NORTH ANDOVER – When the public address announcer introduced the Div. 1 wrestling state championship’s finalists Saturday afternoon, two of Shawsheen Tech’s most prolific wrestlers didn’t give their stats to be read out like most of the others did.
Instead, the packed crowd knew them as Sidney and James Tildsley, who were competing in memory of late coaching legend Mark Donovan, who founded the program in the 1980s and died from cancer in 2021.
Senior Sidney Tildsley went on to win his fourth individual Div. 1 state title at 138 pounds. Junior James Tildsely won his third at 150. But more importantly, the Rams scored 160 points to edge out the program’s first state title as a team, which was Donovan’s greatest ambition for a Div. 3-sized school that he opted up every year he coached.
Central Catholic placed second with 157.5 points in a wild finish, while three-time defending state champion St. John’s Prep came in third (129 points).
Shawsheen head coach Doug Pratt quickly came to tears with one mention of Donovan’s name after the meet, needing to walk away. As a team, the Rams’ first stop before going home was an important one.
“We’re headed to (Donovan’s) grave right now to deliver (the trophy),” said Shawsheen assistant coach Brian Tildsley. “It’s just so special for the program. Everybody knows Mark Donovan. The gym is named after him. It’s just an amazing testament to what he did for us.”
This has been a long time coming for a program that’s felt close to this achievement in years past. Several of the wrestlers just won their first state title with the football team in the fall, and this was a continuation.
“We’ve never won it as a team,” said Sidney Tildsley said. “For us to be a small, little tech team, taking out these teams that can take kids from anywhere – we worked harder than these other teams and that’s why we came out on top. … It’s just amazing to win D-1s and we’re hoping to win All-States next week.”
James Tildsley defeated Leominster’s Troy Greaney (21-6), and Sidney Tildsley defeated Monty Tech’s Cooper Wiebe via forfeit (injury). Teammate Dante Giusti also won a title at 120 over Haverhill’s Cale Wood (11-3).
Logan Holmes finished runner-up at 165 for the Rams, and four others finished top six.
“This sport’s an individual sport, but when it comes to the Div. 1 state tournament, it’s really a team sport,” Brian Tildsley said.
Central Catholic needed just three points to take the crown after Shawsheen’s last wrestler competed, and had qualifiers in the 175-pound, 190-pound and 215-pound finals. But Methuen’s Vincent Demaio defeated Rhys Dewar (11-4), Taunton’s Elijah Prophete defeated Caden Chase (6-4), and Haverhill’s Matt Harrold pinned Jackson Meehan (2:50).
“(It) was a blessing for us,” Sidney Tildsley said. “He’s helped us twice, so I owe Matty Harrold a steak dinner.”
Cole Glynn pinned New Bedford’s Anthony Bojorquez (3:06) at 113 for Central Catholic, and teammate Caden Smith defeated Chelmsford’s Michael Canada (4-2) at 157.
Andover junior Yandel Morales (132) earned his 200th win and a third state title by defeating Xaverian’s George Mcateer (19-3). St. John’s Prep had a pair of first-place winners in Braedon Goes (5-4 over Xaverian’s Nathan Sayers at 126) and James Lally (13-4 over Leominster’s Dan Greaney at 144).
The Framingham girls wrestling program also secured its first Div. 1 state title in thrilling fashion, scoring 73 points to edge reigning champion Lowell (72).
Sophomore Adriana Degroat won the day’s most outstanding wrestler as state champion at 120.
“It’s awesome for the girls, we’ve been building for a couple years,” said Flyers head coach Erik Delehanty. “We had (three) seniors – one was a champ, one took second – and they were kind of the backbone of building this girls’ program the last four years. … We built together, we stuck through it, and we knew we had a talented team.”
“We stressed all year that they were good enough to win a team title, and it worked,” he continued.
Degroat won both her matches via pin, winning the state title over Winchester’s Maria Baldwin (1:35). Senior Leah Condriet took the 132-pound title by pinning Springfield Central’s Solimary Cruz-Sedan (3:33), and senior Jaymie Last was runner-up at 138.
Teammates Parker Robles took fourth at 100, Penelope Trostel won a match at 107, and senior Natalie Barney showed strong leadership.
“Team effort,” Delehanty said. “Penelope Trostel was a round from placing, but she won a match for us. That, in a sense, dictates if we win.”
Lowell was led by state titles from Amada Moundele at 165 and Amelyiah Martinez at 235. Methuen also had a pair of titles from Asher Polanco (138) and Janessa Santiago (145). Springfield Central had four top-three finishers.