James Fodera shuffled his feet, finding the right angle for the championship pin.
His father, Frank Fodera Jr., was among the spectators at Lowell’s Tsongas Center, but the two stood alone.
In that moment, they became the first father-son duo to win titles at the George Bossi Lowell Holiday Tournament, the most prestigious regular-season tournament in New England, but they were unaware until it was announced.
“It felt cool no one’s ever done it,’’ said the 190-pound senior from North Reading. “I think it’s an honor and I get to follow in my father’s footsteps.’’
Added the 215-pound 1996 champ from Winchester: “I’m really proud of James and the legacy we created.’’
The younger Fodera has been crafting his legend for years. A youth national judo runner-up before entering middle school, he pivoted to grappling and earned a youth state title. As a sophomore, he played a few snaps at Gillette Stadium for the Division 5 champion Hornets.
Boasting a 127-34 mark (28-1 this season) on the mat, the senior is the linchpin of a quartet that has revived the Lynnfield/North Reading wrestling team. Posting a 1-45 record across Fodera’s first two seasons, the team improved to 13-11-1 last year and has already matched that win total with a 13-1-1 start this winter.
A runner-up finish at the Pentucket Holiday Tournament was LNR’s best tournament showing since 2013.
As the roster grew from eight to 22, the common tetrad has been Fodera, classmates Cam Arya (16-3, 73-52 career) and Isaac Medford (13-11, 51-61), and junior David Glynn (19-5, 68-60), who joined as an eighth grader.
“I have so much respect for those four wrestlers who hung in there through all of this,’’ said coach Craig Stone, who in his 49th season has 588 career wins.
Add his 669 with girls’ tennis, and Stone is one of four coaches in state history with 1,110-plus total wins alongside Vi Goodnow (Frontier), Bob Hohne (Old Rochester), and Emile Johnson (Leominster).
“I’m so happy they’ve had the opportunity to experience success on the team basis, as well as their individual.’’
A lot of the team’s growth was a direct result of recruiting. Arya and Fodera looked for classmates at North Reading to join, and Glynn and Medford implored their peers at Lynnfield.
“The process of sticking together through the rough patches and keeping that friendship as a motivator, that’s really what got us where we are now,’’ said Glynn, a 157 pounder. “I have a friendship with these guys that won’t be broken. We’re getting wins and it feels great.’’
The core four set an example by wrestling in the offseason with Doughboy Wrestling Club. To start their third year together, they beat Watertown, Carver, and Northeast/Bishop Fenwick at a quad meet.
“It dawned on me,’’ said the 138-pound Medford. “I said, ‘Today we won three times the amount of meets we won in the last three years.’ The sudden realization that we’re a real contender and demand respect from other programs is a great feeling. A great honor to be a part of it.’’
Without forfeiting six weights each meet, LNR wrestlers now get to put points on the board knowing they can actually make a difference in the outcome.
“It wasn’t us wrestlers that would make us lose, it was the forfeits,’’ Fodera said. “It was rewarding knowing our hard work we put in those years can translate to winning as a team.’’
As the only co-op for each school, the extra coordination is a challenge, but they made it work.
“First year, I didn’t know any of the kids from Lynnfield,’’ said Arya, a 165 pounder. “Now four years later, even the kids just doing this year, I’m really good friends with them. It’s a much different experience.’’
Added Stone: “Co-ops are a different animal. Two schools, two principals, two practice schedules. I give them all the credit in the world.’’
The schedule gets tougher from here, but Lynnfield/North Reading is poised to reach new levels.
“Just the little things were such a big achievement [that first year]. Now we’re a motivated squad and we have kids that have been on the team a long time,’’ said Glynn. “We’ve seen losses. We’re not scared to lose.’’
Fodera knows that with the Lowell Holiday title, even as the No. 4 seed, often comes a No. 1 ranking in the state. Last season, he was runner-up in Division 3 at 190 pounds, adding a sixth-place finish at All-States.
He, like the LNR team, is no longer an underdog.
“Now that my name is out there, I have to keep myself on that level,’’ he said. “I can’t fold now. I have a lot of people coming for me.’’
Near falls
■ Michael Lawlor, former Haverhill wrestler and coach Tim Lawlor’s brother, saw his community ravaged by fires in Los Angeles, where he coaches at Palisades Charter High. Hillie boosters shared a post urging people to buy “Pali Strong’’ T-shirts to fundraise.
■ LNR reaching last season’s win total Wednesday came down to the final bout, with heavyweight Dylan Mathews picking up a tie-breaking 3-2 decision that completed a 36-33 win over Cape Ann rival Triton . . . On the same day, BC High picked up a thrilling victory in the last second of regulation, with heavyweight Elijah Alcorn-Crowder earning a pin for a 35-34 Catholic Conference win over Xaverian . . . Beverly came away with a 40-38 Northeast Conference win over Gloucester.
■ Woburn made it consecutive weekends with a girls’ tournament win, placing all five combatants in the top two and racking up 89.5 points in the Madison-weighted round robins. Maggie Campbell (112.5 pounds) was the lone Tanners champion, with Raica De Sousa (118), Joie Vangelist (130.4), Caitlin Castoldi (135.4), and Logan Murray (152) taking second place.
■ The MIAA Board of Directors approved new rules for wrestling. Teams can schedule four girls-only meets that do not count toward the maximum of 20 events, teams can wrestle more than one dual meet on school nights, and school nurses are allowed to certify weigh-ins.
■ The New England Pride Scholarship is collecting applications until Feb. 20. Sponsored by Youth New England Wrestling Championships, the awards go to high schoolers who previously wrestled in Youth New Englands and are pursuing the sport in college.