Schools
Early Christmas Gift: TMHS Wrestlers Pin Historic Win On Lowell [VIDEO]
Redmen beat the Red Raiders for the first time in over 20 years, take two of three at Shawsheen Quad
The last time a beat Lowel High in a dual meet, the seniors on this year's team were, well, still in their parents' future plans.
It was 1989,, so TMHS had gone almost 22 years since its last win over the perennial state powers from neighboring Lowell.
Until Friday night.
Find out what's happening in Tewksburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Sparked by masterful performances from Mike Davidian and Chris London, who both pinned their opponents in the first period, Tewksbury screamed out to a 39-6 lead over the shell-shocked Red Raiders, and cruised to a 42-30 win.
Unfortunately, host Shawsheen Tech took some of the shine off TMHS' big win over Lowell by coming from behind to knock off Tewksbury in the second match of the night. The Redmen rebounded with a 42-12 win over Tyngsboro in the third match, and walked out of the Tech with a 5-2 dual meet record so far this year.
Find out what's happening in Tewksburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"It was a good night and it could have been a great night," Aylward said afterward. "I think we left a little too much of it on the mat after that first match, but beating Lowell is nothing to shake a stick at. That's a great program and our kids wrestled great. They knew how important that match was and they responded."
got Tewksbury started in the Lowell match, winning by pinfall in the second period to tie the score at 6-6. Joe Burger followed suit at 138 with a second period pin, and in the third period at 145 to make it 18-6.
After Brandon McCarthy pulled out a dramatic overtime win (a 6-4 decision) at 152, Davidian and London made short work of their Lowell opponents with first period pins, and before the Red Raiders knew what hit them, Tewksbury had a commanding 33-6 lead. Derek Tarpey won by forfeit at 182, and sophomore Nick Jansen closed out the match with a big 6-5 decision in the heavyweight division.
Against Shawsheen Tech, the Redmen again dominated through the middle weights and jumped out to a big lead, but this time they could not hold on. Greenwood got his second pin of the night at 132, then Davidian (160), London (170) and Tarpey (185) all won by fall as Tewksbury built a 24-13 lead.
After a loss at 195, When Jansen got his second pin of the day at heavyweight, the Redmen were ahead by a 33-19 score.
But Shawsheen roared back with a clean sweep of the four lightest weight classes, two by pins, one by forfeit and one by majority decision. The Rams compiled 22 points over the final four matches and pulled out a 41-33 win over TMHS.
In the third match, Tewksbury cruised to its fifth dual meet victory of the year, 45-15 over Tyngsboro. Joe Burger won a decision at 138 and Brandon McCarthy won by fall at 145 to get the Redmen out to a 9-0 lead.
Davidian won by fall at 160, London took a forfeit at 170 and Tarpey won by fall at 182 and the Redmen were ahead 27-6 after six matches. Nick Jansen (heavyweight), Mike McAteer (106) and Mike Donovan (120) all pinned their opponents, and Greenwood closed things out with a decision at 132.
On the day, London, the senior 170-pounder, remained unbeaten through seven dual meet matches, winning two matches by first period pinfalls and taking the third by forfeit. London was on the mats for a total of just 1:38 in collecting his three wins.
London, who won the 170-pound title at the Wilmington Sons Of Italy Holiday Tournament last weekend, is now 11-0 overall in 2011.
either. Davidian raised his 2011 dual meet record to 7-0 with three wins by pinfall. Six of Davidian's seven wins have come by pinfall.
Tarpey, the senior 185-pounder, also took three wins (two by first period pinfalls and one by forfeit) to raise his dual meet record to 6-1 on the year. Tarpey was on the mats for just 3:49 in getting his three wins.
Jansen, the sophomore heavyweight, also won all three of his matches, two by pinfall, raising his dual meet record to 5-2. Greenwood, Burger and McCarthy all won two matches. McCarthy is now 6-1 in dual meets.
"Our kids did a great job," Aylward said. "I'm a little disappointed in the second (Shawsheen) match because I thought we gave ourselves a chance to pull that one out. They (Shawsheen) just had a little bit too much for us today."
According to London, the TMHS wrestlers went home satisfied.
"I think we're happy," London said. "We did something we don't usually do. We beat Lowell, and we're not usually that close to Shawsheen. That one just slipped through our fingers.
"I think our confidence is higher than it's even been," London added. "We're ranked pretty high right now and I think we're only gonna get better."
Tewksbury competes in the Lowell Holiday Tournament at the Tsongas Arena next week.
