Manchester West placed 15th at the Division I state tournament with 31 points, a remarkable feat since the Blue Knights sent just five competitors to the mats.

During the two-day event at Nashua South that concluded on Saturday, Feb. 21, Timberlane won its 10th consecutive state championship and 15th in 16 years.

The Blue Knights finished three points behind 14th-place Spaulding and sent three wrestlers to the Meet of Champions on Saturday, Feb. 28, at Londonderry High School.

“Coming into the season, I didn’t know what to expect with numbers being down,” said head coach Adam Langlois. “When we had a full lineup, we were right up there as a contender.”

Bedford’s Jared Crain posted the best outcome for West, notching a fourth-place finish in the 135-pound weight class to earn a spot in the Meet of Champions.

Crain is joined at this weekend’s event by teammates Jon Miller, who was fifth in D-I at 189 pounds, and Joe Palmer, who ended the day as the sixthbest heavyweight in Division I.

The number of West wrestlers at the state meet was low for many reasons. A few were physically unable. Also, Langlois didn’t bring younger wrestlers because he wanted them to gain more experience before sending them to such a big stage.

Langlois plans to increase his roster size next year but said it is difficult for him since he doesn’t work at West during school hours.

“I’m looking forward to hopefully building the numbers back up to the way it used to be,” said Langlois. “I would love to be there during the day to grab kids walking through the hallway who I think could be good wrestlers. That’d be a lot easier.”