The News-Times

25 CIAC WRESTLERS TO WATCH FOR 2021-22

- — Will Aldam

Nicholas Augeri, Sr., Staples: The senior was the Class LL champion in 2020 at 195 pounds and finished the season with a 37-3 record.

Alex and Nate Blaha, Srs., Ridgefield: The twin brothers both had strong showings in 2020, with Alex going 29-5 and finishing second in Class LL for 106 pounds, while Nate went 23-4 and finished third in Class LL at 113 pounds.

Thomas Bock, Jr., New Fairfield: As a freshman, Bock was the third-place finisher in Class M for 120 pounds, finishing the season with a 26-7 record.

Matthew Carrozza, Sr., Brookfield: Was the third-place finisher in Class M for 113 pounds in 2020 as a sophomore. Carrozza finished that season with a 20-3 record.

Michael Carpenter, Sr., Pomperaug: Was the runner-up in Class L at 126 pounds as a sophomore. Carpenter finished sixth in the State Open and had a record of 28-3.

Lucas Coleman, Sr., Warde: Went 30-3 in 2020 at 113 pounds while finishing second in Class LL and fourth in the State Open.

Will Ebert, Sr., Warde: Went 34-5 in 2020 and was the Class LL champion at 145 pounds. He also finished second at the State Open and sixth at the New England championsh­ips.

Brendan Gilchrist, Jr., Norwalk: Won the FCIAC at 182 pounds as a freshman in 2020 and finished as the runner up at 195 pounds in the sophomore bracket at the National High School Coaches Associatio­n tournament in Virginia Beach.

William Hamilton, Sr., Bristol Central: Hamilton finished third in Class L and fourth at the State Open for 106 pounds as a sophomore in 2020. His season record was 33-3.

Jackson Heslin, Fr., Xavier: The newcomer has drawn plenty of attention after being invited to Wrestle for the United States at the U15 Pan American Championsh­ips this year in the 114-pound division.

Dominic Iaquinto, So., Danbury: Though he has not wrestled for his high school yet, Iaquinto placed at the Virginia Beach Nationals Club meet last year and was a freshman All-American.

Zachary Johns, Sr., Suffield/Windsor Locks: Johns was the 126-pound division champion for Class M and finished fourth in the State Open as a sophomore in 2020. His record was 36-1 that year.

Zackary Kanaitis, Sr., RHAM: Was the first-place finisher in Class M at 120 pounds as a sophomore, finishing the 2020 season with a 30-5 record.

Logan Kovacs, Sr., Danbury: Kovacs went 18-6 as a sophomore in 2020 and finished third in Class LL at 145 pounds and fifth in the State Open.

Dylan Levesque, Sr., Xavier: Levesque was the Class S champion at 120 pounds and finished third in the State Open and sixth in New England’s. He finished the season with a 30-2 record as a sophomore. Transferre­d from East Hampton to Xavier last year.

Evan Lindner, Sr., New Milford: At 106 pounds, Lidner won the Class L title as a

sophomore while finishing third in the state open and fifth in New England’s He went 27-2 during the 2020 season.

Colin Loria, Sr., Xavier: Was the thirdplace finisher in Class LL for 120 pounds as a sophomore in 2020, boasting a record of 28-12.

Jamikael Lytle, Sr., Northweste­rn: The Class S champion in 2020 for 195 pounds went 28-0 during the season. He also finished third in the State Open and fifth in New England’s.

John Mairano, Sr., Simsbury: Finished the 2020 season as a sophomore with a 30-6 record. He was the Class L runner-up and finished fourth in the state open at 138 pounds.

Luca Manfredi, Jr., Newtown: As a freshman in 2020, Manfredi finished third in Class LL for 106 pounds and finished the season with a record of 30-5.

Alexander Marshall, Sr., Bristol Eastern: Marshall went 36-2 as a sophomore, finishing third in Class L and sixth in the State Open for 152 pounds.

Kai O’Dell, Sr., Danbury: Went 24-5 in 2020 as a sophomore. Finished first in Class LL at 113 pounds, second at the state open and fifth in New England’s.

Max Piel, New Milford: The senior will look to build on a sophomore campaign in which he finished fifth in Class L at 126 pounds and compiled a record of 19-7.

Jonah Weber, Jr., Avon: Weber finished his freshman season with a 29-7 record and was the runner-up in Class M for 113 pounds.

Matt Weiner, Sr., Shelton: As a sophomore in 2020, he went 31-1 and won the SCC and Class LL titles for 285 pounds. He also finished 2nd in CT Open and went 3-2 at New England’s. Competed in Florida last year but returned to Shelton for this season.

 ?? Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticu­t Media ?? Ridgefield’s Alex Blaha, left, battles Trumbull’s Michael Longo in the 106-pound finals at the Class LL wrestling championsh­ips.
Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticu­t Media Ridgefield’s Alex Blaha, left, battles Trumbull’s Michael Longo in the 106-pound finals at the Class LL wrestling championsh­ips.
 ?? H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticu­t Media ?? Trumbull’s Matt Ryan, in black, and Danbury’s Logan Kovacs, in white, wrestle in the 138-pound weight class during a match in 2019.
H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticu­t Media Trumbull’s Matt Ryan, in black, and Danbury’s Logan Kovacs, in white, wrestle in the 138-pound weight class during a match in 2019.

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