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!