DANVERS — The Mahar girls wrestling team brought three medals back to Orange from the inaugural Girls All-State Wrestling Tournament on Saturday.
The three wrestlers competed in front of hundreds of spectators at St. John’s Preparatory School.
“I thought the girls tournament was extremely well run,” Mahar coach John Speek said. “It was a great showcase for the girls. Some really good wrestling. It’s a great starting point.”
Carolyn Gilmore led the way for the Senators, reaching the finals of the 152-pound bracket.
Gilmore ran into the powerful Samantha Springer from Springfield Central in the match for the championship.
Springer won by fall in 43 seconds to claim victory.
“She was strong in different ways than I am,” Gilmore said. “Really strong upper-body. She out-matched me this time.”
Gilmore received the largest cheer during the introductions for the finals.
Several friends and family had “Team Gilmore” shirts for the match.
“It was fun, my whole family came out,” Gilmore said. “It was a very supportive atmosphere.”
After the match an emotional Gilmore huddled with her friends and family.
“I’ve been wrestling for five years,” Gilmore said. “This tournament was a big deal. I wanted to win. My girls have never seen me lose. I was disappointed. I put in the effort and fell short. It was a clean loss.”
Gilmore pinned Ashley Duong in 4 minutes, 41 seconds in the quarterfinals, then beat Brittany Ruiz, 6-3, in the semifinals. The junior is primed for a return to the tournament next season.
“I am going to focus more on strength,” Gilmore said. “I think I can fine tune a lot of my strength. I know a lot of moves but I can’t execute them because I don’t have the muscle.”
Mahar’s Ava Chiodo and Anya Roberts both wrestled in third-place matches.
Chiodo got treated for a bloody nose during her 105-pound match for third place.
“It could be the dry weather,” Chiodo said. “Or it might have been when my face got slammed.”
Chiodo tried some intimidation tactics prior to the match.
“At the beginning, I tried to stare her down,” Chiodo said. “I don’t think it worked. Then we just started tussling. She was quick and strong.”
With her nose stuffed, she returned to the mat before losing by fall at 2:37.
Chiodo placed fourth and enjoyed the opportunity.
“This wasn’t in my plans for my life but it was pretty cool being out here,” Chiodo said. “I never thought I would get a chance like this.”
Anya Roberts wrestled for third in the 170-pound bracket.
“It was so much fun,” Roberts said. “I just need to practice more.”
Roberts got pinned at 3:00 for a fourth-place finish for the Senators.
