Dedham junior Frank Mahoney concluded his season on Saturday at the 46th Annual New England Interscholastic Wrestling Championships in New Haven, Conn., by going 3-2 at 171 pounds, two matches short of placing in the top six.
“It was a good tournament for him, a very good tournament for him,” said coach Jim Maher.
He opened with a 13-0 major decision over Sean Leach of LaSalle (R.I.), but was bounced from the championship bracket by New Hampshire champion Kyle Gaffney of St. Thomas Aquinas in a 12-9 decision.
Maher said Mahoney made a strong comeback in the third period to pull close and that Gaffney was on the verge of stalling his way out of the match before time expired.
In the consolation round, Mahoney earned a 16-0 technical fall of Sam Fortin of Champlain Valley (Vt.), ending the match at 4:50. He then disposed of Connecticut champion Kyle Copes of Chesire by a 12-3 major decision.
Cameron Glad, the Rhode Island state champion, put an end to Mahoney’s tournament with a 10-1 major decision.
“When Frankie gets on a roll with his tilt, it’s very difficult for some of these kids who haven’t seen Frankie in the year to stop it,” said Maher, noting that both Gaffney, who had a bye into the second round of the 22-man field, and Glad had a chance to watch Mahoney wrestle before facing him.
In addition to his loss at All-States to state champion and New England champion Isaiah Williams of Haverhill, Mahoney faced four state champions in the past two weekends.
“Majority of his losses he made up. He lost to the Norton kid twice and came back to beat him,” said Maher. “Other than Williams from Haverhill he’s been in on every match he wrestled in this year. I think the experience at New Englands is going to be invaluable going into next year.”
