For the second year in a row, and the third time in four tries, the Alcovy varsity wrestling team left the mat Tuesday night as the winner of the Newton Cup.

The Tigers defeated county rivals Newton High 50-21 and Eastside 49-21, dropping just eight combined matches in the two bouts.

Alcovy tallied 11 pins on its way to the county championship, retaining the Newton Cup trophy for another season.

“It’s great to win tonight,” Alcovy coach Mike Mostek said. “Any time you can be county champions, it’s great for the kids. They’re friends and have been wrestling with kids from both teams for a long time, so it’s exciting for our kids to get a big win tonight.”

The Tigers opened the night with a 29-point victory over the Rams, taking 11 of 14 matches.

Alcovy opened the match with five consecutive wins, as Trestunn Willis defeated Dalton Carter by pin 1:04 into the second round in the 285-pount bout. The Tigers rolled off four more victories, include Darryl Nichols defeating Eduardo Jarquin 5-2 at 106 pounds. Jajaun Jenkins won by forfeit at 113 pounds, Patrick Cochran defeated William Ayala 14-0 at 120 pounds and Johnathon Carlson defeated Jeffery Vega by pin 1:04 into the third period at 126 pounds.

Kameron Wallace broke the Tigers’ streak at 132 pounds, downing Jerry Pike 5-0 at 132 pounds.

The Tigers picked up wins in their next two matches, with Jake Hendrix pinning Michael Anderson 1:26 into the first round at 138 pounds, and Chris Dubois pinning the Rams’ Matthew Torres 1:41 into the third round at 145 pounds.

Newton’s James Paul earned a pin over Nickolas Turner 1:58 into the first round of the 152-pound bout, but Alcovy reeled off four more wins to close their scoring in the match.

Austin Richardson defeated Akil Maolud 18-3 by technical fall at 160 pounds, DeAnthony Elder worked his way to a 2-0 victory over Anthony Bradley at 170 pounds, Parfait Fondseyuf earned an 11-2 major decision over Shaidren Carter at 182 pounds and Kamari William pinned Alan Ponce 32 seconds into the first round at 195 pounds
A.J. Palomino earned the final win by forfeit for the Rams at 220 pounds.

“It was a tough opening match for us tonight,” Newton coach Ryan Angel said. “The kids fought through and didn’t give up and made sure we got as many team points as possible. We just have to continue to get better and get after it. We have some work to do, but these matches gave us a chance to show ourselves what we have to work on. We’ll come back stronger.”

Championship bout
The Tigers edged the Eagles nine matches to five in the title bout, stringing together another impressive run of five wins during the middle of the match.

Nichols opened up the contest with a pin over Matthew Tewksbury 1:32 into the third round of the 106-pound match before the Eagles countered with back-to-back wins.

Eastside tied the match at 6-6 after Roderick Boley defeated Jenkins 7-3 at 113 pounds and Levi Leach downed Cochran 7-2 at 120 pounds.

Carlson defeated Matthew Malcom defeated 10-5 at 126 pounds, while Misha Felton defeated Pike by pin 1:21 into the first round at 132 pounds. The win was Felton’s eighth at the Newton Cup, capping off a perfect 8-0 career at the event.

Felton’s win would be the last for Eastside over the next five matches, as Hendrix defeated The Eagles’ Noah Savage by pin at 128 pounds just 1:47 into the first round. Dubious earned an 11-2 win at 145-pounds for the Tigers, while Howell pinned Landon Moore 24 seconds in the third period at 152 pounds.

Richardson and Fondseyuf earned the last two victories during the Tigers’ run, as Richardson defeated Jackson Cheek by pin 35 seconds into the first round at 160 pounds and Fondseyuf pinned Jacob Wilder 1:03 into the second round at 170 pounds.

Michael Troutman edged Elder 7-2 at 182 pounds to end Alcovy’s streak, and the Tigers and Eagles traded forfeits over the next two weight classes. Williams won by forfeit at 195 pounds for Alcovy, while Garrett Yates picked up a victory at 220 pounds.

The Tigers’ Carter capped off the match at 285 pounds, pinning Joseph Coleman 1:42 into the first round.
Before the start of the championship bout, the Tigers honored seniors Fondseyuf, Howell and Williams for Senior Night, while also acknowledging managers Ashley Brand and Kortnie Brown.

Eagles outlast Rams
Before taking on the Tigers in the championship final, the Eagles bested Newton 41-35, winning by a single pin in the final bout of the match.

Eastside edged the Rams 8-6 overall in matches won, but Yates’ pin over Newton’s Ponce at 195 pounds sealed the win for the Eagles with 29 seconds to go in the first round. Yates’ victory broke a deadlocked contest through 13 matches, sending the Eagles into the title bout.

The Rams started strong, winning their first three bouts against the Eagles. Palomino opened the contest with a win by forfeit at 220 pounds, and the Rams’ Willis defeated Eastside’s Coleman by pin 1:30 into the first round. Willis finished a perfect 2-0 at the Newton Cup with two pins.

Jarquan continued Newton’s hot start with an 11-2 major decision over Tewksbury, but the Eagles answered Newton's run.

Rodrick Boley won by forfeit at 113 pounds and Leach pinned the Rams’ Ayala 1:02 into the third round to cut Newton’s lead to 17-12.

Malcom and Felton picked up a pair of wins to close the Eagles’ scoring run, with Malcom defeated Vega 11-0 by major decision at 126 pounds and Felton winning 14-3 over Wallace at 132 pounds.

The Rams strang together back-to-back wins, as Anderson pinned Savage 34 seconds into the third quarter at 128 pounds, and Torres pinned Bernard 1:10 into the second round at 145-pounds.

Eastside’s Moore pinned Paul 36 seconds into the second round at 152 pounds, but Newton’s Maolud downed Octavious Whitehead by pin 52 seconds at 160 pounds.

The Eagles closed the match with three consecutive wins, as Wilder defeated Bradley 3-1 at 170 pounds and Troutman defeated Clark by pin 26 seconds into the second round at 182 pounds before Yates’ match-clinching victory.