Wrestling has taken center stage after strong team performances all throughout the playoffs with championships and state tournament berths.

Huge strides were made all throughout the season culminating with a Division 2 Central Sectional championship for the first time in school history highlighted by first place finishes from sophomore Jack Golden (113 lbs), junior captains Bryce Finnegan (126 lbs) and Drew Cozzolino (132 lbs), and senior captain Austin Roche (138 lbs).

“I think [winning sectionals] really shows all the hard work we put in during the months before the postseason,” Cozzolino said.

“Every year the program has been improving and it’s rewarding to see the work pay off, especially for the whole team.”

“Since this is something that the team has never done before, winning Sectionals definitely meant a lot for me,” Roche said. “For it to happen in my senior year when I’m one of the captains and leading the team just made it even better.”

While still riding high on their Sectionals championship, the team also had a strong showing in the State tournament placing fourth overall.

However, some wrestlers feel improvements can still be made.

“[Finishing fourth] means we need to improve because our tournament capabilities are much stronger than our team meetings show,” Finnegan said.

Many members of the team feel that all of these performances are a good building block towards the future.

“Next season I think we can repeat the Sectional title and win States too,” Cozzolino said. “All-States will be even more difficult, but I don’t think placing is out of reach.”

“I think we can be very successful,” Finnegan said. “We just all need to be on the same page and have fun while reading the book.”

The team wrapped up its postseason by finishing tied for tenth with Nashoba in the Massachusetts All-State tournament supported by Roche’s third place finish, Golden’s sixth place finish, and Cozzolino and Finnegan’s seventh place finish.

The season is about individuals now that Roche and Golden have qualified for the New England Tournament, but Cozzolino and Finnegan are the first two alternates if other wrestlers drop out.