BG's Zach Rioux, shown duirng a reguar season meet, was one of the key winners for the Cards in the Division II quarters vs. Portsmouth on Saturday. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

There will be an all-area Division II wrestling semifinal Wednesday, courtesy of the Bishop Guertin and Merrimack High School squads.

The top-seeded Cardinals toppled an undermanned Portsmouth team, 30-6 in Nashua, while the No. 5 Tomahawks took care of No. 4 Winnacunnet, 48-34 in Hampton.

Thus, the two will now tangle on Wednesday with the winner either meeting Hollis Brookline or Goffstown in the Division II finals next Saturday.

The Cards got five pins on the day: Calvin Jozokos at 132, Randy Brown at 138, Will Murphy at 145, Zach Rioux at 152, and Rocco Geraci at 285.

“We were very happy with the effort of all the kids,” Guertin coach Paul Rousseau said. “You have to give Portsmouth a lot of credit, driving all the way over here with six wrestlers and fighting/wrestling with a lot of heart.

Meanwhile, the Tomahawks got a lot of contributions on the road.

“We had a good match against at tough Winnacunnet team,” Merrimack coach Bryan Dine said.

Mitchell Krupp continued a great freshman season at 132 with a win, while Tomahawk pins came from Zach Cusson (145) over Satori Swanson, Gabe Victal (moved up to 195), Joey Leblanc (152, first period), and Anson Dewar at 160 (second period).

But the ‘Hawks’ Grant Descheneaux, despite a loss to Levon McCann at 120, may have provided the most important key, avoiding a pin.

“Only giving up a major (decision) to keep the score close was the difference in the match,” Dine said.

And now it’s on to the semis.

“We really need our younger wrestlers to step up and do their job for us to move on to the finals next Saturday,” Rousseau said.

“We love to face good competition,” Dine said, “and look forward to the opportunity to face the Cardinals again.”

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