Wrestling coaches love to use the phrase “iron sharpens iron.”

In the Merrimack Valley Conference no night is an easy night. A year ago, four teams from the MVC finished in the top 10 in the Div. 1 state tournament and virtually everyone thinks the league could be even better this time around.

“I think the league is the best that it’s been in a long time,” said Central Catholic coach Jamie Durkin. “Haverhill has two returning New England finalists, Methuen has good balance up and down their lineup, Lowell had more than 70 kids come out, Chelmsford had more than 60. Then you get teams like Andover and Tewksbury who have good lineups and you can see that just about every team in the league is good.”

New England champion Nate Blanchette (175 pounds) leads an impressive group of returnees which include Cole Glynn (106), Izaiah Santiago (113), Pablo Salas (144), Caden Chase (165), Jackson Meehan (190), Gianni Giuffrida (215) and Like Guifrida (285). If this wasn’t enough, Durkin is expecting a lot from an incoming group of freshmen.

Haverhill was fourth at the All-States and fifth at the New Englands last year and should be among the premier teams again. Brent Nicolosi is back at 165 pounds along with Matt Harrold (215), Cale Wood (120), Jayden Flanagan (175) and the Morris trio of Shea (138), Michael, (113) and Aiden (103).

Andover has some star power with All-Scholastic Yandel Morales (126) and Jason Ballou (120) back. New England champion Thomas Brown (285) and Jose Bethel (190) are back to captain a Chelmsford team which finished in the top 10 at last year’s All-State championships.

The numbers are back at Lowell for co-coaches George Bossi and Nick Logan. Emmett Logan is one of the top 126-pounders in the state, while captains Hussein Alobaldi (150), John Crabtree (157), Chris Dubey (132) and Luis Gomez (175) have plenty of experience.

It will be tough for St. John’s Prep to duplicate last year’s dominant run to the Div. 1 and All-State team titles, but look for Manny Costa to have them motivated in his last season at the helm. Jayden D’Ambrosio (157) took a third at the New Englands, while Jimmy Lally (138), Marc Piniero (215) and Alex Bajoras (285) all placed at the All-States. Brandon Goes (120) and Ryan DeSouza (150) are returning state place-winners.

Another team which figures to be in the mix is Shawsheen. The Tildsley brothers, Sidney (138) and James (144), are the cream of the crop in New England wrestling circles. Caleb Caceres (132), Austin Malendain (190), Brayton Carbone (120) give the Rams plenty of quality depth.

Monty Tech impressed at the Big Red Tournament, winning the title over Chelmsford. Jonah Paulino (132) and Xaedyn Natal (150) are among the best in their weight class, while Cooper Wiebe (126), Gregory Lehmann (157) and Sean Lyle (113) proved their worth at the tournament.

Others to watch in Div. 1 include Methuen, Natick, Taunton and Beverly.

Milford rolled to the Div. 2 state title last year and P.J. Boccia’s squad is primed to repeat. Aidan Baum (144), Derek Marcolini (113), Dylan Wright (106) and Owen Matthews (215) are the leaders, while injured Michael Boulanger (138) is on track to return to the lineup shortly.

Melrose won the Div. 3 championship last year and move up to Div. 2 in the latest MIAA realignment. Larry The Legend Tremblay has another solid dual-meet team led by Luke Brodeur (106), Michael Thomas (120), Johnny Morales (126) and Marco Albanese (138). Others expected to step up and contribute are Jack Shea (113), Luke Kelley (144), Quinn Fogarty (157), Jacob Guzman (165), Pedro Ribeiro (175), Gabe LaVerde (190) and Scott Santos (215).

Hingham opened the season with five straight dual meet wins and are keyed by captains Johnny Morris (120), Danny Phillips (144), Aidan Chan (157) and Jakub Wozny. The rest of the contenders figure to come from Bridgewater-Raynham, Plymouth South and Minnechaug.

With Melrose moving up to Div. 2, Wakefield and Tewksbury look like top contenders for the Div. 3 crown. Manny Mengata (215) and Nick Desisto (113) have some quality wins, while senior captains Hunter Johnson (150), James Cappiello (157), Sam MacMillan (165) and Cam Heichman (132) have been through the MVC wrestling wars over the years.

Wakefield is always in the mix and Ross Ickes feels that should be the case once again as Andrew Valley (126) and Joe LaMonica (215) lead a quality group of returnees. The rest of the lineup should consist of Sean Callanan (157), Zach Arria (175), Aydin Lamb (138), Kip King (285) and Jaden Fullerton (165).

Leading the way for Triton (6-0 at the present time) are Douglas Aylward (215), Lucas Bistany (144), Sam Imlach (132), Nolan Merrill (175) and Brian Quam (138). Wayland is always a solid dual meet team and should be once again as Paul Lang (126), Cole Chase (157), Michael Keenan (138), Nathan Tobe (215), Anthony Brown (190) and Cole Duffy (165) return.

Pete Zacchilli has done a terrific job at Ashland and many feel the Clockers can be in the mix for the state title. Anton Puhach is back at 175, while Adrian Guzman (157), Braden Freels (106), Kevin Ozulumba (150) and Kevin Botsis (215) are expected to be major contributors.

WRESTLERS TO WATCH IN 2023-2024

106 POUNDS

Luke Brodeur (Melrose)

Cole Glynn (Central Catholic)

Aiden Morris (Haverhill)

113 POUNDS

Nick DeSisto (Tewksbury)

Dominic Gangi (Methuen)

Abduli Gilmore (Athol)

Mike Morris (Haverhill)

120 POUNDS

Jason Ballou (Andover)

Brayton Carbone (Shawsheen)

Charlie Lussier (Whitman-Hanson)

Derek Marcolini (Milford)

Peter Rincan (Billerica)

Michael Thomas (Melrose)

Cale Wood (Haverhill)

126 POUNDS

Miles Darling (Masconomet/Essex Tech)

Dylan Kadish (Newton South)

Emmett Logan (Lowell)

Connor Lupiani (Mt. Everett)

Yandel Morales (Andover)

Nathan Sayers (Xaverian)

Anthony Vickers (Northbridge)

132 POUNDS

Caleb Caceres (Shawsheen)

Matthew Patterson (Middleboro)

Jonah Paulino (Monty Tech)

138 POUNDS

Marco Albanese (Melrose)

Michael Boulanger (Milford)

Braxton Ferro (North Attleboro)

Landan Gray (St. John’s)

Jimmy Lally (St. John’s Prep)

Shea Morris (Haverhill)

Sidney Tildsley (Shawsheen)

Brent von Magnus (Bridgewater-Raynham)

144 POUNDS

Sawyer Ayotte (Shepherd Hill)

Pablo Salas (144)

James Tildsley (Shawsheen)

150 POUNDS

Anthony Mann (Hanover)

Drew McGourty (Braintree)

Xaedyn Nata (Monty Tech)

Kyle Rhoton (North Andover)

157 POUNDS

Jake Ashman (Natick)

Colby Cloutier (King Philip)

Jayden D’Ambrosio (St. John’s Prep)

Vincent DeMaio (Methuen)

165 POUNDS

Joseph Baker (Beverly)

Joseph Bolduc (Methuen)

Caden Chase (Central Catholic)

Luke Connolly (Bishop Fenwick/Northeast)

Brent Nicolosi (Haverhill)

175 POUNDS

Lucas Alvan (Ludlow)

Nathan Blanchette (Central Catholic)

Jayden Flanagan (Haverhill)

Anton Puhach (Ashland)

190 POUNDS

Ethan Harris (Taunton)

Gino Sicari (Beverly)

Michael Toppan (Gloucester)

215 POUNDS

Douglas Aylward (Triton)

Matt Harrold (Haverhill)

Manny Mengata (Tewksbury)

Mason Pellegri (Milton)

Marc Pineiro (St. John’s Prep)

Elijah Prophete (Taunton)

Jayden Toppan (Gloucester)

Jerameel Vasquez (Hampden Charter East)

285 POUNDS

Alex Bajoras (St. John’s Prep)

Thomas Brown (Chelmsford)

Joao Pedro Pires (Catholic Memorial)

Gabriel Thomas (Brookline)