By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Connecticut Wrestling Online
MANCHESTER, Jan. 24 – For the first time, Mt. Anthony had to work to capture the Eagle Classic tournament. The long-time Vermont state champions won the tournament for the 13th straight season on Saturday but No. 3 South Windsor made the Patriots sweat.
When the championship round began, the Patriots led by only five points. South Windsor cut the lead to two points but five of the eight Mt. Anthony wrestlers in the finals won to lift the Patriots to a 235-222 victory.
South Windsor had three individual champions led by Joe Sargenti (135), Elliot Lopez (130) and Mike Ingalis (189). Nine Bobcats won medals. “Our goal was to wrestle hard and have some fun,” South Windsor coach Jude Knapp said. “We’re enjoying the tough matches.”
Mt. Anthony was missing three starters but Patriots coach Scott Legacy shrugged that off. “We have to compete with what we have here,” he said. “It’s a great challenge for us. We’ll find out what kind of guts we have.”
The finals began at 135 pounds with Sargenti cutting the Mt. Anthony lead to just two points, 211-209, with a hard-fought 9-2 victory over Berlin’s previously undefeated Roger Moss (20-1). A five-point move the second period broke open the match for Sargenti.
At 140, Berlin’s Justin Roncaioli (20-2) survived a 3-2 decision with South Windsor’s Jake O’Dell. Roncaioli led 3-1 after two periods when O’Dell escaped to cut the lead to one with 1:39 remaining. O’Dell nearly got the match-winning takedown with 43 seconds left. He threw Roncaioli to the mat but Roncaioli rolled to his feet so quickly that the referees waived off their initial call of a takedown.
Roncaioli was able to keep O’Dell at bay for the remainder of the match. “I knew it was coming and I was prepared for it,” Roncaioli said. “I just put as much energy as I could into it.”
Mt. Anthony extended its lead to six, 215-209 when sophomore Cody Wilkins outlasted East Catholic’s Eric Sakowski in the final at 152 pounds, 7-6 in double OT. Sakowski’s takedown with nine seconds left sent the match into OT. Wilkins’s reversal with 10 seconds left in the second OT was the difference.
Mt. Anthony’s Cole Frost prevailed at 160 to extend the lead to 10. South Windsor cut the lead to four when Mike Ingalls (189) pinned Mt. Anthony’s Brad Sawyer in a dominating performance (1:39). But the Patriots clinched the title when Ethan Furlong won his second straight Eagle title by pinning South Windsor’s Seth Rothberg at 275 pounds.
Nick Healy (119), Audi Nash (112) and Shawn Kasek (145) each finished third for South Windsor while Dillon Rinker (125) was fourth.
“Our goal was to wrestle hard and have some fun,” Knapp said. “It’s a great tournament. We came here for some tough matches and we got some. You find out a lot about yourself.”
South Windsor is 11-0 and was ranked No. 2 in the state. "The kids have been working hard," Knapp said. "They put in the time in the offseason and it has made a difference."
It was an exciting finish in the 119 pound championship match between undefeated sophomore Tyler Tilbe of Nonnewaug and Mt. Anthony’s Zach Hale. Tilbe took a 2-0 lead with his first period takedown. Hale’s reversal tied the match at 3-3 after two periods.
Tilbe took a 4-3 lead when Hale let him go early in the third period. Hale got a takedown with 37 seconds left for a 5-4 lead but he was penalized for locking hands with 20 seconds left to tie the match at 5-5.
Tilbe escaped with 13 seconds left for a 6-5 lead but Hale wouldn’t quit and he drove in for a takedown with two seconds left near the edge of the match and a 7-6 lead. Tilbe didn’t stop and got away, pushing Hale away with two hands. But the referee rule that it came too late.
At 125 pounds, RHAM’s Billy Lynn earned the outstanding wrestler award with his 3-2 win over Killingly’s Brandon Thuotte. At 103, Glastonbury’s Tyler Keane earned a championship with his 6-5 win over Mt. Anthony’s Smith Stratton.
NOTES: There were no bouts to decide fifth and sixth place. ... The gym was evacuated for about 30 minutes when someone pulled the fire alarm late in the afternoon. ... To reduce the number of participants, only 16 teams were invited and only varsity wrestlers were allowed to participate. The tournament didn't become double-elimination until the round of eight (quarterfinals).
Eagle Classic
At Manchester
Team results – 1. Mt. Anthony (Bennington, Vt.) 235, 2. South Windsor 222, 3. Berlin 151, 4. Glastonbury 109, 5. Windham High 98½, 6. Killingly 91, 7. Nonnewaug and RHAM 85, 9. Woodstock Academy 71, 10. Canton 60½, 11. Newington 60, 12. East Catholic 43, 13. Rockville 37½, 14. Fermi 36, 15. Hartford Public 4, 16. East Windsor 0
Individual results
103: 1. Tyler Keane, Glastonbury dec. Smith Stratton, Mt. Anthony, 6-5; 3. Matt White, Canton dec. Dan Cirullo, Berlin, 8-3
112: 1. Mike Bradley, Mt. Anthony pin Shaun Sullivan, Berlin, 2:58; 3. Audi Nash, South Windsor pin Will Gerardi, RHAM, 4:55
119: 1. Zach Hale, Mt. Anthony dec. Tyler Tilbe, Nonnewaug, 7-6; 3. Nick Healy, South Windsor pin Taylor Grauer, Windham, 2:16
125: 1. Billy Lynn, RHAM dec. Brandon Thuotte, Killingly, 3-2; 3. Nestor Rivera, Newington dec. Dillon Rinker, South Windsor, 6-1
130: 1. Elliot Lopez, South Windsor pin Mark Gonzalez, East Catholic, 2:21; 3. Tyler Herrick, Killingly dec. Dan Pierce, Mt. Anthony, 1-0
135: 1. Joe Sargenti, South Windsor dec. Kevin Moss, Berlin, 9-2; 3. Kyle Nunez, Newington dec. Erik Krieg, Nonnewaug, 9-6
140: 1. Justin Roncaioli, Berlin dec. Jake O’Dell, South Windsor, 3-2; 3. Mike Bova, Woodstock Academy dec. Zach Cooke, Killingly, 2-0
145: 1. Will Clark, Glastonbury dec. Ethan Berube, Berlin, 7-4; 3. Shawn Kasek, South Windsor dec. Zach Weinfort, Mt. Anthony, 4-2
152: 1. Cody Wilkins, Mt. Anthony dec. Eric Sakowski, East Catholic, 7-6, 2 OT; 3. Brohen Krsulick, Woodstock Academy dec. Mike Fiorillo, Berlin, 5-0
160: 1. Cole Frost, Mt. Anthony dec. Oleg Mironchenko, Woodstock Academy, 12-6; 3. Scott Horan, Newington dec. Jack Banks, Berlin, 3-1
171: 1. Zach Fleming, Windham dec. Eric Brainard, RHAM, 3-1; 3. Ben Pennant, Glastonbury dec. Mike Green, Woodstock Academy, 8-3
189: 1. Mike Ingalls, South Windsor pin Brad Sawyer, Mt. Anthony, 1:39; 3. Alex Dorrough, Glastonbury dec. Shane Fafard, Windham, 2-0
215: 1. Travis Koch, Windham pin Kyle Lane, Mt. Anthony, 3:19; 3. Drew Whitehead, Killingly pin Kyle Bucciarelli, Nonnewaug, 3:43
285: 1. Ethan Furlong, Mt. Anthony pin Seth Rothberg, South Windsor, 5:07; 3. Ronnie Walker, Nonnewaug pin Nathan Fleming, Windham, 4:11
Outstanding wrestler: Billy Lynn, RHAM (125); Sportsmanship award: South Windsor
