Three Mount Everett Wrestlers Reach State Semi-Finals
WAKEFIELD, Mass. -- Five Berkshire County wrestlers are still in the hunt for Division 3 State Championships, including three from Mount Everett.
Connor Lupiani, Diego Cruz and Tyler Candelari Friday advanced to Saturday's semi-finals at the state meet.
Their wins and the performances of their teammates were enough to put the Eagles in third place out of 55 teams in the team standings.
Mount Everett has 38 points heading into the tournament's second and final day. Melrose leads the field with 72 points.
At 106 pounds, Cruz earned a pair of pins on Friday to advance to a Final Four bout against Keefe Tech's Kevin Ribeiro.
Lupiani at 113 got a first-period pin in his first round and stopped his second opponent with one second left in the match to set up a semi-final against Michael Thomas of Melrose.
Tyler Candelari also advanced on Friday with a pair of pins at 126 pounds. On Saturday, he will face host Wakefield's Andrew Valley in the semis.
All five Mount Everett grapplers to qualify for the state meet are still wrestling. Max Manning (120) and Omar Cruz (138) wrestle in the consolation bracket on Saturday.
The Taconic Thunder sit in 15th place in the team standings with Noah Poirier still alive for an individual title.
Poirier pinned two opponents in a combined two minutes on Friday to reach the semi-finals at 160 pounds. He will face Carver's Joseph Tully on Saturday.
West Dews (126), Broc Healey (170) and Jake Hall (182) of Taconic are all still alive in the consys.
Three Monument Mountain wrestlers will hit the mats on Saturday, led by 113-pounder Colin Kinne.
Kinne pinned two opponents on Friday to earn a spot in the semi-finals against Mahar's Abduli Gilmore.
Monument's Shaun Frank (182) and Luke Hartshorn (195) are still alive in the consolation brackets.
So are Mount Greylock's Aiden MacPherson (160) and Nicholas Bellora (195). They will battle for third place in their weight classes when action resumes on Saturday.