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!