The Duxbury wrestling team competed in the second annual Patriot League Invitational on Saturday that included both the Fisher and Keenan divisional teams with the exception of Rockland.

While the Dragon grapplers have been plagued by injuries and have a host of new wrestlers on the team this year, they still managed to pull off a fourth-place finish behind Whitman-Hanson, Hingham, and Pembroke, thanks in large part to the efforts of sophomore Jake Genereux and junior Bobby Boyle, both of whom took home gold medals in their respective weight classes.

After winning the PL title last year in the 112 lbs. weight class, Genereux was the No. 1 seed in the 130 lbs. weight class, and showed why he is one of the elite wrestlers on the South Shore. Giving up just two points on the day before entering the finals against W-H senior Mike Garrett, the Duxbury sophomore went on to an impressive 8-0 major decision.

In contrast, junior Bobby Boyle went in under the radar in the 215 lbs. weight class.  The unseeded Boyle went on to dismantle his competition, including the No. 2 seeded Griffin Veldran of Hingham and Silver Lake senior Pat Thompson.  That set up an exciting match-up in the finals with Rockland senior Shay Morton. Boyle got the first takedown, but Morton tied it up with a two-point reversal. The Duxbury junior earned a one-point escape and then took Morton to the mat with a pinning combination, earning the call from the referee and giving him the championship to the delight of his coaches and teammates. 

Boyle’s victory was a big boost for the team, especially after senior captain Pat Donovan was on the unfortunate end of a quick-pin call by the referee that had the Duxbury sidelines furious.  Donovan made the finals for the second time in as many weeks, and was in a close battle with No. 1 seeded Colin McSweeney when the Whitman Hanson junior rolled on bottom, catching Donovan in a headlock for a second period pin, and the championship in the 140 lbs. weight class.

Sophomore Nick Kates bounced back from a loss to No. 2 seeded Matt Smith of Hanover in the quarterfinals of the 103 lbs. weight class to secure a third-place finish along with senior captain Jamie Auer who finished third in the 145 lbs. weight class, and junior Brendan Gillis, who took third place in the 119 lbs. weight class.  Also contributing to the team points with their fifth-place finish were senior captain Alec McKenzie (189) and sophomore Owen Grey who keeps improving at heavy weight.

Next up for the Dragon grapplers will be their Patriot League home opener against a much improved Hanover team on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.