Lowell — Thomas Brown showed them who was boss.
The Chelmsford High School sophomore defended his heavyweight title by defeating Milford’s Hampton Kay Cooter, 4-1, at the 55th Annual George Bossi Lowell Holiday Wrestling Tournament at the UMass Lowell Rec Center.
“It feels great,” Brown said. “Going into the finals, I knew he was a great wrestler and it was a great match.”
Day two featured Brown and Tyldesley brothers James and Sidney, who won titles in their respective divisions. Shawsheen Tech brought home his team trophy to make the Billerica brothers’ night even better. The Rams beat Harbor Hill by a narrow margin of his 159.5 to 158.5.
The 6-foot-4-inch, 260-pound sophomore rounded out the festivities by taking on top-ranked Milford heavyweight Hampton Kay Cooter in the 285-pound main event.
With the match tied 1-0, Brown kept his comeback in classic fashion, escaping his opponent’s clutches before pulling a power move on the mat to take a 6-3 lead and take a 9-3 win along the way. I got
16-year-old Brown said: I just needed to keep my cool. I didn’t want to get too excited. All I had to do was wrestle. ”
Meanwhile, the TiIdsley brothers continued their mastery of the mats, successfully defending both titles. It was the first time two brothers had won back-to-back Bossi Tournaments since Wellesley’s Yanni and Dean Diamond triumphed in 1994.
Sidney Tyldesley beat Newton’s Tyler Kadish 9-3 to retain the top spot in the 138-pound division. Midway through the match he drew 3–2 and Tyldesley caught wind for his second time with a relentless ground scoring a big point in his game.
“I knew he wasn’t going to just stand there,” Sidney said. “Usually the taller one wins. A lot of people don’t like mattress rings, but we were able to get him to the top and eventually win.”
Earlier in the day, Sydney obliterated Edmir Montliero in the quarter-finals with a major decision of 9-1, and defeated Colton Thorpe 7-0 to advance to the final.
James Tyldesley wasted little time on his £126 title shot, beating world No. 3 Phoenix Gardera 4-0 in just 49 seconds.
“It feels great,” said James. “I did it last year, so I thought I had to do it again this year.”
Tyldesley beat Spencer Busema 2-0 before beating Dylan Kadish 5-0 to reach the final.
Also in the ST, 5th place Brighton Carbon made a nifty move in the 120lb division. He beat second seed Caden Bruseo his 10-4, and top-ranked Essex Tech’s Miles Darling he beat 6-5. In the championship playoff, third seed Isaiah failed to clinch his third consecutive title as he lost 7–3 to Adams, but it was still an impressive run.
Brown wasn’t the only one to make a fuss at the Lions of Chelmsford, Jack Walsh wreaked havoc in the 160-pound division. The top-ranked Chelmsford student handled Jack Hebert 2-0 in the quarterfinals and a tough finish for second-placed Tinsboro before bowing out 20-8 to Harbor Hill’s Brent Nicolosi in the title match. A surprise 9-7 victory over Brooke Desmarais. Bleeding profusely from his nose and trailing at 10-3, Walsh wrapped gauze around his face and gutted it, letting Nicolosi win it.
Lowell’s Emmitt Logan (106) made it to the final in the 106-pound bracket before losing 5-0 to Andover’s Yandel Morales. The Red Raiders started the afternoon with a 6-0 win over Lill Nez in the quarter-finals and a 5-4 win over Haverhill’s third-placed Mike Morris in the semi-finals. Morris also beat another local Tewkesbury’s Nick Desisto in the quarter-finals, where he scored 7-6.
In earlier action, Tewkesbury’s Jack Callaghan (126) beat second-placed Dominic Spadaro 5-1 in the quarter-finals before finally losing 2-0 to Phoenix Gardera in the semi-finals. His 3rd place Caleb Caceres (132) on the show scene lost his 6–0 to Jared Manjafico. Tewkesbury’s Paxton Green was also eliminated in his 2–0 loss to Elijah Josie in the £195 bracket.
