Chelmsford Produces Two Wrestling State Champs

Several members of the Chelmsford wrestling team enjoyed their season so much, they just don’t want it to end.

The Lions grappled their way to third place at the North Division 1 sectional tournament last week. The strong performances continued at the state tournament, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Scott McQuaide and Ben Melisi each wrestled to a Division 1 state championship this week while James Clasen was second at 152 pounds and Griffin Murray snagged fifth place at 106 pounds.

McQuaide’s title came at 145 pounds, where he opened up with a win via injury. In his next bout versus Lincoln-Sudbury’s Adrian Berg, McQuaide earned a pin before he pinned Framingham’s Anthony Nguyen to earn a date with Newton North’s Nick Mariano in the final.

In that round he snagged another pin, which came as no surprise to head coach Bruce Rich.

“He feels good at that weight," Chelmsford coach Bruce Rich told the Lowell Sun. "He's always been a pinner. That's always been his M.O. Hopefully, he keeps it going this week."

At 170 pounds, Melisi opened up with a pin of Framingham’s Ryan Gaudet. Next up he beat Plymouth South’s Eric Clinger, 2-1, before advancing again with a 4-3 decision against Weymouth’s Sean Murphy. Melisi capped his championship day with a 5-2 win over Algonquin’s Alex Massola.

Eligible wrestlers advance to the all-state meet, which was originally scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. However, due to the incoming snow, the meet will take place on Friday and Saturday at Salem High School.  

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