St. Paul's School wrestling team came out on top against Phillips Andover Academy in an exciting dual meet at the 8-School Tournament, securing a 47-36 win.
The match began at 138 pounds, where St. Paul's Charlie Lussier set the tone with a dominant 17-0 tech fall over Daniella Nugent, giving SPS an early 5-point lead. At 144 pounds, Chris Chabla extended that lead with a quick pin of Eva Murphy in just 0:51, bringing the score to 11-0 in favor of St. Paul's.
The action continued with Finn Merell (150) securing a quick fall putting SPS ahead 17-0. Phillips Andover James Bae quickly pinned
Bo Williams (157) , putting Andover on the board 17-6. Phillips Andover responded with a win from Sean Flynn at 165 pounds, pinning
Dylan Rodgers in 3:40 to narrow the gap to 17-12.
From there, St. Paul's capitalized on the upper-weight matches, as Alex High (175) received a forfeit, and both
Rhys Henrikson (190), and Mike Seward (215) scored falls, increasing the lead to 35-12. At 285 pounds, Phillips Andover's Sebastian Haferd earned a pin over
Harlem Taylor, putting Andover closer to 35-18.
St. Paul's rallied back as
Markus Lu (106) pinned Christian Robinson of Phillips Andover in the second period pushing SPS to 41-18. Phillips Andover responded with three consecutive wins. Serra Akyali (113), Julian Rios (120), and Brady Haskell (126) each earned falls, putting Andover close to SPS 41-36. As
Ian Chang (132) capped off a strong victory, pinning Narek Hambardzumyan in 2:10, securing St. Paul's to win, 47-36.
With strong performances from Lussier, Chabla, Merell, and the upper-weight wrestlers, St. Paul's secured an exciting victory.
