Lancer Wrestling Nails Three Out of Four Matches This Week

The Norton High wrestling team pounded Hopkinton 56-12 Thursday night in its first Tri-Valley League meet of the season. The Lancers are defending league champions.

Sophomore Elliott Johnson got the ball rolling with a pin in the first match and the Lancers then ran off eight straight victories before the Hillers even got on the scoreboard. Juniors Mike Travers, JT Taylor and Myles McAlpine pinned their men and seniors Brett Pike and Stephen Hudson as well as freshman Keyshawn Harris did, too. Senior Tim Casagni, junior Ahrayah Saintius and freshman Aidan Kahn all won by decision.    

Saturday the team traveled to Hingham for a quad meet with Somerset-Berkley and Sharon. In the first meet of the day, a much anticipated showdown between 2012 sectional championship teams and the current #1 and #2 ranked D-3 programs in the state, the Harbormen hung on to beat the Lancers 39-36 in a very exciting contest. Hingham went up 30-5 after the first six matches only to see their lead shrink to 33-30 with two matches to go. But a pin at 220 clinched it for the home team and another great Norton comeback was thwarted.  

Disappointed but not discouraged, the Lancers bounced back with a convincing 47-28 win over a strong Somerset-Berkley team. The Raiders took an early lead winning three of the first four matches, but the Lancers came on strong after that winning eight of the next 10 bouts. Somerset-Berkley was not through for the day, however, and proved how tough they were as they battled Hingham in the next round to a 40-35 loss.

In the final round of the day, the Lancers easily handled Sharon 64-9. The Eagles managed only one win by decision 7-6 and took another win by forfeit. Norton won 12 matches, eight by pin.  

Taylor, McAlpine, Jack Cuneo, Travers, Casagni and Hudson all went 3-0 on the day. Travers pinned Hingham's John Kay, defending south section champion while Hudson won his 110th career victorytying Erik Lane (2010) for 3rd place all-time in NHS wrestling. He also got his 87th career pin, tying Scott Coleman (2012) for 1st place.  

The Lancers are now 12-2 on the season and wrestle AMSA at home on Wednesday evening.

Norton's junior varsity team improved their record to 4-3 with victories at Hopkinton and Hingham. Winners this week included Taylor Lucero, Seth Paulo, Jacob Burgess, Grant Monast, Zach Scarpetti, Sean Murrin, Scott Albert, Connor Merriott and George Reese.