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HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING NOTES

Milton wrestlers surprise opponents with depth

Milton wrestling coach Ted Carroll began with just a six-wrestler squad in 2007. jim davis/globe staff/Globe Staff

When Ted Carroll became the Milton wrestling coach in 2007, there were only six wrestlers on the team.

“I was taking kids to matches in my minivan,” he said.

More than a decade later, the fruits of Carroll’s labor paid off when Milton pulled off a surprising upset last Saturday and won the Division 2 Metro sectional at Woburn High School after having placed eighth, ninth, fourth, and 10th over the last four seasons. The Wildcats finished with 204.5 points, 37 ahead of runner-up Burlington. Burlington, third-place Arlington, and fourth-place Winchester, were expected to be the top contenders for the title.

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What’s even more surprising is the Wildcats won without a team champion. Burlington, seventh-place Woburn, and Winchester had three champions each and Arlington had two, as well as three second-place finishers. Milton seniors Alex Caputo (195 pounds), Micah Allen (220), and Ryan McGroarty (285) lost their finals matches, but 11 Wildcats placed in the top four.

“Having 14 solid kids is better than having five studs,” Carroll said.

Milton’s balance showed during the regular season when it went 13-5-1 and even beat Bay State Herget Division champion Weymouth. But when it came to the postseason, the Wildcats’ win surprised even themselves. They expected to place in the top four, but when they won eight of their nine consolation-round semifinal matches to advance to the third-fourth place round, those advancement points gave them a big edge.

“At that point, the [other] coaches were congratulating us,” Carroll said. “As soon as it happened, we were elated. It was really nice to get that award, to have that success.

“Coach was kind of surprised, too,” Allen said. “We weren’t interested in the score until later in [the tournament], toward the finals. I was kind of surprised how far we were ahead.”

Allen lost to Boston Latin’s Olamadide Adeyeri in his finals match.

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Milton wrestlers Micah Allen (bottom) and Ryan McGroarty (top) are pictured at a team practice session. jim davis/globe staff/Globe Staff

Each section in the state gives out a Coach of the Year award at its postseason tournament and Carroll earned the honors for Division 2 Metro.

“Our coaches have always said we’re a physical team. We may not have the best technique but we’re a physical team, but our physicality, out endurance makes us win,” said McGroarty, who lost to Arlington’s Charles Gillis in his finals match.

The firsts continue at the Division 2 state tournament at Beverly High School, which began Friday afternoon and ends Saturday afternoon. Each of the 11 wrestlers, plus 120-pounder Alex Malmstrom, who placed fifth and qualified as an alternate, is wrestling in the state tournament for the first time.

“Our competitors are all tough. It wasn’t easy to get that win but we managed somehow,” Allen said.

Milton prides itself on its scrappy mentality, even after the win. The team practices on just three sections of an unevenly rolled-out mat in a corner of its field house, partitioned off from the much larger track and field team. The practice conditions, however, never affect their resolve.

“It was one of the best teams we’ve had in a while, said Caputo, who lost to Wellesley’s Luke Celli is his finals match When we were looking around, we didn’t have the . . . intimidating kids that people have, we have a lot of technical kids. But we have kids who came to work every day.”

Milton wrestler Alex Caputo is pictured at a team practice session. jim davis/globe staff/Globe Staff

The consensus among the Wildcats now is they don’t expect to come away with a state championship at weekend’s end. Teams like North champion Central Catholic and South champion North Attleborough dominated their respective sectional tournaments last week and have the elite star power Milton lacks. Central Catholic also has 10 wrestlers in the field and North Attleborough has nine. But even if the road ends here for many Milton wrestlers, they’ll forever have that sectional championship banner hanging in the field house above their makeshift practice space.

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“When we won that, I was like ‘First time in school history, baby,’ ” McGroarty said. “Banner season.”

Near falls

■  Masconomet senior Jack Darling has a chance to join a special club at the Division 2 state tournament this weekend. Darling, the top seed at 132 pounds and son of Masco coach Todd Darling, can join a small group of wrestlers who have won four state championships. He won at 106 as a freshman in 2016, at 113 in 2017, and 120 last season. The four-time champions are Robert Millinazzo, Greater Lowell (1984-87); James Kennedy, Lowell (1984-87); Mark Larame, Rockland (1993-98); Bob Lewis, Carver (1998-2001); Frank Sforza, Rockland (1997-2002); Mike Pedro, St. John’s Prep (1998-2002); Joe Fendone, Central Catholic (2001-04); Casey Boyle, Lowell (2001-05); Brian Sheehan, Lowell (2003-06); John Sughrue, Methuen (2005-08); Derek Golner, Tyngsboro (2007-10), and Christian Monserrat, Methuen (2011-14)

■  Action at the second day of the Division 1, 2, and 3 state tournaments will begin at approximately 9:30 a.m. Saturday with the second-round consolation matches, followed by the semifinals, consolation quarterfinals, and consolation semifinals. The finals, third-place, and fifth-place matches for all three divisions are projected to start at 3 p.m.

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■  Division 1 (Methuen High School): Central champion Franklin and West champion Springfield Central each have 12 wrestlers in the tournament. West runner-up West Springfield has 11, while Central runner-up Brookline and North runner-up St. John’s Prep each have nine. North champion Haverhill has eight wrestlers and South champion Mansfield has seven. Springfield Central — winner of four of the last six state championships — overpowered the fields at the George Bossi Lowell Holiday Tournament and the Coaches Association Division 1 duals, and look like the favorite. View the bracketshere

■  Division 2 (Beverly High School): North Attleborough has won two of the last three state titles (2016, 2018) with Central Catholic finishing in second both those years. Central Catholic has 10 wrestlers in the tournament and North Attleborough has nine, but with the way Central Catholic stormed through the Division 2 duals, the Raiders look like the favorite this year. Hereare the brackets.

■  Division 3 (Wakefield Memorial High School): This may be the most wide open tournament of the three. Host and North champion Wakefield has 10 wrestlers, South champion Norton has 10, West champion Taconic has nine, and South runner-up Foxborough has eight. Central champion Tri-County and runner-up Wayland each have seven. Norton and Tri-County look like the two deepest teams in the field and could battle neck-and-neck for the title.

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Here are the brackets.

Wrestler of the Week

Patrick Griffin, Tri-County

The junior 132-pounder got the most pins in the least amount of time as the Cougars won their first sectional title. Griffin, the top seed in his bracket, pinned all four of his opponents in a total of 9:02 and pinned Keefe Tech’s Joey Bonina in 2:59 in the finals.


Brandon Chase can be reached at brandon.chase@globe.com.