Douglas Aylward is on a heck of a run in the wrestling circle right now.
After placing second at the CAL/NEC league meet a few weeks back, the 182-pound Triton junior responded by going undefeated and winning the Division 3 North Sectional last weekend. Needless to say, that was a huge breakthrough for the Viking tri-captain, as previously this winter the season had seen its fair share of near-misses and second-place finishes.
But Aylward was itching for more.
So this weekend, he decided to add a State Championship to his growing list of accolades.
In what was a back-and-forth bout in the championship, Aylward was leading David Czartoryski of Hampden Charter School, 13-11, heading into the third and final period. Aylward was playing defense at the start of the final two minutes, but got a reversal that lead to a pinfall at the 5:21 mark of the match to earn the victory and claim the 182-pound Div. 3 title.
“It was just a huge moment,” said Aylward. “After all this time working at it, spending the last 11 years in the sport trying to get better, it just felt really good to have a moment like that. I had a lot of friends and family and teammates in the room watching the match, so it was really special. It was a culmination of a lot of things coming together.”
Aylward is Triton’s first state champion since Anthony Ostrander won the 170-pound Division 3 title during the 2019-20 season.
“Douglas has been one of the harderst workers we’ve had since his 8th-grade year,” said Triton coach Shawn McElligott. “Being named a captain as a junior says a lot about him. So this was well deserved.”
Aylward, who entered as the No. 3 seed in his weight class, ended up going 4-0 on the day with three pins to improve his overall season record to 36-4. After earning a major decision in the first round, he pinned Luke Steele of Sandwich in the quarterfinals, No. 2 seed Anton Puhach of Ashland in the semis and then the No. 4 seed, Czartoryski, in the finals.
Of course, Aylward will have a chance to defend his state title next year.
But first, the junior has his sights focused on next week’s All-State Meet. The top-6 placers in each weight class at the State Championship meets (1, 2 and 3) qualify for All-States, and early indications would project Aylward as the No. 3 seed based on his state championship victory.
“It’s obviously going to be another jump in the level of competition,” said Aylward. “But I’m looking forward to it. I know I’m going to have to be better wrestling in the neutral position, and maintaining stamina over six minutes against that level of competition will be key.”
But Aylward wasn’t Triton’s only highlight from Division 3 States.
Fellow captain Ashton Wonson will be joining Aylward at All-States next weekend. The senior 220-pounder was the Division 3 state runner-up, going 3-1 on the day with three pins before falling to nemesis Jayden Toppan of Gloucester in the finals. Wonson now also boasts a 36-4 record for the season, with all four of his losses coming to Toppan.
Sam Imlach (113), Lucas Bistany (145) and Anthony Navaroli (160) also got to compete at States for the Vikings. While all three saw their seasons come to an end, Imlach posted a season record of 21-15, Bistany went 27-12 and Navaroli — a sophomore who was new to wrestling this year — qualified for States and went 11-15 overall.
Triton also won the Division 3 State Sportsmanship Award.