ORANGE — An underdog sealed a win for the Mahar wrestling team on Wednesday night.
The Senators beat Frontier, 46-36, with the help of an upset win at 182 pounds by Jayden Carey.
“We were expecting that one to go the other way,” Mahar coach John Speek said. “Once he (Carey) put it away it was mathematically impossible for them to win. He just stuck with it … kept wrestling and waited for an advantage.”
After Carey pinned KC Mattson in 2 minutes, 53 seconds the crowd at Mahar Regional went crazy, as did his coaches and teammates.
“He (Mattson) was tall and he looked pretty big,” Carey said. “I thought he was going to be beat me but I got him down and pinned him. My heart was racing. I couldn’t believe that it happened.”
The Senators (5-2) got another win from Todd Chiasson, who is 12-2 on the season wrestling at 160 pounds. Chiasson pinned Frontier’s Eric Trueswell in 2:29.
“The team has had a couple downfalls,” Chiasson said. “But we are mostly doing great so far. Winning our first league match is awesome.”
Mahar’s Henry Ndayisaba pinned (1:12) an overmatched Dylan Camp of Frontier at 152 pounds.
At 106 pounds, Mahar’s Jeff Kidwell pinned Wyatt Finch in 40 seconds.
Justin deDiego won a major decision over Jake Mattson at 138 pounds for the Senators.
Peter Tattan (170), Jon Mahony (113) and Caleb Berry (220) were the recipients of forfeit victories in their respective weight classes to round out the scoring.
“Our top guys are being consistent,” Speek said. “They are wrestling through and doing what they are expected to do. Our newer guys are coming up and starting to look like wrestlers.”
Franklin Tech 48, Athol 21 — Chris Waslaske did not have an opponent at 182 pounds in a team loss for the Red Raiders on the road to the Eagles.
Athol moved Waslaske up a weight class to 195 pounds and the senior still pinned (1:03) Aidan Stacy to stay perfect on the season.
Riley Reed earned his second varsity win for the Red Raiders at 120 pounds, pinning (2:44) Daniel Phillips.
Joey Gray won a decision (7-1) at 160 pounds for the Red Raiders.
