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It was an historic day for the Winchester High School (WHS) wrestling team after successfully co-hosting the first Glen Doherty Memorial Wrestling Tournament in conjunction with the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation on Dec. 13.
A total of 17 teams participated in this invitational tournament.
The tournament honored Doherty, who was tragically killed defending a U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2012. Doherty was a 1988 Winchester High graduate, where he was a proud member of the wrestling program.
Teams, coming as far away as Maine, competed well throughout the day in the new gym, but in the end, it was Middlesex League rival Melrose that came out on top, followed by the Saugus / Peabody co-op. Both teams received trophies for their efforts.
Before the tournament got underway, former WHS wrestling Coach Larry Tremblay, who ended up becoming the winningest coach in the state, spoke fondly of his past star Glen Doherty.
Overall, 221 wrestlers competed in 207 championship matches and 193 consolation matches – those with at least one loss – throughout the course of the day.
The host team finished a respectable ninth, led by captain Eddie Donlon, who won his 138-pound bracket. Henry Wallace, at 120-pounds, accounted for second. At 175-pounds, Ilyas Malik was credited with a third-place finish. Luca Kovacev came in fourth against his 165-pound counterparts, while Rani Audi, wrestling at 106-pounds, settled for sixth place.
At the end of the meet, those who are connected with the Glen Doherty Memorial Foundation were thrilled with the tournament and all of the volunteers, who planned this event for close to a year. It was a great way to launch the 2025-26 Red & Black season.
Coach Ryan Errico’s team then went on to drop a close decision to Reading in the Middlesex League opener on Dec. 17, 46-33. Following that meet, they were scheduled to be at UMass / Lowell’s Tsongas Center on Dec. 19 and 20 for another invitational tournament heading into the Christmas break.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News last November.
