Taconic Wrestlers Win State Championship

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- For the second time in three years, Taconic High School is making room in the trophy case for a state championship.

 

On Saturday, the Taconic wrestling team edged defending champion Dedham by two points to claim the Division 3 state title at Wakefield High.

 

Senior Zabion Powell led the way with an individual state championship of his own, stopping Melrose’s Stephen Macinstosh at the 4 minute, 36 second mark to win the 145-pound title bout.

 

It was Powell’s third pin of the tournament. Earlier Saturday, he pinned Cohasset’s Daniel Nolan in the semi-finals.

 

Taconic placed three wrestlers in state championship matches.

 

At 182 pounds, Dylan Burke earned a spot in the finals with a 9-3 semi-final win before being edged, 3-2, by Athol’s Chris Waslaske in the final.

 

At 195, Shawn O’Shea earned a 54-second pin in the semis but was pinned midway through the second period of his match against Quabbin’s Sam Ware.

 

Mike LaFreniere, who started his day in the 132-pound finals, lost 10-2 to drop into the consolation bracket but came back to earn a 1-0 decision over Norton’s Tyler Elliott and a third-period pin over Georgetown-Ipswich’s Ian Forgitano in the third-place match.

 

Zach Mathes also reached the third-place bout. At 138 pounds, he fought his way through the consolation bracket to get a shot at Ashland’s Jared Swartz, who prevailed, 12-8, to take the bronze.

 

Berkshire County’s other state semi-finalist, Mount Everett’s Zack Lupiani, lost his final four match at 120 pounds on Saturday morning and ended up placing sixth in the state.

 

Taconic, which dominated the field at the Western Mass D3 meet, improved on a sixth-place showing at last year’s state meet.

 

The school is in the midst of a remarkable run of success at the state level. Two years ago, Taconic earned a state championship in Division 1 in baseball. Last year, it went to the finals in Division 3 in basketball and baseball.