After a Strong Showing at New Englands, Big Blue Wrestling Prepares for Nationals

Andover brought 20 wrestlers to the NEPSWA Championships hosted by Choate Rosemary Hall- 6 wrestlers in the Prep Division, and 14 wrestlers in the Girls Division. Wrestlers qualified for the Prep Division by placing top 4 at the Class A league tournament or by having a 66.6% win record throughout the season. In the Prep Division, Julian Rios ’26 (pictured above) led the way with 4 victories to become a 2x New England champion. He pinned his Roxbury Latin opponent in 20 seconds; he pinned his Suffield opponent in 20 seconds; he pinned his Belmont Hill opponent in 54 seconds; and in the finals, he defeated his Greens Farms opponent 4-0, with a first-period takedown and a reversal. Julian will compete at Prep Nationals next weekend.

At 138 Ethan Principal ’24 was seeded 8^th going into the tournament. In the Round of 16, he pinned his Portsmouth Abbey opponent in the first period; in the quarterfinals, he lost to the one seed. He rallied in the consolation round with a pin over his Brunswick opponent and a pin over his Roxbury Latin opponent to guarantee a top 6 placement. He lost in the consi-semifinals, but then decisioned his Eagle Hill opponent 6-0 to secure 5^th place. Ethan will compete at Prep Nationals next weekend.

Also competing well for Andover were 132 George Ryckman (2-2); 138 Magnus Julin (1-2); 144 Bodhi Beroukhim (1-2); and 165 Nick Lima (1-2).

In the Girls Division, we had 4 individual champions and 5 other finalists. 138 Dani Nugent ’25 led the way with three pins to claim her 3^rd consecutive New England championship. She pinned his Governors opponent in 42 seconds; she pinned her Hotchkiss opponent in 44 seconds; and she pinned her Hyde opponent in the finals in the second period after outscoring her 12-0. Dani was also voted Outstanding Wrestler of the Girls Division.

At 235 Eleanor DeHoog also earned 3 pins on her way to victory, also claiming her 3^rd consecutive New England championship. She pinned her Marianapolis opponent in the second period; she pinned her Nobles opponent in 11 seconds; and she pinned her teammate in 34 seconds.

In one of the most exciting upsets of the day, Toni Elliott ’27 earned 3 pins on her way to victory, defeating a 2x New England Champion in the finals to secure her victory. Toni pinned her Hyde opponent in the quarterfinals in 59 seconds; she pinned her NMH opponent in the semifinals in the first period; and after a back-and-forth battle in the finals that led to overtime, Toni earned the takedown and the pin to become New England champion.

At 185 McKenzie Williams ’24 earned two victories over an opponent who had defeated her earlier in the season. After a 7-6 back-and-forth match, she secured the pin in the second period. In her second match, McKenzie scored the take down and was about to turn her opponent, but her opponent got injured and withdrew from the match. McKenzie is the New England champion.

At 107 Suhaila Cotton ‘24 pinned her Choate opponent in the quarterfinals, and she pinned her Portsmouth Abbey opponent in the semifinals, before falling to her Greens Farms opponent in the finals. Suhaila places 2^nd at New Englands.

At 114 Sakina Cotton ’24 pinned her Hotchkiss opponent in the first period, and pinned her Middlesex opponent in the first period to advance in the finals. In the finals, she battled it out with her NMH opponent but lost 2-4. Sakina places 2^nd at New Englands.

At 126 Julia Carmona ’24 pinned her NMH opponent in the first period, and pinned her Marianapolis opponent in the second period to advance to the finals, where she fell to a 3x New England champion from Marianapolis Prep. Julia places 2nd at New Englands.

At 152 Bella Shmuylovich ’26 pinned her Choate opponent in the second period; she pinned her Tabor opponent in the first period; she pinned her teammate in the first period; and she fell in the finals to a 3x New England champion from St. Paul’s School. Bella places 2^nd at New Englands.

At 235 Destiny Covington ’26 pinned her Nobles opponent in 2:17; she had a beautiful reversal from bottom to a half nelson. She decisioned her Marianpolis Prep opponent 6-2, and then she fell in the finals to her teammate to take 2^nd place at New Englands.

At 120 Tasha Bohorad ’26 pinned her St. Paul’s opponent in the quarterfinals, before falling to the 2 seed in the semifinals. She then battled her way back in the consolation round, pinned her Hotchkiss opponent, and then pinned her teammate to place 3^rd.

At 120 Ophelia Lee ’26 pinned her Hotchkiss opponent with only 2 seconds left in the match. She lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion. In the consolation round, she pinned her St. Paul’s opponent in the first period, before losing a close 2-5 match to her teammate to place 4^th.

At 152 Lisa DeBoer ’26 decisioned her Tabor opponent 6-0. In her place match, she battled it out with her Choate opponent, but eventually lost 2-7, and placed 4^th at the tournament.

Also competing well for Team Abbot were 132 Luke Christodoulou ’24 (1-2) and 165 Isa Matloff ’24 (1-2).

Team Abbot claimed the team title for the 3^rd consecutive year now, earning 202 team points. The second-place team, NMH, scored 62 points.