2005 Class S Tournament
At Uncasville
Team results – 1. Northwestern Regional 174.5, 2. Griswold 172.5, 3. Nonnewaug 163, 4. Plainville 153.5, 5. Granby 147, 6. Suffield 139, 7. Morgan 120, 8. Derby 99, 9. Lyman Memorial 95, 10. Somers 78, 11. St. Bernard 76, 12. East Windsor 69, 13. Thomaston 67, 14. Canton 63.5, 15. Windham Tech 59.5, 16. Stafford 55, 17. Terryville 52.5, 18. Housatonic 51, 19. Old Saybrook 50, 20. Gilbert 45, 21. Portland 39, 22. Holy Cross 35.5, 23. East Catholic 27, 24. New London 24.5, 25. Shepaug and Coventry 13, 27. Ellington 11, 28. Rocky Hill 8, 29. Wamogo and Hale-Ray 3.
Individual results
103
Championship – Tim Mandel, Northwestern pin Greg Brown, Plainville, 3:29; 3. Tyler Banks, Griswold pin Lou Piscottano, Somers, 0:35; 5. Justin Sheridan, Suffield win by injury default over Joseph Reisman, Shepaug
112
Championship – Tucker Grass, Morgan dec. Matt Brett, Northwestern, 6-3; 3. Matt Carpenter, Canton dec. Shane Lewis, 6-2; 5. Alex Deltgen, St. Bernard dec. Travis Caouette, Ellington, 10-2
119
Championship – Andrew Jackson, Holy Cross dec. Dale Rollet, Suffield, 8-3; 3. Ed Marshall, Old Saybrook dec. Sam Wilcox, Griswold, 4-0; 5. Alex Gebhart, Somers win by default over Nick Cavallaro, Plainville
125
Championship – Greg Martel, Stafford dec. Joe Kelly, St. Bernard, 12-9; 3. John Lucarelle, Nonnewaug dec. Casey Yates, Lyman Memorial, 8-4; 5. Nick Pantusco, Somers dec. Carl Floran, Windham Tech, 5-4
130
Championship – Joel Webster, Northwestern tech fall Jordan Benson, 17-0, 4:50; 3. Jonathan Bonett, Housatonic dec. Mike Delmastro, Lyman Memorial, 3-1; 5. Tony Blekis, Terryville dec. Mike Angelillo, Nonnewaug, 3-0
135
Championship – Jeff Haddard, Old Saybrook dec. Sean Fisher, Griswold, 11-3; 3. Devin Lewis, Northwestern dec. C.J. Staiger, East Windsor, 4-1; 5. Nick Watson, Granby dec. Scott Boyle, Lyman Memorial, 7-2
140
Championship – James Gladue, Griswold dec. Alex Gibson, Nonnewaug, 11-5; 3. Nick Cascone, East Windsor dec. John Paul Roesler, St. Bernard, 16-12; 5. Ryan Van Nostrand, Granby pin Brian Ritchie, Morgan, 1:43
145
Championship – James Chapman, Griswold dec. Andrew Dahlman, Granby, 8-2; 3. Adam Rivard, Somers dec. Michael D’Onofrio, Plainville, 4-3; 5. Mike Comerford, Coventry dec. Lucas Clunan, Terryville, 6-0
152
Championship – Chris Marks, Northwestern dec. Colby Johnstone, Suffield, 9-6; 3. Heath Cotton, Canton dec. John Saucier, Plainville, 6-1; 5. Fred Parlos, East Windsor win by default over Mike Haskins, Derby
160
Championship – Ted Banks, Griswold dec. Mike Barre, Nonnewaug, 10-7; 3. Chris Nadeau, Granby dec. Ben Lane, Morgan, 8-1; 5. Jon Mozelak, Thomaston dec. Jaron Pioggia, Suffield, 3-1
171
Championship – Aaron Weinhofer, Plainville dec. Brian Cramer, Morgan, 9-4, OT; 3. Mason Flynn, Granby dec. John Groth, Gilbert, 11-5; 5. Edward Ortiz dec. Britt Mulready, Nonnewaug, 7-3
189
Championship – Billy Williams, Windham Tech dec. Nate Shippee, East Catholic, 6-4; 3. Kevin Hylan, Morgan dec. Nick Venn, Granby by default; 5. Pat Dunn, Lyman Memorial pin Ryan Mowrey, Nonnewaug, 4:18
215
Championship – Nick Jubrey, Suffield dec. Mikey Coleman, Northwestern, 15-8; 3. Steve Rodriguez, Derby dec. Mike Skorupski, Thomaston, 3-1; 5. Kyle Kianus, Morgan dec. Jay Magnuson, Windham Tech, 9-5
275
Championship – Thomas Izzo, Derby dec. Andy Dohan, Nonnewaug, 3-0; 3. Ben Kendrick, Gilbert dec. Cory Zapatka, 4-2; 5. Keith Shadrick, Terryville win by default over Dylan Henderson, Portland
Outstanding wrestler – Ted Banks, Griswold, 160
Fast fall award – Tyler Banks (103), Griswold 4 pins in 9:43
By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Connecticut Wrestling Online
UNCASVILLE, Feb. 19, 2005 – In January, they lost to Nonnewaug by one point in a dual meet that decided the Berkshire League championship. They finished second in three tournaments this season, including the BL Tournament two weeks ago when Nonnewaug prevailed for a league-record 9th straight time.
But nothing shook the confidence of the Northwestern Regional wrestling team.
“We knew we were a big tournament team,” first-year coach Darek Schibi said. “We knew we could do it. This is what we practiced for all year long.”
The Highlanders made the first tournament they won in team history a good one. They captured the Class S tournament Saturday night at St. Bernard in the closest finish in tournament history, slipping past Griswold, 174.5 to 172.5.
Nonnewaug, which led by 2.5 points before the finals began, finished third with 163 points after going 0-for-3 in the finals.
Northwestern put five wrestlers in the finals and three won – Tim Mandel (103), Joel Webster (130) and Chris Marks (152). Matt Brett (112) and Michael Coleman (215) each finished second.
Nonnewaug had seven wrestlers win medals (top 6), led by Alex Gibson (140), Mike Barre (160) and Andy Dohan (275), who each finished second. John Luccarelle (125) was third. Three other wrestlers were sixth.
“We wrestled very well,” Nonnewaug coach David Green said. “We had nine kids who had never competed here before. When we began the season, we had nine guys on the varsity for the first time. For them to grow and be where we are today in a single season was really good for us. The guys did a fantastic job.”
It was a sweet victory for Northwestern, which trailed Nonnewaug by 18 points at one point during the afternoon. “This is what we have been waiting for four years,” said Regional’s Devin Lewis, who took a crucial third place at 130. “It had been just building to this point. We knew we could win if we all wrestled our hardest.”
Every point mattered.
Northwestern wouldn’t have won if Lewis didn’t win two matches in the consolation round to finish third. Mike Berger (125) was upset in the quarterfinals but won a key consolation round match by pin. Chris Martin (275) had just two wins but both were by pin. Dave Thiery (189) added a win by pin.
“Every little point, every little wrestle back victory, every little pin point made a difference,” Schibi said. “They wrestled their tails off.”
Nonnewaug led by 2.5 points before the finals began but Mandel (103) put Northwestern into the lead with a pin of Plainville’s Greg Brown in 3:29. Webster (130) won his third straight Class S title with a 17-0 technical fall decision over Plainville’s Jordan Benson to extend Northwestern’s lead over the Chiefs to 7.5 points - 170.5 to 163..
With victories at 140 and 145 pounds, Griswold leaped into second place and trimmed Northwestern’s lead to two, 170.5 to 168.5. Griswold’s James Gladue (140) beat Nonnewaug’s Alex Gibson, 11-5 but Gibson cost the Wolverines a point when he rallied by scoring three points in the final 30 seconds. Instead of earning five points for a major decision (8 points or more), Gladue earned only four.
At 145, Griswold's Jim Chapman missed out on an extra team point when he barely ran out of time at the buzzer in a 8-2 win over Granby's Andrew Dahlman. Chapman nearly turned over Dahlman for near fall points that would have given him a mahor decision.
Northwestern’s Chris Marks (152) extended the Highlander lead to six with his second straight Class S championship victory thanks to a 9-6 win over Suffield’s Colby Johnstone.
Griswold’s Ted Banks (160) got a takedown with 45 seconds left to ice a 10-7 victory over Nonnewaug’s Mike Barre – a victory that clinched the title for Northwestern. Banks was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler.
For Griswold, it was their best-ever finish in a CIAC tournament. The Wolverines had four wrestlers in the finals and crowned three champions.
Teams earned four points for a win, five points for a major decision (win by 8 to 14 points), 5.5 points for a technical fall (win by 15 points) or six points for a pin.
Griswold won three decisions worth 12 points but Northwestern had three wins, a decision, technical fall and pin worth 15.5 points give the Highlanders a 172.5 to 170.5 win.
Northwestern surged down the stretch, going 5-2 in the final three rounds of the tournament. Griswold went 6-2. Nonnewaug, on the other hand, struggled with a 2-11 record in the three rounds.
FIRST TRIP, FIRST TITLE: In the first appearance ever by Holy Cross in Class S, undefeated senior Andrew Jackson (119) won a state championship with an 8-3 victory over Suffield’s Dale Rollet.
Jackson, a Cheshire resident, finally found wrestlers to challenge him in the tournament. He wrestled a full six minutes for the first time all season with his 4-0 win over Old Saybrook’s Ed Marshall in the semifinals. He wrestled another six minutes in the championship win over Rollet.
“It’s been a tough year,” Holy Cross coach Mike Diorio said. “He really hasn’t been pushed. He has only had a few decent matches.” In the final, Jackson (28-0) got a quick takedown and built a 6-2 lead after one period. He becomes the 11th state champion in school history and first since Jason Rodriguez (160) won in Class L in 2000.
ROUGH YEAR ON THE MOUNTAIN: There was plenty of frustration at Housatonic due to injuries this year. Senior captain Josh Morey (160, 12-3), who fell in overtime in the Class S finals a year ago, got a skin infection in mid-January after a tournament and never returned to the mat. His spleen and liver became enlarged fighting the infection.
But sophomore Jonathan Bonett (130) brought a smile to coach Ameen Abo-Hamzy’s face at the Class S tournament. After getting pinned in his first match, Bonett (24-10) won five matches in a row to finish third and qualify for the State Open. Despite battling the flu, he was Housatonic’s lone medalwinner.
Bonett, a seventh seed, outlasted No. 4 Mike Delmastro of Lyman Memorial in the consolation final, 3-0. It’s only his second year on the mat.
“He finally became a wrestler today. He believed in his ability and everything he has learned and applied it,” Abo-Hamzy said.
AROUND THE MAT: Morgan's Tucker Glass (112) secured a championship with a takedown with 44 seconds left to lift him to a 6-3 win over Northwestern's Matt Brett, handing the senior his first loss of the season.
Old Saybrook's Jeff Haddad (135) improved to 30-0 with a 11-3 decision over Griswold's Sean Fisher. Haddad, a former Stafford wrestler, trained with Morgan this year. ... Top-seeded Greg Martel (125) of Stafford won his 33rd match of the season with a 12-9 win over St. Bernard's Joe Kelly to win a championship.
At 171, No. 6 seed Aaron Weinhofer of Plainville stunned top-seeded Ben Cramer of Morgan with a 9-5 overtime decision in the final. Weinhofer sent the bout into OT with a reversal with 2 seconds left. In OT, the two battled for nearly 40 seconds before Weinhofer threw Cramer to his back for a takedown and a three-point near fall. Weinhofer beat No. 3 seed Dan Nurse of New London, 8-4 and beat No. 10 Edward Ortiz of Derby, 5-4. Ortiz stunned No. 2 Britt Mulready of Nonnewaug, 5-4 in the quarterfinals.
In a battle of defending Class S champions, Windham Tech's Billy Williams outlasted East Catholic's Nate Shipee in the final at 189 pounds, 6-4. ... Suffield's Nate Jubrey (215) improved to 33-1 with a 15-8 win over Northwestern's Michael Coleman, handing the senior his first loss of the season. ... Shepaug freshman Joseph Reisman (103) finished sixth in his first tournament appearance. Reisman (17-5) was eliminated in the semifinals but symptoms from a quarterfinal collision with Thomaston’s Jeff Ritucci ended his tournament. Reisman and Ritucci collided in the quarterfinals and Ritucci was knocked unconscious. After Reisman’s semifinal loss to Plainville’s Jeff Brown, two trainers recommended that Reisman call it a day.
He trained with New Milford this winter. ...
Northwestern’s Joel Webster (130) won his third straight Class S championship, joining an elite group of wrestlers. Nonnewaug’s Mike Veech (1988-89, 1991), Gilbert’s Devin Schibi (2000-02), Terryville’s Diego Quintero (1990-92), Kevin Higgins (1982-83, 1985) and Housatonic’s Mike Spadaccini (1988-90) are former BL wrestlers who have won three in a row.
