Mt. Hope High School wrestlers recently traveled to compete in the National High School Coaches Association championships held March 28-30 in Virginia Beach, Va. where sophomore Anthony Lombardi provided one of the highlights for the locals by earning the 100th win of his young career at the secondary level.

Lombardi was joined on the trip by Logan Sousa, Bryce Brown, Eli Francis, Kyle McCarthy, Aidan Squatrito, Maddox Pacheco, Arion Ferris, Michael Bouchard, Ethan Martel and L.J. Pacheco along with middle schooler Will Corrente.

In addition, former Mt. Hope standout and Warren native Andrew McCarthy, now prepping at New York Military Academy, participated through the local club run by Mt. Hope coaches Ryan Fazzi and Brad Oliver, East Bay Wrestling Wolfpack.

Lombardi vied in the sophomore division at 145 pounds, finishing with a 3-2 overall. His wins came over Brody Keysor from Montana, who was third-place finisher at his state tournament, Drake Shultz from Virginia and Jaycion Everett from Ohio. His two losses were to tough competition, against Christopher Aparicio, second at North Carolina states, and Kade Aguirre, the New Mexico state champ.

Also from Mt. Hope in the sophomore grouping, Squatrito and Pacheco each lost both of their bouts.

Two of the Huskies' impressive freshmen, Francis, at 120, and Kyle McCarthy, at 144, matched their mate's results by going 3-2. Brown, also at 120, went 2-2 while Sousa, at 113, fell twice.

Juniors Bouchard and Ferris, both competing at 113, in their grouping went 1-2 and 0-2, respectively. Seniors Pacheco, at 160, and Martel, at 138, finished with 2-2 and 0-2 marks in their contests.

Corrente, competing in the eight-grade division at 230 pounds, lost both of his bouts. Andrew McCarthy finished with a 3-2 mark competing the senior, 138-pound class.

McCarthy made the deepest run of the locals, falling in the match for the final placement, eighth. His loses came to the eventual senior national champ, Jayce Paridon Green of Florida in the quarters, and to the Kansas state champ, Kaden Allen Louisburg in the consolation round.

"It was a tough tournament all around, but we had some solid performances," Fazzi said of the excursion to nationals. "And we gained great experience against some of the best competition the nation has to offer."