Milford's Mikey Boulanger joins Aidan Baum in wrestling 100 wins club

MILFORD - Aidan Baum expected his 100th win at some point.

The Milford junior started wrestling in eighth grade. He compiled "around 50 or 60" wins by his sophomore season. The math made sense. Baum set his sights even higher then, on Nick Diantonio's school record of 140SOMETHING.

His 100th win became elementary, a matter of records. Baum knew he had three matches to win two when he entered Milford's home tournament the last weekend of 2023. He suffered a tight overtime loss to a top ranked New England wrestler in the second match and picked up a forfeit for victory No. 100. Even in less than ideal circumstances, tears welled.

"I was emotional. When it happens, it's one of those things that you prepare yourself for, but you're not prepared for," Baum said.

Baum started wrestling in first grade. He's always been " a small kid," he said, but that never hampered him on the mat. The sport doesn't allow for competitors to rely on size when sorting by weight classes.

"I was able to show off my skill," Baum said. "I was able to flourish once I was competing with athletes my size."

Best friends and drill partners

One of those athletes that's pushed him the whole time is fellow Milford junior Mikey Boulanger. They started wrestling together in elementary school.

"We've been best friends since fifth grade and drill partners since fifth grade," Baum said. "Me and Mikey have been pushing each other for a while."

If not for an early season injury, Boulanger might have hit triple digits first. But he recovered and performed well enough to have 99 a the start of Wednesday's senior night match against Taunton. Boulanger built an early lead against John Mandeville at 144 pounds. Mandeville fired back with a flurry in the third featuring an escape, take down and near fall that narrowed the gap to 12-11. The Tigers' coaches screamed for a pin, but the buzzer sounded to deliver Boulanger win No. 100.

"I didn't wrestle as well as I would have liked to, but it felt good to get the win for the league," Boulanger said.

Not performing at his best particularly stuck with Boulanger, last year's Division 2 state champion at 126 pounds, because he embraces wrestling's grind, the constant improvement the sport demands.

"I feel like I can always get better," he said. "There's always something I can improve."

Put in the time

That ethos permeates Milford's wrestling room. The Scarlet Hawks have won the last two Division 2 state championships. They clinched a fourth straight Hockomock crown by besting Taunton 47-31 on Wednesday.

"That was great, it doesn't happen very often, but it's over. We'll celebrate at our banquet at the end of the year," Milford coach Peter Boccia said. "We've got to get back to work. We've got to fix the little things. It's always looking to that next thing or always knowing you can improve that motivates them. They all know they can be better wrestlers. I can be a better coach. They see me put in the time, they put in the time."

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Milford's core group all came up together. They've made each other better and supported each other on the way to the titles and milestones. Robby Lyons will likely be next to 100 wins. His total sits in the 90s, and he could crack the barrier by next weekend.

"They grew up doing this. This is what they dreamt of. This is what they put in all of the hours for. To have them all hitting those milestones in one season, and the team doing as well as we are and the rest of the kids buying in and following, it's been great," Boccia said. "It's been an honor to coach them."

That group built the program in more ways than one. They provided the foundation and brought in reinforcements. Milford didn't have a heavyweight this season. The other football players on the wrestling team recruited Tony Dew and Ollie McKee to help fill the spot. Two Italian exchange students joined the program.

"When you have success, it builds the program," Boccia said.

Milford remains focused on the next steps. A third straight state title is in reach. The Scarlet Hawks will likely contend for the All-State crown. They'll be without captain Sean Donovan after he suffered an injury, but the benefit of a strong program is depth

"It's not easy. That hurts, but for a team to come out and beat Taunton the way we did, it takes the next guy to step in and wrestle tough," Boccia said. "We're gonna be in the mix."

Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Milford wrestling adds 100th win, 4th straight Hockomock title