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.

Big Win Over Hopkinton

In a great team effort our wrestling team came from behind 21-9 to upset Hopkinton

last night in an exciting contest 33-27.  Leading the way for the Lancers were 

Aidan Kahn and Jake Burgess who won decisions along with Russell Hansen,

Anthony Cardone, Elliott Johnson and Lucas Lavallee who pinned their men.  

But last night's hero was Andy Murphy who clinched the team's victory in the

final match of the night with a hard-fought 8-5 decision.   

Lancers Place Top Four in D-3 State Dual Meet Tournament

As the defending champions, the Lancers were disappointed to not make the finals, but wrestled well enough through two tough rounds of competition to make the semi-finals before falling hard 61-18 to the eventual champions, Somerset-Berkley who went on to defeat Wayland in the finals.  Given the fact
that there are 54 teams in Division 3 and only 16 teams qualified for the tournament, finishing in the
top 4 is a terrific accomplishment for Norton!

In the opening round, a talented Sabis Springfield team took an early 17-4 lead before Justin Lunn's pin got Norton on track and we four straight matches to go ahead and stay ahead, finishing the meet with a 37-17 final score.  In the process Anthony Cardone avenged a loss by pin from earlier in the season with an 8-2 decision. Other winners included Aidan Kahn, Zach Scarpetti, Jordan Dowdy, Jake Burgess, Lucas Lavallee, Adam Marcon and Alek Donovan.

In the quarterfinals the Lancers faced a very strong, tough Dean Tech team and again managed to
snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as the meet came down to the final match.  Andy Murphy, down
4-1 rallied to pin his man in the final minute of his match to clinch the team win.  Earlier in the meet
Lunn came from behind 14-8 to get a critical pin and Burgess won a 6-5 decision over the #5 ranked wrestler in the state.  Other winners included Taylor Lucero, Elliott Johnson, Lavallee and Marcon.

The Dean Tech meet took a physical toll on Norton and it was evident that we weren't in position to challenge Somerset-Berkley in the semi-finals.  Choosing to rest a number of starters, the Lancers
gave five backups a chance to compete in such a high-level tournament.  Kyle Pereira bumped up a
weight class and got us a pin.  Murphy also pinned his man, as did Johnson.

With a record of 23-4, the Lancers head to Bellingham on Wednesday where a victory there will secure
Norton's 6th Tri-Valley League championship in 8 years.  Go, Lancers!  

Lancers Sweep Final Home Quad

Following a brief banner dedication ceremony recognizing the remarkable accomplishments

of last season's league, sectional and state champions, the Lancers went on to add three more

wins in their final home quad of the season beating a strong Scituate team 39-29, overpowering

Carver-Wareham 30-0 and fighting back from an early 16 point deficit to beat Quincy 60-16.  This

brings the team's record to 20-3 on the season with a possible sixth Tri-Valley League championship

on the line at Hopkinton on Tuesday.

Last year's co-captains J. T. Taylor, Myles McAlpine and Mike Travers, along with teammate Branden

Pike were on hand as the 2014 league, sectional and state team championship banners were dedicated.  

Also noted were the additions of four new names to the individual sectional champs banner (Taylor,

McAlpine, Travers and Elliott Johnson) as well as to the individual state champs banner (Travers) and,

finally, the addition of Travers to the Century Club (100+ career wins) banner.  Congratulations to these

fine young men and to the great 2014 NHS Lancer wrestling team! 

Junior Adrian Sokolowski played the national anthem on his acoustic guitar and the wrestling began.

After three rounds of wrestling, eight Lancers went undefeated on the day.  including sophomore Andy

Murphy, juniors Zach Scarpetti, Anthony Cardone and Jake Burgess, along with seniors Jordan Dowdy,

Jake Kent, Elliott Johnson and Alek Donovan.  Scarpetti and Cardone each had three pins and Johnson

(95) and Donovan (94) are fast approaching Century Club membership (100+ career wins)!  Donovan &

Burgess lead the team with 25 wins each and Anthony Cardone is the pin leader with 17.

Weather permitting, the Lancers will travel to Hopkinton on Tuesday to face the Hillers for what promises

to be an exciting meet.  Both teams are undefeated in the league.  

Though they don't get much publicity, it is noteworthy that the JV Lancers are now 12-1 this season

and looking forward to competing in the JV dual meet tournament on Saturday.  Top performers so

far include Devin Santangelo (17 wins), Patrick Feeney (16 wins), Mike McNichols (15 wins), Johnny

Rahwan & Travis Felice (14 wins), Devin Wollenhaupt & Adrian Sokolowski (13 wins), Connor Merriott,

Kaelan O'Neill & JT O'Brien (12 wins) and Matt Mahoney & Cam Vatalaro (11 wins). 

Go, Lancers!

Big Win over Holliston and Quad Sweep at Cohasset

The Lancers put up four more victories this week without some key wrestlers

in the starting line-up which is a tribute to the depth and toughness of this squad.

Wednesday was Senior Night and co-captains Russell Hansen, Elliott Johnson,

Adam Marcon and Alek Donovan were honored, along with classmates Jordan 

Dowdy and Jake Kent for their outstanding legacy of achievement and sportsmanship.  

Over the course of their four years at NHS, the Lancers have won 100 meets and have 

lost only 8.  During this time Norton has won 2 league, 3 sectional and 2 state titles and 

has been awarded the State Sportsmanship Award by the wrestling officials association!

Following the Senior Night Ceremony, the Lancers went on to defeat Holliston 44-25.

The Panthers always are a tough opponent and the win puts the Lancers in position to

challenge undefeated Hopkinton for the league championship if they can get past

Bellingham-Medway this Wednesday evening.

On Friday the team traveled to Cohasset for a quad meet and beat the host Skippers 

52-25 as well as Bristol-Plymouth / Coyle-Cassidy 48-10 and Dighton-Rehobeth 33-7.  

This puts the team's record at 17-3.

Undefeated through the week were Deven Schuko (132), Jodan Dowdy (152), 

Connor Merriott and Lucas Lavallee (splitting duties at 195), Adam Marcon (220) 

and Alek Donovan (285).

Go, Lancers!

4-0 Week for Lancers!

The Lancers posted four victories this week and extended their home winning streak to 

31 straight!  On Wednesday, led by Aidan Kahn's hard-fought decision over the Broncos' team captain, Norton rolled to a 52-18 win against a scrappy Ashland-Keefe Tech team.  Taylor Lucero, Anthony Cardone, Kyle Pereira, Jake Burgess and Alek Donovan all registered pins while Andy Murphy and Zach Scarpetti added major decisions.  

At a home quad on Saturday the Lancers first took on talented Sabis Springfield, winners of the Longmeadow Tournament in December, and won 43-18.  Next they beat a tough, physical Oliver Ames team 51-25 and in the final meet of the day handled a young Mansfield team 58-4.  Triple winners on the day for Norton included Brendan Merriott, Zach Scarpetti, Jake Burgess, Adam Marcon, Alek Donovan and Deven Schuko who is now 21-1 on the season!

The Lancer JVs also enjoyed a successful week with wins on Wednesday and Saturday and came up big today at the Holliston JV tournament where 11 of 16 Norton wrestlers earned medals by finishing top three in their weight classes.  Devin Santangelo, Travis Felice, Connor Merriott, JT O'Brien and Kaelan O'Neill all were champions of their 

weight classes!

Norton is now 13-3 and takes on Holliston at home this Wednesday evening in a showdown of Tri-Valley League rivals which is certain to be an exciting meet.  

Go, Lancers!  

Lancers Win Peckham Tournament with a Great Team Effort!

Last Saturday the Lancers took a 54-17 beating by a strong Somerset-Berkley team.  

This Saturday they showed how resilient and competitive they are by winning the
James Peckham Tournament at Canton by a narrow margin over Somerset-Berkley
and the rest of the 9-team field at Canton HS.  This is the 6th time since 2008 that the Lancers have won the championship trophy at this invitational tournament!

The key to the team victory was a well-balanced attack.  An impressive 11 Norton wrestlers placed in the top 4 in their weight classes and all 14 Lancers won matches to contribute to the team's total score.  Sophomore Justin Lunn, won 3 matches in his first varsity tournament to finish 4th.  Juniors Jake Burgess and Lucas Lavallee took away 3rd place bronze medals, while sophomores Andy Murphy, Brendan Merriott, and Kyle Pereira as well as juniors Anthony Cardone and Aidan Kahn along with senior co-captain Adam Marcon all took 

home silver medals as runners-up.

The Lancer stars who burned the brightest, however, were junior Deven Schuko and senior co-captain Alek Donovan.  Schuko won his 2nd tournament of the season, avenged last Saturday's 5-4 loss to the #1 seed from Somerset with a dominant 12-0 major decision in the finals to not only earn a gold medal, but also the tournament's "outstanding wrestler" trophy!  Schuko is now 17-1 on the season.  Donovan also had a brilliant day, avenging a 2-1 overtime loss to his Somerset opponent with a 4-1 overtime win this time and, in the process, clinching the team championship with his hard-fought victory!  His record so far this season is 14-2.

Challenging Quad at Somerset-Berkley

On Saturday the Lancers defeated Sharon (52-21) but lost to Somerset-Berkley (54-17) and Hingham (42-30) in hard-fought battles.  Jake Burgess and Alek Donovan were undefeated on the day.  The team is now 7-3 and will compete in its first Tri-Valley League meet at home this Wednesday evening against AMSA-Assabet Valley and then head to Canton on Saturday for the James Peckham Invitational Tournament.