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After the Winchester High qualified wrestlers competed hard over two days last weekend (Feb. 20, 21) in the State Division 1 Meet at North Andover High School, Mother Nature gave them a break to rest and recuperate with Monday’s blizzard that resulted in two days off from school.
There was much to be proud of at the divisional meet, starting with a Top 10 finish – ninth overall – out of 50 statewide teams. It was the program’s highest finish in many years.
For the record, the Top 10 Division 1 schools were Central Catholic (224 points), Shawsheen (174), St. John's Prep (120), Leominster (79), Bristol-Plymouth (76.5), New Bedford (71.5), Methuen (65.5), Andover (61.5), Winchester (59.5), Wellesley (55.5) and Franklin (55.5).
“Division 1 is objectively the toughest division throughout the entire state,” said Assistant Coach Vitaly Napadow. “We had seven wrestlers competing, and most of the boys contributed to our point total, while underclassmen Rani Audi (106-pounds) and Leo Gannon (132) got a taste of competing on the big stage.”
Winchester’s Ele Siciliano competed in the girls state divisional tournament at 114-pounds.
“Win or lose, getting that feel for the state tournament is an important (first) step to coming back next year and winning those back-to-back close matches,” said Napadow.
Senior Luca Kovacev, however, had his season and career come to an end after going 1-2 last weekend.
“Luca made huge strides this year, and competed hard in this tournament,” said Napadow.
Kovacev compiled a 35-18 record over the last two years, and throughout his four-year high school career he amassed 66 wins.
Senior captains Kai Napadow Baquero (120-pounds, third place) and Eddie Donlon (138-pounds, third) were the team leaders last weekend in North Andover. Senior captain Ilyas Malik (175) finished fifth.
Shaun Garrett placed eighth overall last weekend at 215, and ended up 24-15 on the year.
“(Garrett) has been a solid competitor, and was a perfect example of how upper weight classes can be filled in nicely by tough football kids looking for a winter sport. Hopefully, that message gets out to the underclassmen,” said Napadow.
The entire Winchester wrestling program, along with the parents, showed up to cheer on the qualifying wrestlers to that Top 10 finish.
“It meant a lot to the wrestlers to see that support,” said Napadow.
The Top 5 wrestlers in each weight class at the divisional meet is now moving on to the All-State Meet at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield on March 1 and 2, and as a result all three aforementioned Winchester captains are heading to Springfield to represent head coach Ryan Errico’s program.
“Kai, Eddie and Ilyas will be competing over two days, and they’ll have to place in the Top 6 to qualify for the All-New England Meet the following weekend,” said Napadow. “But I know that these boys will be battling until the end.”
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
