Highlighted by five pins in a match against Deerfield, Andover went undefeated on Saturday in a quad meet at home. Andover won all three of its matches in the quad meet, and added another win against Tabor on Wednesday. In its first opponent of the quad meet, Andover charged out, soundly demolishing Deerfield 68-3. Nikhil Baradwaj ’13, Brandon Sneider ’12, Will Park ’11, Robert Palmer ’11, and Co-Captain Ryan Gaiss ’11 all pinned their opponents. Combined with five forfeits and two decisions, Andover wrestlers dominated the meet from start to finish. After a shaky start to the meet against Hyde School of Bath, Maine, Andover wrestlers quickly recovered, pinning eight Hyde wrestlers. Karl Hardin ’11 pinned his opponent at 215 pounds, along with forfeits won by Auggie Horner ’14 at 103 pounds, Christian Vallis ’14 at 112 pounds, and Sneider at 130 pounds, to secure the dominating 66-15 Andover victory. In its last meet of the day, Andover once again dominated the score sheet, beating the Hyde School of Woodstock, CT 58-18. Tharp started off the exciting match by pinning his opponent as time wound down. Horner also pinned his opponent, continuing his impressive string of victories on the day. Andover dominated as the match wore down, pinning four out of the last six bouts of the match to secure another victory, and a 3-0 record for Andover on the day. Andover also took on NMH over the weekend in an always exciting match, which did not disappoint. Vallis wrestled an intense match in the 112 pound weight class, as the two talented wrestlers battled back and forth. Vallis edged out the NMH wrestler in a close 4-3 decision for the win. Needing a win to maintain momentum in the match, veteran Sneider stepped out onto the mat, wrestling at 125 pounds. Sneider commanded the match from the outset, eventually pinning his opponent halfway through the 2nd period. After two NMH victories, Co-Captain Colton Dempsey ’12, wrestling at 140 pounds, stepped onto the mat. Dempsey displayed his incredible skill and strength, dominating his opponent by pinning him in the 2nd period. Gaiss, wrestling at 145 pounds, also pinned his opponent quickly, giving Andover a 21-18 lead in the meet. Unfortunately, Andover lost its next two matches at 152 pounds and 160 pounds, respectively. Palmer, wrestling at 171, looked to get Andover back into the meet. Trailing 4-3 late in the match, Palmer escaped a strong tie-up with four seconds to go, tying the score 4-4. With time running down, Palmer took down his opponent with two seconds left in overtime to secure the 6-4 victory. “Although I was disappointed to lose in front of the home crowd to our rival, I was proud of our guys,” Dempsey said. “We went there with the right mentality and never relented. We still have a large portion of the season ahead of us, and we plan to put in plenty of hard work to win Class A’s, like we did two years ago following a loss at home to NMH.” On Wednesday against Tabor, Dempsey immediately set the tone for the match, pinning his opponent commandingly in the first period. Anthony Tedesco ’12 kept the momentum going, as he also pinned his opponent in the 160 pound matchup. After a Big Blue forfeit in the 285 pound matchup, a key forfeit gained by Horner and an incredible pin by Vallis propelled Andover back into the lead. Consecutive pins by Lerner, Sneider, Park, and Gaiss completed the match and gave Andover the crucial win at home, 46-33. Andover now has a short turnaround, hosting a quad meet at home on Saturday against Loomis, Roxbury-Latin, and Belmont Hill.
