LINCOLN — Cranston West became only the second school in Rhode Island Interscholastic League history to win four consecutive state wrestling titles Saturday night at CCRI-Lincoln, edging the two-time defending dual-meet state champion Cumberland, 188-185, in a State Championship meet that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

The Falcons won the state title in the final match of the night — heavyweight.

With the state title, and their place in history at stake, Cranston West heavyweight John Coleman told his coach Mathew Claeson not to worry. After two years of sitting on the sidelines with multiple shoulder dislocations, he was going to cap off his senior year by winning the heavyweight title for himself, and in doing so, help the team extend its dynasty.

"He was very confident going into the match," Claeson said. "He’s always confident. He’s a very confident kid. He told me that I had the right man for the job, and he was right."

Claeson was a bit worried because Coleman was giving up more than 25 pounds to his opponent, Shane Smith, of Narragansett.

With his teammates cheering him on and Narragansett’s fans, along with Cumberland’s grapplers, chanting for Smith, the two wrestled to a 0-0 tie after the first round.

Coleman started the second round in the down position and he escaped Smith’s hold in less than 20 seconds to earn a point. The score remained 1-0 until the start of the third period, when Smith started in the down position and escaped Coleman’s hold for a point.

The two started in the neutral position in the first overtime, and neither wrestler scored a point.

Narragansett chose the bottom position for the second overtime and Smith got up, giving him a 2-1 lead. Coleman then had a chance to start from the bottom and get up, but Smith was penalized for clasping his hands, which awarded Smith a point and evened the score at 2-2.

That set the stage for the final 30 seconds. If Smith was able to hold Coleman down for 30 seconds, he, and Cumberland, would have been victorious. But Coleman broke the hold and rose to his feet in less than eight seconds, winning the individual title for himself and the team title for Cranston West.

"Those weeks of training, it all builds up to those last seconds," Coleman said. "Trying to hold him down and then trying to get out — it was just so draining — but to come back my senior year and help the team take home the fourth consecutive title, it’s pretty big."

After Coleman’s hand was raised in victory, his teammates rushed the mat to celebrate with him.

"This feels awesome," Coleman said. "I just came back from an injury this season and I want to thank all of my coaches. To come out here and help my team, and [see Shawn] Giblin do it four times in a row — I just wanted to do it for them. This is my first year out on that final stage and I just wanted to win it for the team."

While Coleman’s victory was huge, teammate Shawn Giblin (135 pounds) became only the second wrestler in Rhode Island history to win four state titles in a row by pinning all four of his opponents. He was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.

In addition, Nick O’Connell won the 130-pound state title for Cranston West with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over East Greenwich’s Alexander Hayek, and Everett Desiletes (119) earned valuable points for the Falcons with a second-place finish.

For Cumberland, brothers Shaidai (103) and Shoneil Lariviere (112) won the state title in their respective weight classes, as did Jaron Parent (119).

"I wanted the team to win really bad because Coach [Steve] Gordon was coaching us really hard this year," Shaidai Lariviere said. "We won the Dual Meet State Championship and we wanted to win States, too."

"I never really won anything this big, so it feels good," Parent said.

Other notable winners included Warwick’s Mike Meyers, who won the 125-pound state title after winning the 112-pound crown last year; La Salle’s Steve Saul, who captured the 189-pound state crown after winning the 171-pound state championship last year; and Toll Gate’s Doug Johnson, who won the 215-pound state title after winning the 189-pound state championship last year.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

103: Shaidai Lariviere, Cumb., pinned Devon Hurst, Warwick, 5:02; 112: Shoneil Lariviere, Cumb., def. Pat Malaghan, Westerly, 7-2; 119: Jaron Parent, Cumb., pinned Everett Desiletes, Cr. W., 4:58; 125: Mike Meyers, War., def. Steve Hunt, Cov., 12-0; 130: Nick O’Connell, Cr. W., def. Alex Hayek, E.G., 2-1; 135: Shawn Giblin, Cr. W., pinned Jordan Leveille, N.K., :36; 140: Justin Switzer, Woon., def. Colin Feeley, B.H., 7-5; 145: Jackson Maroni, Cr. E., pinned Ethan Farrell, Narr., 6:02; 152: George Katsaras, N. Prov., def. Taylor Dougan, Cumb., 7-2; 160: Kyle Morgan, EWG, Dan Abram, Barr., 10-3; 171: Mike Saul, La Salle, def. Connor Nelson, S.K., 6-5; 189: Steve Saul, La Salle, pinned Josh Manu, N. Prov., 2:57; 215: Doug Johnson, Toll Gate, def. Brandon Regnault, La Salle, 10-3; Heavyweight: John Coleman, Cr. W., def. Shane Smith, 2-1.

TEAM FINISH

Cranston West 188, Cumberland 185.