FOXBOROUGH — The date: December 18. The place: Concord-Carlisle High School’s Hayes Gymnasium.
That’s the last time James Fodera of the Lynnfield-North Reading wrestling team lost a match. It was about as close as it could get, an 8-7 decision in the Black and Gold’s first dual meet of the 2024-2025 season.
Since then, Fodera has been on a tear, winning seven consecutive tournament titles.
His latest conquest came Saturday afternoon in the MIAA Division 3 state championship meet, winning the 190-pound weight division to help lead the Black and Gold to a sixth-place finish with 83 points. Tewksbury High won the team title with 116.5 points, just ahead of Division 3 North champion Wakefield, which finished second with 113 points.
Fodera improved his record to 47-1 and became the first North Reading High student to win a state individual championship as a member of the LNR co-op. He also became the third LNR wrestler in the last 11 years to capture a state championship, as Lynnfield High’s Eric Kerr and Tom Arseneault did so in 2014.
The top seed, Fodera’s road to the championship began with a 1:17 pin win over No. 16 Mayshaun Thomas-Moore (Hampden-Charter) in the round of 16. He followed with a 21-2 technical fall win over No. 8 Daniel O’Brien (Dedham) in the quarterfinals, then defeated No. 12 Joshua Hindin (Foxborough) in the semifinals (3:47 pin).
In the championship bout, Fodera needed only 40 seconds to take a 3-0 lead against No. 6 Mohaned Said (Wilmington), slamming him to the mat with a takedown. Sixteen seconds later, Fodera pinned him to clinch the title.
Nathan Barstow, the No. 6 seed at 113 pounds, finished third. He pinned John Wigmore (Foxborough) in 1:06 in the round of 16, then pinned Noah Rushford (East Longmeadow) in 2:39 in the quarterfinals. He lost an 8-0 major decision to No. 2 Diego Cruz (Mount Everett) in the semifinals, then stayed alive with a pin win in 3:48 over Damian Sdoia (Wayland) in the consolation semifinals. He clinched third place with a late third-period pin in 5:55 over Colby Grenan (Bristol-Plymouth) to end his day on a high note.
No. 11 Dylan Mathews finished fourth in the 285-pound division. He pulled off two upsets in the first two rounds to punch his ticket to the semifinals. He defeated No. 6 seed Nicholas Leblanc (Athol) 4-1 in the round of 16, then defeated No. 3 Oakley Gully (Sandwich) by pin in 4:51 in the quarterfinals. The magic ran out in the semis at the hands of eventual winner Kip King (4:32 pin). Mathews rallied to beat Roberto Melendez (South Hadley) 3-2 in the consolation semifinals, only to drop the third-place bout to No. 2 Sam St. Pierre (29-second pin).
No. 5 David Glynn finished fifth at 157 pounds. He breezed through the first two rounds with pin wins, the first in only 1:19 over Brady Standridge (Scituate) and the second in 5:48 over No. 4 Logan Moore (Mohawk Trail). He ran into a buzz saw in the semis, losing to top-seeded and eventual champion Adrian Guzman (Andover) in a 1:34 pin. After being pinned in 3:45 to Michael Powers (Foxborough) in the consolation semifinals, Glynn took the fifth-place bout against Joe Allen (Gloucester) by forfeit.
No. 4 Cam Arya (165) was upset in the first round by No. 13 seed Dylan Melvin (Foxborough) 4-1. Arya stayed alive with a 20-5 technical fall win over No. 12 Travis Eastman (Franklin County) in the consolation bracket, but was eliminated after a 12-5 loss to No. 14 Kevin Ozulumbo (Ashland) to finish the day 1-2.
Zach Inafuku (0-2, 106 pounds) and Zack Morse (0-2, 215 pounds) also wrestled.
With their top-six finishes, Fodera, Barstow, Mathews, and Glynn will represent LNR Friday and Saturday in the all-states championship meet at Methuen High.
