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This page was last updated on: August 12, 2002
Copyright 2002, Collinsville Publishing Company |
2001-02 Class LL championships |
Results & Stories |
Class LL Championships At Bristol Central Team results: 1. Danbury, 267; 2. Fairfield, 213.5; 3. Southington, 191; 4. Bridgeport Central, 166.5; 5. Norwich Free Academy, 149.5; 6. Glastonbury, 139; 7. Greenwich, 117; 8. Stamford, 114.5; 9. Amity, 99; 10. Conard, 88; 11. Bristol Central, 85; 12. East Hartford, 80; 13. Simsbury, 80; 14. Bulkeley, 64.5; 15. Hall, 48.5; 16. Manchester, 48; 17. Cheshire, 45; 18. New Britain, 40; 19. Newtown, 32; 20. Fairfield Prep, 28.5; 21. Windsor, 27.5; 22. Xavier, 27; 23. Westhill, 25; 24. Shelton, 23; 25. Trumbull, 20.5; 26. Norwalk, 6; 27. West Haven, 4. 103-Final: Nick Weyer, Danbury, dec. Jeff Fontaine, Southington, 4-0; 3. Josh Smith, East Hartford, dec. Josh Turjillo, Bridgeport Central, 9-5; 5. John Gale, Stamford; 6. Brian Scavetta, Conard. 112-Final: Phil Young, Danbury, pinned Shawn Howey, East Hartford, 3:45; 3. Ryan Mehner, Stamford, dec. Dan Wojnarski, Fairfield, 7-6; 5. Brandon Taricani, Southington; 6. Yugia Zhai, Conard. 119-Final: Pat Newkirk, NFA, pinned Nate Russell, Bulkeley, 5:51; 3. Dom Discala, Fairfield, dec. Nick Therriault, Bristol Central, 6-4; 5. Jeff Paragone, Glastonbury; 6. Jeff Marra, Danbury. 125-Final: Favio Delabrena, Fairfield, dec. Brandon Stavola, Amity, 15-3; 3. Chris Kaplanis, Danbury, dec. Doug Paragone, Glastonbury, 6-0; 5. Jeff Levene, Stamford; 6. Chris Gotay, Conard. 130-Final: Anthony Hayes, Danbury, dec. Bill St. Pierre, Southington, 4-0; 3. Niko Filiappakis, Bridgeport Central, dec. Andrew Holden, Glastonbury, 5-0; 5. Abed Sara, Windsor; 6. Jed Sosnowitz, Stamford 135-Final: Lee Mannion, Fairfield, dec. Miguel Figueroa, Bulkeley, 9-2; 3. Trevor Howe, Danbury, pinned, Will Carballo, Hall, 3:35; 5. Ryan Pacyna, New Britain; 6. Jon McDonald, Simsbury. 140-Final: Carlos Valenzuela, Danbury, dec. Aaron Williams, NFA, 9-3; 3. Chris Lee, Southington, pinned Ian Whyte, Cheshire, 1:37; 5. John Wrubel, Conard; 6. William White, Bridgeport Central. 145-Final: Jason Pagan, NFA, dec. Matt Tricarico, Danbury, 6-4; 3. Mike Cobb, Bridgeport Central, dec. Matt Florian, Southington, 12-2; 5. Matt McLinskey, Glastonbury; 6. Hector Grandiel, Fairfield. 152-Final: Dennis Stone, Danbury, pinned Curt Sheppard, Amity, :13; 3. Justin Territo, East Hartford, dec. Barrett Risley, Fairfield, 7-6; 5. Andy Liseo, Southington; 6. Brian Rist, Gustafson, Xavier. 160-Final: Dan Taylor, Greenwich, dec. Larry Liseo, Southington, 16-6; 3. Josh Murphy, NFA, dec. Ian Stavola, Amity, 4-0; 5. Steve Hoffsis, Simsbury; 6. Brandon Abner, Bridgeport Central. 171-Final: Karl Higbie, Greenwich, pinned Cory Everette, Simsbury, 1:42; 3. Zach Desmond, NFA, dec. Gavin Sidebottom, Fairfield, 1-0; 5. Donald Abarahamas, Bridgeport Central; 6. Pete Shreckengast, Conard. 189-Final: Max Pazdan, Fairfield, dec. Mike Rodriquez, Bridgeport Central, 8-3; 3. Brett Sheridan, Glastonbury, won by default over Tim Donnelly, Stamford; 5. Derek Crawford, Conard; 6. Fernando Cortinhas, Trumbull. 215-Final: Wigberto Diaz, Bridgeport Central, dec. Ross Mossey, Glastonbury, 4-3; 3. Bruce Guillmette, Bristol Central, pinned Jon Vose, Southington; 5. Mike Bertanza, Fairfield; 6. Manny Medina, Manchester. 275-Final: John Sullivan, Greenwich, pinned Jim Ferreira, Danbury, :43; 3. Dave Paniccia, Bridgeport Central, pinned Dan Abele, Manchester; 5. Joe Kowles, Glastonbury; 6. Nate Kruska, Fairfield Prep. Fast fall: Bruce Guillmette, Bristol Central (215), 11:17. Outstanding wrestler: Dan Taylor, Greenwich (160). Fast fall: Bruce Guillmette, Bristol Central (215) 11:17 |
By KEN LIPSHEZ Connecticut Wrestling Online BRISTOL, Feb. 17, 2002 -- A weekend that began with lofty hopes culminated in a day of utter frustration for the Southington High wrestling team. The Blue Knights felt they could challenge Danbury for the top spot in Class LL. They thought they could place as many as nine wrestlers in the finals and come away with at least a few state champions. Their aspirations gradually melted into virtual emptiness. Southington came nowhere challenging the Hatters and slipped behind Fairfield Saturday to settle for third in the Class LL Championships at Bristol Central High School. Danbury captured its sixth straight 'LL' title by amassing 267 points. Fairfield, which Southington turned back at the Fairfield Duals (40-22 on Jan. 5), finished second with 213.5. The Knights ended with 191 points, 25 ahead of fourth-place Bridgeport Central. New Britain scored 40 points to finish 18th among the 27 schools who entered wrestlers. Only three Blue Knights advanced to the finals and none were able to win their title bouts. The results had the Southington coaches questioning their mental and physical approach to the season's pivotal event. "We should have had nine in the finals," said Southington assistant coach Derek Dion, who handled the strategical approach to the tournament. "To melt down that badly, you have to look at the coach. Don't blame the kids. It's my job to get them ready." Sophomore second-seed Jeff Fontaine wrestled his way into the 103-pound finals but offered little resistance to Danbury freshman Nick Weyer. The top-seeded Weyer scored a takedown 1 minute into the first period, then rode Fontaine through the second 2-minute session. With 1:32 left in the final period, Weyer, 38-3 on the season, gained a two-point reversal and claimed a 4-0 victory. Fontaine is now 34-2 this year with both losses coming against Weyer, who pinned him in 1:47 in the dual meet between the teams at the Fairfield Duals. Junior Bill St. Pierre, the first seed at 130, advanced to the finals but was beaten by Danbury's second-seeded Anthony Hayes in much the same manner. The taller, wiry Hayes registered a takedown in the waning seconds of the first period, rode St. Pierre through the second, then scored a reversal midway through the third for a 4-0 win. Senior Larry Liseo was surprised by another long, lean foe in Dan Taylor of Greenwich. Taylor took Liseo down 30 seconds into the match and turned him for two back points. Liseo fought back with an escape and takedown but Taylor piled up seven points in the second period, turning Liseo twice. Taylor turned him once more in the third period to gain a 16-6 victory. He was named the tourney's Most Outstanding Wrestler for his efforts. "I thought we'd win when I was a sophomore, junior and now as a senior," Liseo said. "Then there was the football team (falling short of a playoff berth). I thought I'd get a ring somewhere. I'm disappointed." The Southington trio will move on to next weekend's State Open at Glastonbury along with Chris Lee, Mat Florian and Jon Vose. Lee, a first seed at 140, was pinned by Aaron Williams of Norwich Free Academy in the semifinals at 2:45. Lee pinned Williams in 42 seconds when they met in a dual meet at Southington two weeks prior. Lee, a sophomore who is 35-2 on the year, wrestled back effectively to take third place. Florian was pinned in the semifinals by Danbury freshman Matt Tricarico in 3:21. He won in the consolation semifinal but settled for fourth when he lost a 12-2 decision to Mike Cobb of Bridgeport Central in the third-place bout. Vose lost to Ross Massey of Glastonbury in the semifinals, 6-5 in double overtime. In the third-place bout, he was pinned by Bruce Guilmette of Bristol Central who he pinned Jan. 23 in the CCC South dual meet between the teams. Brandon Taricani (112) and freshman Andy Liseo (152) placed fifth for the Knights. "We focused so much on the team concept. That's where we started not to do so well ad started to fold in on ourselves," Knights head coach Pete Sepko said. "When (Chris Lee) lost, that was the first blow. Then Mat (Florian), then Andy (Liseo). We counted on winning two of those three." New Britain High senior Ryan Pacyna placed fifth at 135, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Lee Mannion of Fairfield. He was pinned in the consolation semifinals and won the fifth-place bout by forfeit. "The Fairfield coach said Mannion hadn't wrestled anybody as tough as Ryan all year," New Britain assistant Dan Blanchard said. "He thought he was great. We thought he would win every match but he died at the end. Maybe he was psychologically spent but we got compliments about him all day." |
Danbury rolls to record-tying 6th Class LL title |
