Kahn Shines on Tough Night of Wrestling

Parker Kahn and sophomore Michael McCuish were among the bright spots in last night’s wrestling match against Triton Regional High School, one of the top ranked teams in Massachusetts.

The Swampscott-Marblehead team lost 37-6, but Kahn, wrestling at 220 pounds, pinned his opponent with just 56 seconds remaining in his match.

“I was pleased to have Parker join the team this year, as he has some experience from wrestling his freshman and sophomore years at Hopkinton High School. He is emerging as a leader on the team, and I am happy I got him as a senior,” said Head Coach Mike Stamison.

McCuish, wrestling at 160 pounds, fought a brave battle, losing 15-6. Swampscott sophomore Maleek Newsome continued to show promise as well; he was only losing 7-4 heading into the second period, before being pinned.

Meanwhile, Swampscott sophomore Jake Powell, wrestling two weight classes above his normal weight, 126 pounds instead of 113, lost 6-2. He held 2-0 lead going into the third period, but Powell - wrestling out of the down position at the start of the third – had to contend with the much heavier Triton wrestler John Boyle, who earned 6 near fall points in that period to win the match.

“With everyone bumping up a weight class, I was very pleased in performances from our Captain Jake Powell, who was absolutely in control of his much heavier opponent in Boyle for both the 1st and 2nd periods,” said Stamison. “Once Boyle was able to get on top of Jake, that's where his extra 12 pounds became a factor. Boyle is a good wrestler, Jake has nothing to be ashamed of.”

The team was without the services of Jeff Sherman, a co-captain and Marblehead senior, who was injured and Sean Taylor, a Marblehead junior who wrestles as a heavyweight.

“The other captain, Jeff Sherman was out with a shoulder injury as a precaution, as well as junior heavyweight Sean Taylor being absent, we were down two-thirds of our best wrestlers,” said Stamison. “That being said, Kahn picked up the slack, as the last bout of the evening, he went out there and got us a pin, which was sorely needed.”

Despite the loss, Stamison said the future looks bright for the team, which has many rookie wrestlers.

“McCuish and Newsome, both of whom are new to wrestling, have this raw athletic ability, and once my staff and I are able to work in some more moves and coach them to be in better positions, I think they will be very tough and will surprise some people. Also coming along are Dmitriy Ladokha and Anthony Rizzo, who, while getting pinned, wrestled tough off their backs. We will get there, we just need to keep moving and learning our strong suits, both the wrestlers and the coaches.”

The Black & Blue wrestling team faces Danvers/Hamilton-Wenham at Swampscott High School on Wednesday night at 7 pm.