Lupiani Places Second at State Championships

WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- Mount Everett's Connor Lupiani Saturday placed second in state at the Division 3 State Championship wrestling meet.

 

Lupiani started his day with a 12-4 win over Wakefield's Andrew Valley in the semi-finals of the 126-pound weight class.

 

In the title bout, No. 1 seed Michaell Harris of Hampden Charter East pinned Lupiani 3 minutes, 25 seconds in to claim the crown.

 

Lupiani was the top finisher from the Berkshire County contingent at the state meet.

 

His teammate, Diego Cruz, finished his weekend with a 9-3 win over Rockland's James Spinney in the third-place bout at 106.

 

Cruz lost, 8-4, to Ashland's Logan Costello in the semi-finals on Saturday morning but came back to pin Lynnfield/North Reading's Nathan Barstow in the consolation bracket and earn a place in the consy final.

 

Lupiani and Cruz led the Eagles to the best team performance among the four Berkshire County squads. The Eagles placed 17th out of 51 teams with 44 points in a meet won by Tewksbury with 151.5 points.

 

Two other Berkshire County wrestlers were alive in their championship brackets going into Saturday's competition.

 

Taconic's Noah Poirier placed third at 175 pounds.

 

Poirier Saturday morning lost, 8-0, to Ashland's Anton Puhach in the semi-finals. He then recorded two straight pins to claim the bronze, stopping East Longmeadow's Cole Johnson in the middle of the third period and Wakefield's Zach Arria at 2:20 of the third-place bout.

 

Taconic's West Dews ended his weekend with a win in the seventh-place bout at 132 pounds. He pinned Wayland's Michael Keenan at the 1:32 mark to finish on top.

 

Mount Greylock walked out of Wakefield Memorial High School with three medals on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Mounties' Jacob Borawski, who reached the state semi-finals at 175 pounds, placed sixth his weight class.

 

His teammates Logan O'Connell (215) and Jake Newberry (285) placed seventh and eighth, respectively.