That’s a wrap for Marblehead-Swampscott Black and Blue wrestlers, who finished the season with a team record of 6-16-1. Although it’s a team sport, there were many individuals who shined throughout the season under the guidance of coach Michael Stamison. 

Stamison stated that he wished his team accumulated more dual meet wins, but acknowledged its young roster.

“As expected, I would have liked to have had some more wins in the dual meet format, but we are very young. I expect us to be back in contention for the NEC (Northeastern Conference) next season,” Stamison said. 

One wrestler who was “as advertised,” according to Stamison, was 8th grader Brady Haskell, who finished the season with a 38-6 record at 106 pounds. 

“A highly-touted youth champion, [Haskell] filled into our 106 spot and is a top-ranked wrestler in his weight class – not just in Massachusetts, but all of New England,” Stamison said. “I expected, perhaps, some growing pains from the 8th grader, perhaps getting outmuscled by an upperclassmen opponent cutting weight to get down to 106, but Brady was fairly unflappable, and that was great to see.”

Stamison also praised Jayvery Monegro and Brody Sullivan as athletes who surprised him.

“[Monegro] truly surprised me with his athleticism and knack for our sport,” Stamison said. “Same for Brody Sullivan. Both of those kids have all the tools. I’m excited to see what they will do.”

Sullivan and Monegro will return to the mats next year, but the Black and Blue are losing three seniors in Angelo Knight, Ben O’Brien, and Will Woodward.

“We will truly miss these three. Angelo was a great captain for us for the last one-and-a-half seasons; Ben and Will were so steady as starters,” Stamison said. “Will wrapped up five seasons for us, and I will sorely miss him – and Angelo and Ben. They are great, great kids. I’m excited to see Ben play baseball this spring for Swampscott.”

Stamison also touched upon the youthfulness of his team, and how 7th and 8th graders had to train and wrestle just like the more established varsity players. 

“We are young with half the team in 7th, 8th, and freshman years. We treated those that weren’t in the varsity lineup the same as the ones who were in by default,” Stamison said. “A learning and experience year. We also knew we would need to push for the best results from the guys in the middle, the sophomores and juniors, and I want to say they showed out for us.”

Then, there were Mason Hinshaw and Liam O’Brien – both of whom Stamison believes can make it to the very top of high school wrestling. 

“Mason was, once again, one of the top wrestlers in the state at 144, placing third at Division 2 states and winning our section. He got rid of some mistakes that, perhaps, would have cost him matches or points last season,” Stamison said. “The key for Mason will be coming in at the correct weight class, as well as strength training in the offseason. Should he do what he needs to do, there is no doubt in my mind that next season will be a state title run for him.”

“The same goes for Liam, who advanced furthest out of our squad, all the way to New Englands. Each guy is already committed to wrestling at nationals down in Virginia Beach next month, and have rigorous offseasons planned,” Stamison said. “That’s what it takes to be a state champion, and I would be shocked if one – if not both – boys are in that finals match 11 months from now.”

When comparing the winter to last season, Stamison spoke highly of development – both from individuals, and as one cohesive unit.

“We doubled our dual meet win total from three to six wins, we had numerous champions and place finishers at regular season and postseason tournaments, we got back to New Englands for the first time in over 10 seasons, and qualified three times as many kids for the state tournament from two to six,” Stamison said. “The middle school kids all learned the basics and now, I hope, have the bug and the love for our sport to continue to improve in the offseason. Our freshmen, sophomores, and juniors all took steps in the right direction and worked hard, and our seniors each had their moments in the sun as they wrapped up their careers. I am very proud of what we are building here, and I feel the next few seasons should be some of the best we’ve had during my 19 seasons around this team. Moreover, we won the league sportsmanship award once again, which is a testament to our kids, their families, my staff, and our towns.”