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NEW HAVEN, Conn. —  Making history is never easy, but that just makes it all the more rewarding as the Timberlane wrestling team showed last night.
Trailing after Friday’s first round, and down by as many as 16 points earlier in the day, the Owls stormed back to edge Burlington, Mass., and capture its third straight New England title.
Overall, Timberlane has now has won eight New England titles, including five in the last six years.
Led by 103-pound champion Zach Bridson, the Owls finished with 89 points to Burlington’s 75.5. First-day leader Cumberland, R.I, was third, while local teams Pinkerton Academy and Haverhill finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
“What a great way to cap the season!”, exclaimed Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian. “This is one of the best comebacks of any team I have ever had. We were really tested here, but the kids showed tremendous character. I am awfully proud of them.”
Bridson led the way, completing a sensational 46-1 season by dominating his weight class and defeating Andrew Chase of Bristol, Conn., with an 18-5 major decision in the finals, all but clinching the team title.
Like the rest of the Owls, the pressure has been on Bridson, a sophomore and returning New England finalist. But he responded like a seasoned veteran.
“There was pressure — I felt like I was a target, but I jut wanted to go out and  wrestle my best,” said Bridson, who is ranked fifth in the nation.
“I felt like I was embarrassed last year, and I wasn’t going to let that happen again this year. This just puts the icing on the cake, especially because it helped us win as a team.”
The Owls also had three other placers.
Junior heavyweight Ben Tammany was one of several heros. After dropping his first match Friday, he won five straight to finish third, the highlight being a pin in the consolation semifinals of New Bedford’s Dennis Costa. That avenged his opening loss.
Nick Lawrence also took third, at 160, winning his last four matches and, just as important, getting major decisions in his final two periods.
Adding a sixth for Timberlane was 130-pounder Matt Morris, who battled through sickness for the entire tournament.
Also, sophomore 112-pounder Will Smith captured three matches, including a 9-4 decision over Methuen freshman Paul Sughrue.
“We had a lot of kids contribute, which shows what kind of team we have,” said Chooljian.
“But it is also nice to have an individual champion. Zach deserved it.”
Bridson was one of three local champions, the others being Haverhill’s dynamic unbeaten tandem of Isaiah Williams and Terrance Jean-Jacques.
Williams, who had a rare close match (12-9 decision) in the quarterfinals, defeated Algonquin’s Mike Wrin for the third week in a row, 7-2 in the 171-pound final to finish the season at 49-0 with his second straight New England title.
Jean-Jacques, meanwhile, was dominant for most of the tournament while improving to 52-0, but he needed a 2-1 overtime victory over Weymouth’s Dan Murphy in the finals.
Finishing second was 140-pound Pinkerton senior Collin Crowell, who dominated in his first three matches and then wrestled a terrific match in the finals, leading 4-3, before getting pinned last in the third period by Needham’s Jordan Michelson.
Malden Catholic’s Devon Visconti of North Reading finished second at 135, dropping a controversial 2-1 decision in the finals to Burlington’s Matt Sherman, whose points came on penalties. It was the fourth loss of the year for Visconti (51-5) to Sherman.
Brother Kyle Visconti finished fourth at 119, falling in the consolation finals to Greater Lawrence’s Matt Buco. He had beaten Buco three times this year, but Buco wrestled a smart match and got his revenge with a 5-3 decision.
Also grabbing an impressive third place was Pinkerton’s 130-lb. junior David Owens, who lost his first match and then won six straight, including a pin in the consolation finals.
Central Catholic, after a strong opening round, came away with three medals. Sophomore 112-pounder Ryan O’Boyle ended his day with a pin to place fifth, while senior Tom Lacroix followed with a fifth at 160. Zack Lattrell settled for sixth at 215, defaulting his final match.
Finally, St. John’s Prep’s T.J. Crabtree of North Andover finished sixth at 135.

New England Championships
Top team scores (out of 128 teams): 1. Timberlane 89, 2. Burlington 75.5, 3. Cumberland (RI) 69,4. Pinkerton 58.5, 5. Haverhill 57, 6. Danbury (Conn.) 5.0. 7. Tyngsboro 57, 8. Central Catholic 54, 9. Framingham 42, 10. Lowell 39.5
Winners and local placers:
103: 1. Zach Bridson (Tim); 112: 1. Sam Shames (Newton North), 5. Ryan O’Boyle (Central); 119: 1. Chris Contanzo (Danbury, Conn.),  3. Matt Buco (Gr. Lawrence), 4. Kyle Visconti (MC/North Reading); 125: 1. Mike Meyers (Warwick, R.I.); 130: 1. Nick Flannery (F), 3. David Owens (Pink), 6. Matt Morris (Timb); 135: 1. Matt Sherman (Burlington), 2. Devon Visconti (MC/North Reading), 6. TJ .Crabtree (St. John’s/North Andover); 140: 1. Jordan Michelson (Needham), 2. Collin Crowell (Pinkerton); 145: 1. Dan Telhada (Franklin); 152: 1. Matt Dehney (Dracut); 160: 1. Derek Golner (Tyngsboro) 3. Nick Lawrence (Timb), 5. Tom Lacroix (CC); 171: 1. Isaiah Williams (Hav); 189: 1. Alex Najjar (Shawsheen); 215: 1. Patrick Gillen (Shelton, Conn.); 6. Zack Lattrell (Central); HVY: 1. Terrance Jean-Jacques (Haverhill), 3. Ben Tammany (Timb)

NASHUA, N.H. — Timberlane junior heavyweight Ben Tammany sure knows how to cap off a title celebration. With the Owls already having long since wrapped up their seventh straight Meet of Champions team title in overwhelming fashion, Tammany put an exclamation point on the day with a stunning pin in the finals. Facing Franklin behemoth Matt Kaplan, who entered the match with a 43-0 record and a tradition of  recording fast pins, Tammany kept his distance in the first minute and then had a sudden takedown. He quickly turned Kaplan and then got the pin with 20 seconds to spare in the first period. “I’ve been thinking about him all year,” said Tammany, who improved to 34-5. “I knew he was a strong kid and I thought I could wear him down. “This makes me feel very good and I can’t wait for next week (New England tournament).” That gave the Owls their seventh champion and 11th qualifier for New England and a whopping 265 points, compared to 92 for runner-up Winnacunnet, marking the biggest point spread in MOC history. “What a great way to end the tournament,” said Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian. “To have seven champs, 11 qualifiers and 16 placers (in the top six) is a tremendous accomplishment.” Tammany’s pin once again showed that — for the third straight year — the Owls are, top to bottom, dominant. They had champions at the start (Zach Bridson) and finish (Tammany) of the lineup. Bridson started the finals with a bang, improving to 42-1 with a 42-second pin of Salem’s Ryan Bolduc for his third straight pin of the day. Will Smith followed at 112 with his second win over Salem’s Jon Rheaume in two weeks, this time by a 10-2 major decision, giving up the first two points and then scoring 10 straight. Matt Morris gave the Owls their third crown, at 130, winning when Pelham’s Mike Perruccio defaulted because of sickness. Perruccio earlier won a New Hampshire Referee Scholarship for his outstanding season and should be ready for New England (Friday and Saturday in New Haven, Conn.) while Morris improved to 32-6. The fourth champion, Alex Smith, who many felt should have been named tourney Outstanding Wrestler, recorded a 31-second pin in the finals, had three first-period pins on the day, six straight over the last two weeks, and is now 40-6 on the year. Following at 152 was Dylan Lockard, who recorded a 3-0 decision in the championship match, while Nick Lawrence continued his strong run at 160 with a 16-4 major decision to improve to 48-5. Finishing second for Timberlane was banged-up Nate Lawrence, who lost to Outstanding Wrestler Kyle Gaffney of St. Thomas at 171, while senior Kevin Vadeboncoeur (119), junior Shane Tremblay (189) and senior Wes Grew (215) all qualified for New England by taking thirds. Tremblay had a tremendous rally, coming back from a 6-2 deficit in the last minute to prevail 9-6, and Vadeboncoeur’s match in the consolation finals was just as exciting as he prevailed in overtime, 4-3. The area’s only non-Timberlane champion, Pinkerton senior 140-pounder Collin Crowell, could have also made a case for being tourney OW. He dominated his weight class, recorded a pin at 1:05 in the finals and improved to 33-1 for the year. Also for the Astros, who finished third as a team, Tanner Burke finished second at 119 after leading Victor Peters for two periods, and surprising Daniel Barker was runner-up at 135. In addition, 103-pounder Alex Gerhold and 130-pounder Dave Owens finished third to qualify for New England. The Astros would have been second but had three points deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct. Joining Perruccio at New England for Pelham will be Josh Medeiros, who was third at 112.

Meet of Champions Top team scores (31 teams): 1. Timberlane 265, 2. Winnacunnet 92, 3. Pinkerton 90, 4. Salem 66, 5. Concord 65, 6. Merrimack 58, 7. Con-Val 51, 8. Bishop Guertin 46, 9. Plymouth 43, 10. St. Thomas 40, 11. Goffstown 38, 12. John Stark 31, 13. Pelham 30 1/2, 14. Londonderry 27, 15. Milford 25, 16. Memorial 25 Winners and local New England qualifiers (top 3): 103: 1. Zach Bridson (Tim), 2. Ryan Bolduc (Sal), 3. Alex Gerhold (Pink); 112: 1. Will Smith (Tim), 2. Jon Rheaume (Sal), 3. Josh Medeiros (Pelham); 119: 1. Victor Peters (Win), 2. Tanner Burke (Pink), 3. Kevin Vadeboncoeur (Tim); 125: 1. Jeff Cole (Merr); 130: 1. Matt Morris (Tim), 2. Mike Perruccio (Pelham), 3. David Owens (Pink); 135: 1. Bob Daniels (Con), 2. Daniel Barker (Pink); 140: 1. Collin Crowell (Pink); 145: 1. Alex Smith (Tim); 152: 1. Dylan Lockard (Tim); 160: 1. Nick Lawrence (Tim); 171: 1. Kyle Gaffney (St. Thomas), 2. Nate Lawrence (Tim); 189: 1. Dylan Ryan (Exeter), 3. Shane Tremblay (Tim); 215: 1. Tyler Baulier (Merrimack), 3. Wes Grew (Tim); HVY: 1. Ben Tammany (Tim)

NASHUA  —  When expectations are high, as they are for the Timberlane wrestling team, satisfaction does not come easily.

But, thanks to unsung youngsters like sophomore 112-pounder Will Smith, there was plenty of satisfaction for the Owls in yesterday’s Division 1 state meet.

Timberlane held a commanding lead after the first roound of the Division 1 wrestling tournament at Nashua North last night, compiling 103 points to just 62 1/2 for runner-up Winnacunnet. In all, 11 Owls qualified for this morning's semifinals. Pinkerton, which is in fourth place, and Salem both advanced five qualifiers.

Timberlane showed its depth over the weekend by dominating the New Hampshire JV state meet, winning 10 of 14 weight classes and placing 15 wrestlers overall. With 153 points, the Owls were far ahead of runner-up Concord (70).

By wrapping up its dual-meet season with a 68-9 romp over Merrimack, the Timberlane wrestling team finished with a pair of milestones.

First, the Owls reached what is believed to be a season-high victory total by finishing 23-1 and, second, the  23 wins put coach Barry Chooljian over the 400-win mark  the first coach in New Hampshire to reach that total.  He is now 402-41-5 in 27 years.

Sophomore Alec Wells decisioned former Timberlane wrestler Cole Priddy, 6-2 at 140, and was named Wrestler of the Meet for the Owls, who blasted a solid Concord team 55-8.

Shaking off a spate of Pinkerton decisions in the middle weights, Timberlane rode commanding victories to a 49-18 victory. Matt Morris earned Wrestler of the Meet honors at 130 pounds by trouncing Dave Owens, 13-0. Will Smith was also impressive with a technical fall at 112 pounds. Daniel Barker (135) and Collin Crowell (145) had pins for the Astros.

In a battle of unbeatens, Timberlane blasted a good Winnacunnet team, 43-12. Shane Tremblay, who won a wrestleoff, was "Wrestler of the Meet" with a 6-3 decision at 189 over Timberlane coach Barry Chooljian's nephew, Rob Chooljian, for the Owls (8-0) and Dylan Lockard won a key 7-5 decision at 152. Winnacunnet had recently won the Chelmsford Tournament, beating Shawsheen Tech in the process.

The Timberlane wrestling team stood in second place after last night's first session of the 73-team Eastern States Classic in upperstate New York. Happaug, N.Y., was first with 88 1/2, followed by the Owls with 74 1/2.