PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The St. John’s Prep wrestling team has been a dominant force all season long, and that run culminated this weekend with the ultimate title, as the Eagles took home the title at the New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships Saturday evening at Providence Career and Technical Academy.
The title is the first New England Championship in Prep wrestling history, and the Eagles are the first Massachusetts team since 2007 (Lowell) to capture the regional championship. St. John’s Prep finished the two-day tournament with 95 points, followed by Xavier (Conn.) in second place with 82 points and Ponaganset (R.I.) in third place with 77 points.
“I am extremely proud of this team,” said Prep coach and Peabody native Manny Costa. “They not only had to navigate a brutally tough regular season schedule, they also had to navigate COVID and wrestling wearing masks at all practices and meets.”
Leading the way for the Eagles in the win were a pair of individual New England champions in Tyler Knox and Rawson Iwanicki. Knox took home the title at 126 pounds after defeating Evan Lindner of New Milford, Conn. via 3-1 decision, while Iwanicki won it all at 152 pounds by defeating Zach Johns of Simsbury, Conn. via 5-5 3:54 decision. Both wrestlers also finished the entire season undefeated, with Knox going 52-0 and Iwanicki going 58-0.
“Tyler and Rawson dominated their weight classes all season,” said Costa. “Both went through our difficult schedule undefeated, which is no easy task. In the future, both will be competitive at the Division 1 collegiate level.”
The Schaeublin brothers also put together a solid performance at New Englands, as the Salem natives both put up top-four finishes in their respective weight classes. Adam Schaeublin placed second overall at 132 pounds, while Alex Schaeublin finished fourth overall at 113 pounds.
Following Saturday’s season-capping victory, the Prep finished the 2021-22 season at 32-0 and were Lowell Holiday Tournament champions, Woburn Tournament champions, Division 1 State dual meet champions, Div. 1 North Champions, Div. 1 state champions, All-State champions and New England champions. The Eagles were also Catholic Conference champions for the 23rd straight year.
“It’s an extremely tough four consecutive weekends, mentally and physically,” Costa said of his team’s tournament run. “They showed up each week, especially our four horsemen. Those four are great leaders and they showed their teammates how to win. It’s been a great family atmosphere.
“The 2021-22 St. John’s Prep wrestling team will forever go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, teams ever to wrestle in Massachusetts,” said Costa.
