DANVERS — The St. John’s Prep wrestling team continued to show why it is the class of Division 1 North, capturing the sectional title for the second year in a row with a 61-18 victory over No. 2 Methuen in the Division 1 North championship game Tuesday afternoon.
The Eagles only lost in three of the 14 weight classes on the day, with one of those losses coming via forfeit because there was no wrestler listed at that weight.
“We had a great week of practice coming into this meet, and I think it showed out there,” said Prep Coach Manny Costa, whose 776 career wins are the most in state history. “Our guys came out strong and went for it full-bore from the start trying to get points, and they put guys away when they had the opportunity.”
The Eagles got strong performances from their top three wrestlers on the day, with all three of the Prep’s All-Americans — Nick Curley, Tyler Knox and Dylan Greenstein — notching victories by pinfall.
“We’re lucky to have three All-Americans on the team, and they’re all great leaders as well,” said Costa. “It’s nice to have them in our lineup to take some pressure off of everyone else, but at the same time they have all the pressure on them to perform. But they come through more times than not, that’s for sure.”
Curley, a senior who won the National High School Coaches Association national championship at 113 pounds back in April, competed at 126 pounds on Tuesday and took down Michael Crowe in the second round.
Knox, a sophomore who is the 17th-ranked wrestler in the entire country, competed at 120 pounds and took no time at all to get his pinfall victory, besting opponent Jack Stoddard in 27 seconds.
“Out here, my objective is to just go out there and pin the other guy,” said Knox, who won a Division 3 state title at Pentucket before transferring to St. John’s Prep. “I think I have one of the best top games this side of the Mississippi honestly, and so I just go out there and try to do what I’m best at each and every time.”
Greenstein had one of the toughest battles of the night at 195 pounds, going three rounds with opponent Josiah Concepcion. The two wrestlers traded shots through the first two rounds, with each recording a takedown. But early in the third round, Greenstein managed to get the upper hand and get his pinfall victory.
“It was tough out there, but I just stuck with it and was able to get on top and finish things off eventually,” said Greenstein, a freshman who stood significantly shorter than his opponent. “The stand-up game was pretty tough because I’m not a shooter and he was able to stay pretty far away, but I just kept battling.”
A number of other Prep wrestlers grabbed victories on the day, including Alex Schaeublin (106 pounds), Elias Hajali (132 pounds), Adam Schaeublin (138 pounds), Rawson Iwanicki (152 pounds), Jordan Young (160 pounds), Cam Cummings (170 pounds), Garrett Dunn (182 pounds) and Charles Smith (285 pounds).
St. John’s Prep (15-0) now moves on to the Division 1 state tournament, where it will be either a No. 1 or No. 2 seed. The Eagles will take on either the South or Central champion in the Division 1 state semifinal round on Monday (TBD) at home.
“We’ve been working hard all year and going against the same Catholic Conference opponents over and over, and I think I saw us get a little lethargic playing the same competition,” said Costa. “But after the past few meets, where we’ve gone up against Ashland and now Methuen, there’s a new energy among the guys. It’s no secret that we love the dual meet, and we’re really happy that the MIAA was able to hold this tournament. It’s a little tough on our individuals because we have three defending state champions and they won’t get to compete as individuals this year, but we’ve always been more of a family atmosphere over here and we love competing as a group.”
