2016-17 Season Summary

     Following a very successful season in 2015-16 where the Lancers won both league and sectional championships and were runners-up at the state dual meet tournament as well as at the state individual tournament, few people expected more than a rebuilding year for Norton in 2016-17.   With 8 weight classes needing to be filled due to graduation, the team had its work cut out.

     Finishing 6th of 13 teams in the opening tournament at Oliver Ames and going 4-4 in dual meets in December was pretty much what most people had expected.  But the Lancers came to life at the Marshfield Holiday Tournament placing 8th of 38 teams and then went on to win 18 of their next 20 meets to finish the season 22-6 capturing their 8th Tri-Valley League title as well as their 8th James Peckham Tournament championship and finishing 2nd to a strong Foxboro team at sectionals.

     Captains Kyle Pereira and Andy Murphy, along with co-captains Justin Lunn and Brendan Merriott, provided strong leadership and motivated the team towards some very real success.
Lunn, Pereira, Patrick Feeney and Arthur O'Neill were all selected as Tri-Valley League All-Stars.
Murphy, Lunn, Pereira, Feeney, O'Neill and Brett Santangelo were all champions at the James Peckham Tournament in Canton with O'Neill being recognized as the tournament's "Outstanding Wrestler".  O'Neill, only a sophomore, became the Lancers' 21st-ever sectional champion with Feeney, Murphy, Alex Turcotte and Tyler Elliott all taking 3td place honors.  Elliott, also only a sophomore, and O'Neill both went on to place 8th at states.

     With 10 starters back led by captains Travis Felice and Patrick Feeney, along with co-captains Brett Santangelo and Devin Santangelo, as well as a strong JV team (12-1) returning, the future looks bright for the 2017-18 Norton High wrestling team.  Go, Lancers!

2016 Season Summary

Another banner year in 2016 as the Lancers went 28-3 overall and took home Tri-Valley League        (6 teams), Peckham Tournament (11teams) & D-3 South Sectional (16 teams) titles!  In addition the team finished 3rd at the Marshfield Tournament (37 teams) & 2nd in both the D-3 State Dual Meet Tournament & the D-3 State Individual Tournament (64 teams).  Not only that, the Lancers finished 17th at the All-State Tournament (168 teams), the highest placement ever for Norton.  Coach Francis was honored as the D-3 State Assistant Coach of the Year & Coach Coleman was voted D-3 South Sectional Coach of the Year.

Captains Aidan Kahn, Deven Schuko & Anthony Cardone provided outstanding leadership both on & off the mat.  Last summer Anthony became the Lancer's first-ever Bay State Games champion. Aidan (107 wins) & Deven (118 wins) earned Century Club status by surpassing 100 career victories, a landmark achievement.  In addition, Aidan went on to win a sectional title & was a state finalist.
Deven won a state title & finished 3rd at All-States, the highest ever for Norton.

Schuko became only the 2nd Norton wrestler to win the Marshfield Tournament twice.  Schuko &
Cardone, along with Andy Murphy & Kyle Pereira won Peckham championships.

Having dominated the Tri-Valley League, Murphy, Kahn, Schuko & Cardone along with Zach Scarpetti, Jake Burgess, Lucas Lavallee & Connor Merriott were named league All-Stars.  In addition Murphy, Kahn, Schuko, Burgess & Merriott were also selected as newspaper All-Scholastics.

The Lancers won another Sectional title where four Lancers earned championships including Murphy, Kahn, Burgess & Merriott.  Schuko, Pereira & Adrian Sokolowski were finalists, Adrian losing 6-5.

A heart-breaking 2nd place at the State dual meet tournament (28-27 to Wayland), then another 2nd place finish (again to Wayland) at the State Individual Tournament where Schuko won 8-7 in the finals & Kahn fell just short 4-3.  At All-States Schuko placed 3rd & Burgess 5th, the highest finishes ever for Norton. Both went on to compete at the New Englands, the first time Norton qualified two wrestlers for this prestigious competition.

Not to be outdone, the JV Lancers finished the season 17-3, the best team in the Tri-Valley League.
Tyler Elliott & Johnny Rahwan won JV State titles.

Best of all the team qualified for an MIAA Gold Level Academic Award with a 3.21 team GPA.
23 (of 34) members of the team made honor roll and 4 varsity starters were members of the National Honor Society.

At the annual post-season banquet (catered by New England's Best Pig Pickins ... thank you Ted Marvel!), Andy Murphy & Kyle Pereira were elected captains for the 2017 season with Justin Lunn named co-captain.

Awards went to the following wrestlers:  Schuko / Most Valuable, Burgess / Outstanding Wrestler, Lavallee / Most Improved, Kahn / JFK (citizenship) Award, Murphy / Comeback Wrestler, Brendan Merriott / 2nd Effort Award, Cardone / Most Pins, Connor Merriott / Unsung Hero, Pereira / Coaches Award, Brett Santangelo / Rookie of the Year, Rahwan / Next Man Up Award, Conner Reynolds / JV Wrestler of the Year.

Team-Building at Camp Coleman

Our annual day of adventure and fun took place recently on a beautiful day, sunny day.
All team members and their parents and guardians gathered at Coach's house for some
challenging activities, lots of good-natured competition, great food and some awful singing.

The action began with a cross-country relay race followed by a tug-o-war tournament
and that was only the beginning.  The team was divided into squads who competed for
points in kayaking, zip-lining, ropes course completion, archery, horse-shoes, ladder-ball,
climbing, rappeling, ropes course, Tarzan swing, etc.  Coaches, parents and guardians
provided spotting and belaying and kept everyone safe.

Mrs. Coach cooked up a delicious pasta and chicken dinner and parents / guardians supplied
beverages and tasty desserts.  No one went hungry!

The festivities ended with a sing-off and each squad was judged by the parents and guardians.
The talent was questionable, but the laughs were hearty and everyone left with a smile on
their face and a stronger sense of team.

2015 Awards Banquet & Season Summary

Peckham Tournament Team Champions

The 10th annual Norton Lancer Wrestling Team awards banquet was once again a wonderful celebration of a championship team and a very special family of coaches, wrestlers, parents, guardians and friends.  We began the afternoon at Francis Farm with an exciting highlight film put together by Russell Hansen from videos taken throughout the season by Mike Kahn and JoRean Sicks.  This was followed by a delicious BBQ dinner cooked up by Ted Marvel and Danny Cataldo of New England's Best Pig Pickins'.

Coach Coleman acted as master of ceremonies and Coaches Francis, Dunn, Pike and Santangelo all had good things to say about the team, the season and the prospects for the future.  Captains Marcon, Johnson, Donovan and Hansen reflected on their years in the program and provided heartfelt remarks and gave out gift certificates to the coaches that were greatly appreciated.

This banquet and awards were made possible by the Friends of Norton Wrestling booster club and the hard work and support of all the parents, guardians, friends and fans is something that the coaches and wrestlers are extremely thankful for and for which they expressed their gratitude.

We often say that championships begin in the classroom, so the first athletes to be recognized were the 20+ members of the team who made honor roll.  Heading up this list were Honor Society members Aidan Kahn, Lucas Lavallee, Taylor Lucero & Deven Schuko along with High Honor Roll members
Patrick Feeney, Travis Felice & Andy Murphy.

Seniors Jake Kent, Jordan Dowdy, Russell Hansen, Elliott Johnson, Adam Marcon & Alek Donovan were praised for their outstanding success as a class.  During their 4 years at NHS the team had a record of 107 wins and only 9 losses (both are team records), won 3 league championships, 3 sectional championships and 2 state championships.  A remarkable legacy!

This year's 24-4 record, TVL championship, runner-up at sectionals and final 4 at the state dual meet championships came at a price as the team suffered significant injuries to a number of key wrestlers.  But the team learned to IMPROVISE, ADAPT & OVERCOME and, in the end, their achievements,
including extending the team's home win streak to 35 and a JV record of 16-1, were significant.  

Special awards were given to the following Lancers, each outstanding in their own way:
     Most Valuable Wrestler - Deven Schuko
     Most Improved - Andy Murphy
     JFK (student-athlete-citizenship) - Aidan Kahn
     Outstanding Wrestler - Elliott Johnson
     2nd Effort Award - Russell Hansen
     Comeback Wrestler - Adam Marcon
     Unsung Hero - Connor Merriott
     Coaches' Award - Kyle Pereira
     Most Pins - Anthony Cardone
     JV Wrestlers of the Year - Johnny Rahwan & Justin Lunn
     Rookie of the Year - Patrick Feeney

Next year's co-captains, elected by their teammates, were announced.  Deven Schuko, Aidan Kahn & Anthony Cardone will lead the charge for the 2015-16 season.  Congratulations to these fine young men and to all the members of this year's team!

The afternoon concluded with a humorous and nostalgic slide show of photos taken by Stacie Schuko and put together by Mark Marcon.  Go, Lancers!

D-3 States Summary

They say that all good things end some day and, unfortunately, that day came yesterday

when our wrestling season came to a grinding halt at Wakefield.  Though our boys fought

hard, they simply ran out of steam.  It's been a tough season of injuries, yet time and again

the Lancers have fought their way through adversity and came out on top.  The state tournament this year was just a bit beyond our reach, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that the team that we finished second to at sectionals (Somerset-Berkley) won this state tournament and we beat them at the Peckham Tournament earlier this season.  We will re-group, work hard in the off-season and come back stronger next year with our eyes on the prize of another state title!

Of course we entered the state tournament with high hopes and despite our disappointment that we didn't finish among the top teams, there were exciting moments for our Lancers.  Jake Burgess and Adam Marcon both finished 8th in their weight classes while Zach Scarpetti, Anthony Cardone, Elliott Johnson and Alek Donovan all won matches.  Alek's was a milestone victory as it made him the newest member of Norton's "Century Club"!

The team finished the season 24-4, Tri-Valley League champions, Peckham Tournament champions, D-3 South sectional runners-up and final 4 at the  D-3 State dual meet championships.  Elliott won his second sectional championship and he and Alek became Century Club members with 104 and 100 career wins respectively.

Coaches and fans are very proud of this year's team for their true grit and determination.  

We have improvised, adapted and overcome many obstacles en route to another successful season!

Lancers Finish as D-3 South Sectional Runners-up

Going into the D-3 South Sectional Tournament as defending champions, the Lancers knew that they were up against the top team in Division 3 (Somerset-Berkley) in addition to a well-balanced field of competition.  After a tough quarter-finals round, Norton found itself in 5th place (of 14 teams).  With top wrestler Deven Schuko out for the season and no replacement at his weight class, the Lancers were faced with a great challenge.

However, not being a team without courage or determination, our boys dug deep and found a way to fight back, mostly in consolation matches to finish 2nd behind Somerset-Berkley but ahead of Sandwich, Scituate and Hanover who were all ahead going into the semi-finals.

Senior co-captain Elliott Johnson, recently back after 6 weeks on injured reserve, won his 2nd sectional title with a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory in the finals and, in the process, earned "Century Club" status with his 103rd career win (only the 8th Lancer to ever do so).

Norton enters next weekend's D-3 State Individual Tournament as defending champions and have high hopes to repeat.

Tri-Valley League Champs Again!

Tonight the Lancer wrestlers wrapped up their 6th Tr-Valley League championship in 8 years with a 39-9 win over Bellingham-Medway.  Leading the way with pins were Andy Murphy, Zach Scarpetti, Jake Burgess, Adam Marcon & Alek Donovan.  Justin Lunn won by major decision and Aidan Kahn scored a tech fall.  Congratulations to all team members for finishing the regular season with 24 wins and only 4 losses.  On Saturday the Lancers travel to Foxboro intent on defending their D-3 South sectional title.