Akshay Paintal ’07 set an Andover record for most dual wins in a season and surpassed his own record for the most dual points in a season, as Andover went 2-1 on Saturday then lost to North Andover on Wednesday. At 15-5 in the season and 12-3 in the Class A League, Andover is battling its way to the top. On Saturday, the team defeated Providence Country Day 66-10 and Tilton Academy 66-18, but lost to Northfield Mount Hermon 27-42. In the total annihilation of PCD, Hector Cintron ’08, Colin Dunn ’07, Randy Garcia ’06, Captain Gabe Worgaftik ’06, and Nick Bowen ’06 all pinned their opponents. Andover had a season high of nine pins against Tilton, courtesy of Cintron, Dunn, AJ Charles ’08, Garcia, Captain Worgaftik, Sam Cartmell ’06, Akshay Paintal ’07, Colin Serafino ’06, and Gordon Murphy ’06. Charles, with an exceptional pin, avenged a loss from last weekend’s match. In a match between Class A wrestling superpowers. Andover fell to NMH. Andover was a weakened giant, fighting without its top stars Brian Foye ’06 and Shaun Stuer ’09. With the meet starting at the 189-pound weight class, Cintron moved up from his usual 171 pounds to seize an astounding 6-5 win over a seasoned opponent. Fighting in double overtime, Serafino was able to overpower his opponent at heavyweight with a score of 3-2. Weighing in at 112 pounds, Paintal took a 4-1 victory. Charles, at 125 pounds, wrestled tough but was unable to pull off a win. He barely lost with a score of 5-4. Victor Vazquez ’06, Captain Worgaftik and Bowen all had pins in the middle weights, but PA was still unable to gain a victory. Overall on Saturday, Serafino, Cintron, Paintal, and Captain Worgaftik all came away with 3-0 records. Captain Worgaftik was able to show off his might with three pins. Setting a new pair of school records, Paintal is building quite a reputation in the wrestling community. He has set a record for the most dual meet wins in a season at 18, and has now broken his own record of 94 for the most dual meet points in a season, with 104 points. On Wednesday, Andover wrestled well but was unable to pull off a win over perennial powerhouse North Andover. As the number one team in the state, with an undefeated record of 27 consecutive wins and having won 43 straight dual meets, North Andover unsurprisingly came out victorious by a score of 52-8. In the utter demolition, PA’s grapplers won only two matches. Paintal won with a tech and Cintron won by minor decision. Dunn narrowly lost a hard fought match. However, the losses to North Andover and NMH haven’t lowered the team’s morale in the slightest. When asked about her expectations for the rest of the season, wrestler Rachel Cohen ’08 replied, “We’ve had a few upsets but we’re still going strong and tournament season is just around the corner. I expect we will do well.”
