Andover places 3rd, with 2 champs and 12 placers
At the Class A tournament at Phillips Exeter, Andover placed 3rd out of 8 teams. Leading the way were co-captains Arnav Bhakta '22 and Colin Nugent '23, who both won their individual weight classes. At 126 lbs, Arnav Bhakta went 2-0, with a pin in the semis and an 8-5 decision in the finals. At 145 lbs, Colin Nugent went 3-0, with a pin in the quarters and semifinals, and a solid 6-0 decision in the finals.
At 113 lbs, George Ryckman '24 went 2-1, scoring two pins on route to the finals, before he dropped a tough match to a challenging opponent. At 106 lbs, Sakina Cotton '24 went 1-1, pinning her opponent in the semifinals before losing in the finals to a more experienced opponent. At 132 lbs, Miles Palmer '23 went 2-1, pinning his opponents in the quarterfinals and semifinals, before losing a tough match in the finals.
At 132 lbs, Dani Nugent '25 had a great comeback tournament. She lost her first match in the quarterfinals, and rallied in the consolation rounds with a pin and a 9-1 decision. In the 3rd place match, she faced her first opponent, and this time she defeated him 2-0. At 170 lbs, Ben Forman '23 went 3-1 with three pins en route to his 3rd place finish. At 120 lbs, Glen Cahilly '23 won his quarterfinals match 6-3, but then lost his semifinals match to the eventual champion. He then won his next two matches, including an exciting 8-6 decision, to place 3rd.
At 138 lbs, Bodhi Beroukhim '25 opened his tournament with a 23-9 major decision. He lost in the semifinals, but pinned his opponent in the consolation semifinals. He lost his next match, and placed 4th.
At 160 lbs Josh Espinoza '25 went 1-2. He lost his first two matches, but in the 5th place match he rallied and pinned his opponent in the 2nd period. At 120 lbs, Eva Murphy '25 went 1-2 and placed 6th, and had an exciting 13-0 major decision. At 220 Adrian Morrison '23 wrestled in a tough weight class and took 6th place.
Also competing well for Andover were Theo Kim '23, Nick Lima '25, and Victory Anikwue '23. Overall the team took 3rd place out of 8 teams. Next week, Andover heads to the New England Championships at Deerfield.