BYFIELD — The Triton wrestling team relinquished its two-year hold on the Division 3 North title Saturday, placing second behind Wakefield at the sectional championship meet.
Triton, the host school, fell short by what amounted to the score of one individual match, posting 218 points to Wakefield's 223.
"We were going really hard for it," Triton coach Shawn McElligott said. "We missed it by one match. Being a sectional runner-up, that's still a big deal, but our guys wanted the title. It says a lot about our seniors that they've competed for a championship for three years in a row."
Triton (20-4) will still have a chance to defend its Division 3 state championship Feb. 19 and 20 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. By placing among the top four schools Saturday, along with Wakefield, Melrose and Lynnfield, the Vikings earned a berth to the Division 3 Team Championships.
At that meet, 16 teams will battle in a two-day round-robin of dual meets, a format that McElligott believes plays to his team's strength: depth. Saturday's competition was scored in a championship format, making it more of a showcase for front-end talent.
"I'm glad it's going back to the dual meet format," McElligott said. "A dual meet is more tailored to what we do. We're tougher that way because we use our entire team."
However, Triton did display its share of front-end talent on Saturday.
Junior Victor Ramirez (106 lbs.) and Mark Rosmarinofski (120 lbs.) along with senior Bryan Giblin (182 lbs.) all repeated as sectional champions. Giblin earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the meet for the second weekend in a row. He achieved the same feat Jan. 28 at the Cape Ann League Open.
Giblin, who earned another plaque for recording the most falls in the least amount of time, recorded four pins. With a record of 37-2 on the season, he will be the No. 2 seed in the Division 3 State Championships Friday in Pittsfield.
"Giblin stole the show," McElligott said. "He's ready to go for a state championship this weekend."
Rosmarinofski, one of three Triton two-time sectional champions, recorded two pins and ran his record on the season to 27-5. He will be the No. 3 seed at 120 pounds at the state meet Friday.
"He was in the running for Most Outstanding Wrestler, but the kid he was facing in the finals injury defaulted," McElligott said.
Ramirez, who is now 34-3 on the season, continued his rivalry with Lynnfield's Eric Kerr in the finals, posting an 8-5 decision. Ramirez will be the No. 2 seed at 106 pounds on Friday.
"It seems like Victor's been battling Eric every week," McElligott said. "He keeps coming out on top."
Ten Triton wrestlers advanced to the Division 3 Individual Championships Friday. Along with the three sectional champions, Luke Boyle (2nd, 126 lbs.), Cody Nixon (3rd, 132 lbs.), Jesse Caldwell (4th, 138 lbs.), Mark Boyle (2nd, 145 lbs.) and Ryan Clay (2nd, 220 lbs.) will wrestle in Pittsfield. Clay Bruneau (5th, 170 lbs.) and David Manning (5th, 285 lbs.) will be alternates.
Georgetown's Matt Prescott also earned a sectional title at 160 pounds.
"It was just an amazing win for him," said Georgetown coach Dave Curley. "He wrestled well the whole day. It was a phenomenal match in the final."
For Pentucket, Tom Funk (113) and Jeff Funk (120) were both runners-up.
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