By the time the second day of the state wrestling championship started this weekend, Hendricken was well on its way to capturing a fourth straight state crown.

But it would solidify its top spot in the state with eight top-3 finishes on Saturday, compiling 227 points and outpacing second-place East Providence (177) by 50 points.

Hendricken was led by three first-place individual finishes, with Dylan DiSano (126), Devin Rivet (138) and Jimmie Sauro (182) winning state titles in their respective weight classes.

And at the end of a long day of wrestling, the Hawks were raising another state championship trophy.

“The guys performed really well, I was happy,” Hendricken head coach Kevin Hennessey said. “We didn’t achieve all of our individual goals, but as a team, we achieved the goal of winning a title. Now we’re focused on New Englands next weekend. We’re bringing eight guys and we’ll be looking to make some noise.”

The top-3 finishers in the state at each weight class qualify for the New England tournament, which will be held at the Providence Career and Technical Academy in Providence this coming weekend.

Nate Williams (106), DiSano (126), Jon Celico (132), Rivet (138), Stevie Johnson (160), Sauro (182), Nick Martino (220) and Frank Cole (285) will represent Hendricken.

“Luckily it’s in Providence,” Hennessey said of New Englands. “The guys will get to sleep in their own beds, so maybe we’ll have a little bit of an advantage.”

Going into the medal round on Saturday, the Hawks held a 44-point advantage over the Townies, and Hendricken would only further that gap in the third-place matches.

Both Johnson at 160 and Martino at 195 muscled out victories to not only earn a spot at New Englands, but push the Hawks’ lead out to 48 over East Providence entering the title matches.

And that lead would be more than safe, as Hendricken earned three state champions, more than any other school at the meet – La Salle, East Providence and Cumberland had two state champions apiece.

Williams kicked off the title matches for the Hawks at 106, but he would be overpowered by top-seeded Sean Caltagairone of Coventry, 11-2.

However, DiSano would be the first Hawk to earn a spot atop the podium with a 2-0 victory over Coventry’s Seth Brown at 126.

After falling in the 126 final last winter, DiSano was happy that he was able to take that next step and earn the title this time around. All of his hard work paid off.

“I’ve never worked harder in my life for this,” DiSano said. “I spent 30 days at a camp over the summer and worked hard for the rest of the summer. I worked all offseason, doing two to three practices over vacation. It’s one of the greatest feelings that it all paid off. That was the only thing that I was worried about – that all my hard work would go unnoticed. It feels so great to finally win it.”

Next up for the Hawks was Celico in the 132 final against Moses Brown’s Abe Bloom, who won the 113 crown against Jon’s brother, Nick Celico, last winter. Bloom would continue his winning ways, as Jon Celico couldn’t get anything going in a 3-1 defeat.

It wouldn’t take long for the Hawks to get another state champ, though, as Rivet pulled out a 4-2 win over top-seeded Jon Soto of Johnston at 138.

Rivet’s work ethic was key over the offseason, as he moved up from 120 last year to 138 this season.

It’s safe to say that Rivet handled moving up three weight classes well.

“It feels great, the feeling is unexplainable,” Rivet said after winning his first individual state title. “It’s a big difference [between 120 and 138]. The kids were much stronger this year.”

Sauro then took care of business in his match too, as he repeated as state champion at 182 with a dominating, 5-1 victory over East Providence’s Sam Lundsten.

“I know the amount of time I put in and the sacrifices I made,” Sauro said. “It just makes it sweeter.”

Frank Cole at 285 was the only other Hawk in the state finals, but he fell short against Hope’s Adonis Torbio, 3-0.

But even with the loss in the individual finale, the Hawks still had achieved more than enough to earn a landslide team victory.

The Hawks will now turn their attention to those eight wrestlers competing at New Englands, but on Saturday night, they took some time to enjoy that team title. It’s something that they take a lot of pride in, not to mention that they’re in the midst of a special run. Only two other teams have ever won at least four consecutive state championships.

“People doubt our program and say a lot of things about our program that aren’t true,” Sauro said. “But, you know, we work just as hard, if not harder, than any team in this room and that’s why we’ve won four straight team titles. I’m passionate about that, and [my teammates] are passionate about that, that’s what we work for.”