and we won’t stay down,” senior captain Ryan Dolder continued. “But through it all, Billy stands tall, showing his love through that tough exterior wall. Thank you, Coach Billy, we love you.”
The poem was full of small jabs at the coach for his tendencies, but also appreciation for his leadership throughout their varsity careers.
The seniors and their team lived up to their opening night poem and came back against Winnisquam in a dual meet on Wednesday night.
Bow and Winnisquam have jockeyed for top spot in Division III all season, and this meet of titans was one of the most crucial points of the season.
After the flowers and poems, the lights dimmed again. Under the spotlight, the wrestlers and referee were illuminated. The air grew tighter, and the spectacle began.
Bow started from behind with no wrestler at 106 pounds, but managed to claw back into the dual and win it, 40-31. At one point, Bow was down 12 points after back-to-back pins by Winnisquam’s Colin Parenteau and Lazar Arbutina.
“That’s one of our core functions as a group,” Chavanelle said. “This team’s very mentally tough.”
The big guys came through for Bow. Falcons freshman Carter Geddes (175 pounds) pinned sophomore Isaac Timmons to knock down the first domino. Next, senior captain Chase Flagg (190 pounds) held onto a 1-0 lead to add three points.
Sophomore Kevin Mullen (215 pounds) and senior Hunter Hutchinson (285 pounds) finished the night off with back-to-back pins to win the meet.
“Big guy coach, big guys follow suit,” Chavanelle said after the win. He lauded their efforts: Flagg toughing out three rounds to hang on, and the other two imposing their wills.
“That was really just a battle of muscle,” Flagg said about his win.
Bow’s biggest senior Hunter Hutchinson prepares to take down Winnisquam freshman Hunter Mulinski. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Bow senior captain Chase Flagg (L) grapples with Bears junior Noah Bassett (190 pounds). Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Falcon sophomore Kevin Mullen gets up after pinning Bears sophomore Andre Field (215 pounds). Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
Earlier in the night, before going down 12 points, senior captains Ryan Dolder (144 pounds) and Herbie Madden (150 pounds) got second-round pins one after another to energize their team.
Dolder explained that the team has a very high level of trust that everyone will give it their all.
Senior Jacob Todisco-Coulon narrowly lost his bout to Dylan Griffin (138 pounds) in a rematch of last year’s state championship. He’s hoping for another rematch and said it’s personal between the two now.
Bow senior captain Herbie Madden tries to take down Winnisquam’s Roman Berghams (150 pounds). Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Senior captain Ryan Dolder pins Winnisquam’s Nate Tassey (144 pounds) on senior night. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Winnisquam senior Dylan Griffin (top) wrestles Bow senior Jacob Todisco-Coulon in a rematch of last year’s Division III 138-pound state championship bout. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
Overall, for Winnisquam, the night was a success. Head Coach Tom Osmer said his team has grown to be more patient, focused and calm as the season has progressed and despite not winning, his wrestlers kept it close until the end.
Five of his wrestlers won their bouts, and he knows that many of those who lost will battle for the top six in the state championship later this season. They will just have to learn and move forward.
“We want to put something on the mat that we’re proud of,” Osmer said. He thought they did.
“They just seemed to be at the right combination of focused and loose, bobbing to the music, in their eyes they were ready,” he added.