Simsbury freshman wins at 190
Simsbury freshman Max Konopka won his first State Open title with a 4-0 decision over Brayden Soleau of East Lyme/ Norwich Tech at 190 pounds.
Konopka is undefeated in Connecticut and has lost only once outside the state. It’s unusual for a freshman to win a state title at such a high weight class in Connecticut.
“It’s not common,” Simsbury coach T.J. Silva said. “He’s got a skill set that really separates him. He puts in a lot of work, goes all
over the country.
“We knew how good Max was. This was kind of his coming out party. He proved it to everybody else.”
Max’s grandfather is longtime former East Hartford coach Steve Konopka, who brought Max to his first wrestling practice when he was 4.
Xavier wins team title
Xavier won its third straight State Open title with 243.5 points and fourth overall. Newtown was second (147.5).
Sophomore Braylon Gonzalez won the first championship of the afternoon at 126 pounds, with a 10-8 decision over New Fairfield’s
Joe Mahoney and junior Charles Weidman won the 215 pound title over Sam Montovani of East Harford.
“We had a great round on Friday night, we had a lot of upsets,” Xavier coach Mike Cunningham said.
Ninth-seeded 175-pounder Maximus Morse of Xavier pinned his way into the quarterfinals, then upset top seed Drayvn Roberts of East Hartford in the quarters, 6-2, then won in the semifinals. Morse lost in the final, 8-2 to Lincoln Carlson of East Lyme/Norwich Tech 8-2.
“The kids stepped up,” Cunningham said. Xavier brought 14 wrestlers, one in each weight class, and 10 qualified for the New England championships.