At the beginning of the season Bill Chavanelle hoped his Falcons would be able to compete with the best teams in the state. Now, they are beating them.

Seniors Adler Moura won the 113-pound title, Ben McDowell was the runner-up at 165, Jared Dolder placed fourth at 150 and sophomore Chase Flagg finished fifth in a competitive 190 bracket to lead Bow wrestling to fourth out of 25 teams at the annual Capital City Classic at Concord High School on Saturday.

The Division III Falcons’ score of 140 points trailed two of the best programs in New England – Rhode Island’s Bishop Hendricken (194.5) and Maine’s Noble High School (163) – and D-I Pinkerton Academy (159.5).

Bow narrowly bested host Concord (137). The Crimson Tide’s fifth-place effort was led by junior Cullen Burke, who claimed the 120-pound title and sophomore Wayne Gutierrez-Sakakeeny’s runner-up finish at 285.

In addition to D-I Concord, the Falcons also left D-I Keene (sixth place with 130.5 points), D-II Goffstown (seventh, 112.5) and D-I Bedford (eighth, 109.5) in their wake. 

“To be honest, I had no idea what the team score was,” Bow head coach Bill Chavanelle said. “I told everybody to focus on the next match, not the team scores, not where this person is going, just focus, do your job, handle your business and the results will take care of themselves.”

Moura made relatively quick work of his opponents, winning two matches by pin and one by decision to reach the final where he pinned Plymouth’s Anthony Torres in the second period to claim the title.

“The way he prepares, the way he gets others involved, the way he carries himself, he’s an absolute machine,” Chavanelle said. “I believe he’s only the third person from Bow ever to win at this tournament.”

Three weeks ago, the Falcons tied Pinkerton for third at the Keene Minickiello Holiday Tournament, a meet where Concord won and the hosts finished second. Bow’s desire to reach their goal and their routine is what Chavanelle credits the team’s continued improvement to.

“It’s just consistency,” Chavanelle said. “Their willingness to be there and be better, not just for themselves, but for the team overall. Our team is very senior heavy. They want to leave a lasting impact. The impact they’re trying to leave is that they were the start of what (the program) is trying to build. I couldn’t be more proud of these boys, from top to bottom.”

Another important element is confidence, something that the Falcons younger wrestlers are also starting to find. Chavanelle highlighted Flagg’s journey to fifth place. He won his opening match with a first period pin before losing to Portsmouth’s Elijah Josey (last year’s D-II champion at 195)  in the quarterfinals by pin late in the second period. Flagg rattled off three straight wins (two by pin, one by decision) to fight his way to the podium.

“After that match where he was hanging with Josey it clicked for him that ‘I do belong here,’ Chavanelle said. “He finished fifth in a very competitive bracket. Every kid he competed against is a regionally (or nationally) ranked kid.”

The Capital City Classic is a very well-run and competitive event that attracts many of the NHIAA’s strongest programs, plus some of the best teams from around New England, and competing so well on those mats is not something that Bow is taking for granted.

“To my knowledge (we’ve never beaten Concord),” Chavanelle said. “I came from (coaching at) Rundlett, I love Concord. (Head coach) Ham Munnell, his entire program, that’s what I want Bow to be like. So, to beat them in this sort of setting is a very humbling experience. I’m just so happy for the boys and the program in general.”

Concord had place-winning finishes from seniors Griffin Norwalt (third 126) and Devon Farwell (sixth 215), in addition to finals appearances from Burke and Gutierrez-Sakakeeny.

“This is a tough tournament, this isn’t what we’re built for right now, but we had some strong performances,” Munnell said. “We wrestled hard and we’re wrestling reasonably well.”

Burke picked up his second tournament title of the season, having previously won the 120 title at the Minickiello Tournament. Burke pinned three opponents and beat Noble’s Owen Gray in a 10-6 decision in the final.

“You could see him handle the finals (today) with much more composure than the last time,” Munell said. “I think he didn’t know what to do with himself, but now he’s relaxed a little bit more. The more relaxed you are, the better you wrestle.”

Gutierrez-Sakakeeny matched his second-place finish that he had at the Minickiello, earning three pins before losing to Keene’s Evan Ray on a first period pin in the heavyweight title match.

“Wayne has been the same guy all season,” Munnell said. “He doesn’t know when he’s supposed to lose. He just wrestles. He does a good job. He’s a great kid and he’s been a pleasure to work with.”

Senior Lukas Boulanger finished second at 215 to lead John Stark to 14th place with Alex Descoteau (fourth 190), Isaac Coker (sixth 285) and Lyncoln Jablonski (sixth 113) also reaching the podium.

Winnisquam finished 18th and was led by Henry Osmer (fourth 144), Aemon Gauthier (sixth 126) and Ryan Cormier (sixth 120). 

As February 17 draws closer, teams are starting to shift more attention to the NHIAA division championships that will be held on that day. While Moura and the Falcons can celebrate a successful day at the Capital City Classic, the main battle, the one that will determine whether they achieve their ultimate goal of winning a state championship, is still on the horizon.

As Chavanelle pointed out, “He’s not just satisfied with winning today and the team isn’t just satisfied with finishing fourth today.”