Sports

Andover Wrestling Dominates in Every Weight Class; PA Earns Four Victories in ‘Andover Duals’ on Saturday

Andover Wrestling cemented its place as one of the premier teams in the Class A League this week, posting a perfect 5-0 record that included a narrow victory over the previously second- ranked team from Tabor Academy. On Saturday, Andover played host to the “Andover Duals.” Four teams: Deerfield, Providence Country Day, Hyde-Maine and Hyde-Connecticut, made the trip down to the Cage to battle against the other schools. Andover’s first match of the day saw them facing a tough but inconsistent Deerfield team. Andover got a quick start from Captains Hector Cintron ’08 and Shaun Stuer ’09, both of whom recorded pins. Fearing Reid Mosquera ’09, the currently first ranked 215-pounder in the Class A’s, Deerfield chose to forfeit the match at 215 and instead put their only big man against Alex Gottfried ’09 at Heavyweight. Gottfried soon made the Deerfield coaching staff regret their decision, recording a pin in the final seconds of the match. Finding itself ahead by a score of 24-6 going into the lightweights, Andover barely faltered the rest of the way, winning by a final score of 54-25. After dispatching Deerfield with relative ease, Andover next competed against its greatest challenge of the day in the form of a solid team from Hyde-Connecticut. The match again began with pins from Captains Stuer and Cintron, followed by a forfeit to Mosquera and another pin by Gottfried. However, the team from Hyde began to close the gap, and coming down the final stretch the two teams were neck and neck. Andover finally managed to put the match out of reach thanks to a crucial pin at 140 pounds by Ben Elder ’09 and a narrow victory over last year’s Class A champion by Scott Sanderson ’09. Sam Dodge ’09 put the finishing touches on a 41-25 victory, winning a major decision in the last match. Following a brief break, Andover next faced off with Hyde-Maine. The team came out wrestling hard and never let up, winning by a final score of 55-15. Mosquera proved that his fearsome reputation was well deserved, winning by pin in his first match of the day. In the final match of the day, Andover faced Providence Country Day and the team failed to drop a single match for a final score of 72-0. After its remarkable display on Saturday, Andover returned to practice, working hard to prepare itself for its meet on Wednesday against second ranked Tabor Academy. Silencing jeers and taunts from a rowdy home crowd, each and every Andover wrestler performed up to his potential as the Blue took home an impressive five-point victory. Several members of the team proved yet again how much they have improved, as Duncan Crystal ’10 won an 11-3 decision, while Captain Cintron demolished an opponent who had pinned him in under a minute his Lower year.