RallyNorth.net

Timberlane youngsters storm to Sanford crown

With a young team, Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian wasn't sure how his team would respond to a pressure situation.

On Saturday, Chooljian found out in a positive way as the Owls rallied with four straight wins in the finals of the Sanford (Maine) Spartan Invitational to edge Connecticut power Danbury, 232 1/2-229 for the team title.

Needing a win in the last match of the day, sophomore heavyweight Noah Beaulieu delivered with a 3-1 decision and his first varsity tournament crown.

Prior to that, Connor McGonagle had a pin in the finals at 120, Cam Altobelli took aa 6-3 decision at 160 and rising sophomore Dylan Tremblay had a convincing 11-4 decision at 170. McGonagle won the tournament award for most pins in least time (four in 10:08) while Tremblay and Beaulieu rose from third seeds.

The owls showed excellent depth, placing in 11 weight classes, and were particularly strong in the lower weights. Barrett Kappler finished second at 106 with teammate Taylor Donovan third while Owls Robbie Pinault and Dylan Musgrave finished third and fourth respectively at 113.

Ryan Cole also picked up a third at 220, winning 1-0 in the consolation finals.

"Seeing the big guy win in the finals was really satisfying," said Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian. "Noah had a great tournament.

"When you have a young team, you wonder how they're going to respond when they fall behind but they really did the job."