By james art 
SAUGUS-The Saugus-Peabody wrestling team took another step toward a possible conference title Saturday by sweeping a quad hosted at Saugus High School to remain undefeated in dual meets at 15-0.
Saug-Peabody opened with a 67-12 win over Wilmington, then beat Linn Tech-England-Classic, 65-10. Saugus-Peabody polished off the meet with a 50-19 win over Canton.
In its other two games, Lynn lost 43-13 to Canton in its opener and then closed with a 28-20 loss to Wilmington.
For Saug-Peabody, Justin Bremberger (157 pounds), Cesar Cruz (165) and Jackson Deledi (120/126) won all three of their matches. Bremberger was dominant, not allowing a single point, while two of Cruz’s wins came via first-period pin in the first minute. Captains Mike Maraio (150) and Max Lorusso (144), Tucker Lundy (113) Anna Felicio (106) also finished 3-0 with one win each by foul. Marayo claimed the fastest pin of the day, pinning his opponent in Canton in 27 seconds.
Trey Riley (215) went 2-0, while Landon Rodriguez (132, one forfeit), Lucas Fondoulis (138), Evan Johnson (175) and Jaden Tsiak (190) finished the day 2-1. Jake Murray (126), Damien Valentine (215) and Manny Zapato each won one match.
Lynn entered the meet underdogs and failed to make up several weight classes, but six wrestlers came home with at least one win each. Eric Ayala (175) and Omar Dejes (157) were the team’s top performers, finishing 2-1. Pablo Maldonaro (138), Irene Delva (106), Mezzia Pena (285) each won one match despite giving up a huge size advantage. Davey de Olovera (165) also won a match, the first of his varsity career.
Despite the plethora of confections, head coach Dan Koziski said there were a few positives to take away.
“We were five kids short today, but some of our kids are doing really well. We also miss Kayden Barrazzo, who has yet to lose a game this season,” Koziski said. “Like I said, some kids come and go and some might just make a meet and a few practices and then miss some. Many of them also work after school, which makes it difficult for our children. But kids who struggle do very well.
“Alexandro (Jean-Louis, 190) and Eduardo (Perez, 190) fought hard today, but they just didn’t match up well against their opponents. Irene wrestles hard, especially since she is only in eighth grade and this is her first year wrestling. “
With Saturday’s quad in the rearview mirror, Saugus-Peabody is now focused on beating Beverly on Wednesday to win the CAL/NEC Dual-Meet title and the Cal/NEC Open Championship on Saturday in Triton.
“This (Beverly Dual-Meet) is big, really big,” Felicio said. “It’s a great rivalry. If we win it, we win the CAL/NEC Dual-Meet title. What we have to do is to pin, pin, pin. “
“We’re focusing on Wednesday and if we have an opportunity to go up, we want them to take it,” Moda said. “It will all come down to this game on Wednesday. Let’s hope we can pull it off. We have a chance to win both. “
Regarding Saturday’s meeting, Moda said the team needed to improve on last year, when they finished third behind Beverley and Gloucester.
“Beverley will probably put three or four in the finals and we have a chance to potentially put five or six in the finals. We had six in the finals last year and only won two,” he said. “I expect Beverly to have two or three champions. The big thing is that there are a few Cal kids that are going to sneak in and face some of these NEC guys. This will come to Consise (consoling braces). If we fight well there, we can win the tournament. “
MODA is also looking forward to a significant milestone for Lorusso, who topped the 100 career win mark earlier this year.
“If he continues the way he’s going, he’ll be the winningest wrestler in Saug history,” Moda said. “The last person to hold the record dates back to 1991. This is all we know as the records are incomplete.’
Saugus-Peabody has been motivated all season to honor the memory of Freddy Espinal, a Peabody-dating wrestler who was just 17 years old when he died unexpectedly in September shortly after the start of his junior year. The team’s motto is “fight like Freddy”. If this season’s magical ride proves anything, it’s that fighting like Freddy works.
“We’re all just doing it for Freddie,” Felicio said. – Still and always. He is with us every day. “
