SALEM - The resume would have been notable regardless.
But deep down, Petros Hologitas knew he wouldn't be able to accept the inner frustration of a second straight lost opportunity.
Last year's All-State runner-up at 215 pounds, the Rockland senior would not accept anything less than the top prize in his weight class.
"I couldn't face another second place," Hologitas said. "It was my goal all year. I had to win it. I had to."
Hologitas was tested like few were at last night's All-State wrestling championships at Salem High. Trailing, 1-0, after two periods to Catholic Memorial's Josh Boyd, he was running out of time.
But Hologitas garnered an escape point 10 seconds into the final period, before adding to his score with a takedown 10 seconds later, making it 3-1. Boyd grabbed another point as the period wore on, as Hologitas was dealt the added stress of a one-point lead with the final seconds approaching.
Boyd attacked Hologitas with the kind of desperation only a championship match can bring, exhausting all remaining strength. But Hologitas stayed inbounds and on top of Boyd as the buzzer blasted, and a year's worth of disappointment was eliminated.
"I knew he was going to go all out in the final seconds," Hologitas said. "I was just trying to keep my lead and wrestle how I wrestle. If I do that, I think I can beat almost anybody."
103 -- Newton North junior Sam Shames, sporting an impressive 94-17 record going into the match, held on in a back-and-forth struggle against two-time WMass and 2009 Division 1 champion Chad Roberts of East Longmeadow to win, 9-7.
112 -- In the third period, Greater Lawrence's Matt Buco wore out New Bedford's Corey Melo second by second, hardly ever losing control and earning a 6-2 victory.
119 -- Teammate Miguel Guzman followed Buco with perhaps the most impressive and one-sided victory of the evening. Undefeated (38-0) and holding an all-time school-best 170-10 record, the impenetrable senior made his match look easy, attacking Framingham's Dan Gilman and working his way to a blowout 11-2 win.
125 -- The wrestlers exchanged points. The coaches took turns losing their voices. The referees? They were the ones handed the daunting task of scoring a tightly-contested match, the first of many to follow. After overtime seemed imminent, Framingham's Nick Flannery added 2 points in the closing seconds to take home an 8-6 championship victory. The victory didn't come without confusion, however, as Flannery's final 2 points didn't come until after a referees meeting.
130 -- Putnam's Anthony Medina, the Division 1 state champion, shut out Natick's Eric Davidson, 10-0, as the points came quickly and often (6-0 by the end of the second period).
135 -- Longmeadow's Chris DeLuca, with more than half of his matches decided by a pin this year (43-2, 25 pins), couldn't bring his impressive success rate to the All-States, losing in sudden death overtime to Naval Academy-bound Isaac Mello of Somerset, 1-0.
140 -- Framingham's Walter Pope gave his school two state championships, defeating Burlington's Kevin Barrucci in a second straight sudden overtime victory, 6-5. Barrucci settled for his second straight runner-up prize.
145 -- Marines-bound Victor DeJesus of Lowell added to his high school legacy with a convincing 13-2 championship victory over Marshfield's Brandon Fleming.
152 -- It took until overtime, but St. John's Prep's Ryan Harding defeated Tyngsboro's Matt Donohoe, 8-6. The Williams-bound senior was third last year, while Donohue was fourth.
160 -- Haverhill's Isaiah Williams had a plan entering the season, and thus far he's following it pitch-perfectly. The junior remained undefeated (46-0), defeating last year's 145-pound champ, Tyngsboro's Derek Golner, 5-2, and advanced to the New Englands.
"Coming into this everyone told me [Golner] would beat me," Williams said. "I just said it in my mind that I wasn't going to let him beat me. I didn't make it out of states last year so I feel incredible. I worked so hard this offseason, training everyday. I've been thinking about the New Englands the whole season."
171 -- Tewksbury's Joel Altavesta avoided a takedown in the final seconds from Algonquin's Mike Wrin, hanging on in a nerve-wracking 4-3 victory.
189 -- Framingham's Blake McNulty made the match interesting as it wore on, fighting back against Lexington's Joey DeCarlo, but the Rhode Island College-bound senior couldn't avoid his first loss of the season, 9-7.
285 -- Middleboro's James Muirhead, entering with 115 career wins, left his mark on Massachusetts state wrestling with a workman-like 3-2 victory over Greater Lowell's Mike Gregory.
