New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Trumbull, New Milford, Xavier claim tournament titles
Fewer than 14 points separated the top four teams, with Trumbull squeaking out a narrow victory at the Connecticut Challenge Saturday in Southington.
The Eagles, who had two individual champions and six wrestlers in the top three, scored 148.5 points to edge runner-up Ludlowe, who scored 145.5 with one champion and seven top-four finishes. Host Southington scored 138.5, and East Providence (RI) scored 135.
Trumbull’s champions included Aethan Munden (195 pounds) and Lukas Cylwik (285), while Ludlowe’s champ was Donell Young (152).
Southington had three weight class winners: Jared Mangiafico (126), Colton Thorpe (132), who was also named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler, and Josh Howard (138).
East Lyme/Norwich Tech had two winners in Lincoln Carlson (160) and Brayden Soleau (182), and Berlin took one title with Nick Ebrahimi (220).
New Milford wins Ridgefield Challenge
One week after winning its own tournament, New Milford was at it again, this time taking first place in the Gary Tiger Ridgefield Challenge.
The competition is named in honor of Gary Tiger, Ridgefield’s coach for more than 15 years, who died in February, 2022, after a battle with cancer.
This year’s tournament featured several top squads, with New Milford scoring 209 points to finish first, while Coventry (RI) was runner-up with 159.5 points. Warde (158) was third, and Fairfield Prep and Ridgefield (136.5) tied for fourth.
The host Tigers had a couple of weight class champions with Andrey Kosygin winning at 182 pounds, and Victor Petkov winning at 138.
New Milford won with 11 wrestlers earning topfive finishes. The Green Wave had two champs: Alex Oberc (106) and Angelo Fernandez (170).
Warde had the most individual champions with three, as Owen Sheiman (113), Dominick Spadaro (126), and Nehemias Pettway (285) all winning weight classes.
No. 1 Xavier wins Massachusetts tournament
Xavier, which has held the No. 1 spot in the Connecticut Wrestling Online state poll for the past four weeks, continued its road success by winning the Methuen Invitational in Massachusetts.
Braylon Gonzalez was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler after winning at 113 pounds. Also winning for the Falcons were Raekwon Shabazz (106), Kyle Levesque (132), Anthony Basile (138), and Charles Weidman (182).
Mat winners
There were several tournaments around the state this weekend.
New Canaan won the Brookfield Invitational,
with rival Darien as the runner-up; Platt edged NFA to win the Lawmen Invitational at Jonathan Law; Avon had four weight class champions and dominated the Highlander Invitational in Portland; and South Windsor won the Rodney Smith Classic in Suffield.