The Mt. Hope High School wrestling squad had a typical busy week, with outings locally as well as taking a trip to New Jersey.

The Huskies split their most recent Division I matches, besting Cranston West, 59-15, while falling to Bishop Hendricken, 44-30. The Huskies moved to 3-2 in league duals with the decisions.

Winners for the locals against the Falcons were: Logan Sousa, 106 pounds, by pin in 52 seconds; Michael Bouchard, 113, 3:54; Eli Francis, 126, 8-5; Ethan Martel, 138, 3:54; Anthony Lombardi, 150, tech fall, 22-6, 5:06; Matthew Thibaudeau, 157, 7-4; Nick Rogers, 175, 1:40. Aidan Pereira, 165, L.J. Pacheco, 190, and Ben Martel, 285, received forfeits.

Against the Hawks, the following Huskies were victorious: Francis, 126, 1:07; Martel, 138, tech fall, 23-8, 4:01; Kyle McCarthy, 144, 4-3; Lombardi, major decision, 11-2; Ben Martel, 285, 2:29.

The Huskies spent this past weekend in New Jersey, home of coach Ryan Fazzi, to compete against local sides there Montville, Kinnelon and Sayreville. Mt. Hope went 1-2 in the quad meet.

"The kids enjoyed the experience and culture of wrestling," Fazzi said of the Huskies' visit to his native "Garden State." He continued, "The record doesn't reflect it, but there was definitely some major improvement for us."

Among the top performers for the Huskies were Lombardi, who won all three of his bouts at 150, and Pacheco, who went 2-1 competing at 175.

Lombardi improved his solo record to 27-3 on the season at the time following a 16-11 decision and two, first-period pins.

"Anthony continues to show significant improvement," said Fazzi. "He’s now aiming for his first tournament championship of the season at the Woburn Invitational this coming Saturday (January 18)."

Pacheco won his first match by decision, 7-6, then scored a first period pin. His lone setback was a 13-7 decision.

"The coaches and I were very impressed with L.J.’s performance," Fazzi added. "Despite some expected fatigue due to inactivity, he showed great technical wrestling and mat awareness. LJ is one of those kids that does not care who he wrestles. He goes out there and scraps. He’s also an intelligent wrestler which serves him greatly. L.J. is working hard to build on this momentum and is aiming for his first medal at Mt. Hope during the Woburn Invitational tournament."