VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., March 28 – Seven Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors in the four National High School Coaches Association national high school wrestling tournaments this weekend at Virginia Beach and another three wrestlers were just one win shy of finishing in the top eight of their weight class and earning All-American honors.
It’s only the fourth year that NHSCA tournaments have been held for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors and it’s most Connecticut wrestlers to earn All-American honors in one year.
Connecticut had two All-Americans in the junior national tournament. Shelton’s Patrick Gillen (215) was the top seed in the tournament and dropped his opening round match to eventual national champion Joe Stolfi of Pennsylvania, 5-3. But Gillen won three of his next four matches in the consolation round and finish seventh to become the first Connecticut wrestler to earn All-American honors for three straight years.
Bristol Eastern’s Andrew Chase made it to the semifinals before losing to top-seeded and eventual national champion Abdulgawi Mohamed of New York, 3-2. Chase finished fifth with a 2-1, double OT victory over Frank Armenta of Arizona.
In the sophomore nationals, Connecticut had two All-American wrestlers. After losing his opening match of the tournament, Griswold’s Brandon Walsh (135) won six straight matches in the consolation round and finished fourth. Walsh had three victories by one point and dropped a one-point decision to Jacob Crawford of Virginia, 4-3, in the consolation final.
Hand’s Joe DeMichele (285) lost his opening round match, 1-0 to finalist Doug Vollaro of Florida. But DeMichele won four straight to earn All-American honors. He faced Ohio’s Pat Elflein for fifth place in the consolation round finals.
In the freshman national tournament, Connecticut had two All-Americans in one class, 130 pounds. Bristol Eastern’s Craig Sassu finished fourth while Windham’s Miguel Calixto took fifth. At 152 pounds, Fairfield Warde’s Tom Anania finished eighth.
The last time Connecticut had three All-Americans in one tournament was in 1992 at the senior national tournament. The state record is four All-Americans at the 1991 senior nationals.
Connecticut struggled in the senior national tournament, going 4-9 in the opening round of the tournament and 0-4 in the second round. Middletown’s Victor Ekpenyong (112) had the best tournament, going 3-2 and finishing one win shy of earning All-American status. Ekpenyong dropped his opening round match in overtime and was eliminated with a 3-1 decision.
Danbury’s Brian Jennings (112) and Charlie Costanzo (119) and Amity’s Alex Carpenter (160) were the only other Connecticut wrestlers to win more than one match in the senior tournament. Costanzo (2-2) and Carpenter (3-2) were both two wins shy of All-American honors.
In the middle school division, Danbury’s Paulo Freitas (75) won a national championship while Kevin Jack (85) finished second and Colchester’s Howie Kilpatrick (95) and teammate Chris Elrod (90) finished third. Justin Peterson (70) finished second in the elementary school division.
Junior Nationals
Chase won some close matches to earn a spot in the semifinals. He beat C. Adam Lowe of Virginia, 4-2 in the second round and beat top-seeded Justin Riggs of West Virginia, 4-3 in the quarterfinals. After losing to Mohamed in the semifinals, Chase fell to North Carolina’s Josh Smith in the consolation semifinals, 5-1. In the fifth place bout with Armenta, Chase gave up a takedown in the second OT but got a takedown at the end of the period for his 2-1 victory.
Gillen rallied after his two-point loss to Stolfi. He outscored his next two opponents by a combined score of 19-1 before outlasting No. 2 seed Jake Barnhart of New York, 5-2. Gillen got pinned in his next match by Maryland’s Justin Kozera in 27 seconds in the consolation semifinals but rallied to pin Florida’s Chris Herron in 2:17 to take seventh.
Bacon Academy’s Nick Dodge (112), Fairfield Warde's Evan Fraser (125), Hand’s Ed Carroll (130), Mike Sullivan (152), Devin Covone (160), Bacon’s Aren Norman (189), Nate Fleming (215), Northwestern Regional’s Tim Zeitler (285) and Dylan Kniska (285) each won at least one match. Norman had two wins.
Sophomore Nationals
Walsh had an outstanding tournament after dropping his opening round match to Arkansas’ Ben Sullivan, 6-2. The Griswold star won six straight in the consolation including a 4-3 win over Pennsylvania’s Adam Kritzer, a 3-2 victory over Florida’s Cory Russ and a 2-1 win over New Jersey’s Penal Deeb. He also had a 10-3 and 8-3 decision and a win by pin.
DeMichele dropped a 1-0 decision to Vollaro in the first round but remained steady. He earned a 9-2 victory in his next match and outlasted Kacee Sauer of New York, 2-1. After two wins by pin, DeMichele was an All-American.
Middletown’s Devon Carrillo (171) and Danbury’s Dylan Bryant (103) each finished one victory shy of All-American status. Carrillo won his first two bouts by pin before dropping a 9-3 decision in the quarterfinals to Tim Dudley of South Carolina. Carillo was eliminated in his next match, 12-9 by Austin Hayes of New York.
Byrant won his first three matches of the tournament before dropping a 9-3 decision to eventual finalist Joey Beyers of Pennsylvania in the quarterfinals. Byrant was eliminated in his next match by New Jersey’s Ricky Carter, 4-2.
Freshman Nationals
Sassu won more matches at the national tournament (four) than he did in the CIAC Class L tournament (two) at 135 pounds. Sassu marched into the national quarterfinal at 130 pounds with a 48-second pin of Tennessee’s Andy Bennett and a 10-2 win over Alabama’s Greg Anthalona. In the quarterfinals, Sassu outlasted New York’s Joe Mastro, 4-2. Sassu lost in the semifinals to New Jersey’s Bryant Clagon by pin in 1:49.
In the consolation round, he pinned Pennsylvania’s Ben Schoffstall in 55 seconds to earn a spot in the consolation final. But Pennsylvania’s Anthony Colletta pinned Sassu in 2:46 to take third place.
Connecticut’s other All-American at 130 pounds was Calixto, the Class M champion who finished third in the State Open and New England at 125 pounds. Calixto went 5-2 in the tournament to finish fifth with a 5-4 decision over Schoffstall. Two of Calixto’s five victories were by shutout, 10-0 and 6-0.
Anania (152) won his opening round bout with a tight 4-3 decision over Arkansas’ Rilen Skienns before getting pinned in 5:28 by eventual finalist Dom Abounader of Ohio. But Anania won three straight bouts to earn All-American status including a 15-0 tech fall over Levi Reed of North Carolina and a 3-0 win over New Jersey’s Kyle Kinney. In the medal round, Anania dropped a close 3-1 decision in the consolation quarterfinals and a 2-0 decision in the seventh place bout.
Zach Tepper (103), Pharoah Eaton (112), Danbury’s Shane Jennings (119), Jake Savoca (119), Nick Poulin (145), Windham's Spencer Hill (160) and Travis Daly (215) each won a match.
Senior Nationals
Ekpenyong lost to eventual All-American Logan Randle of Indiana in OT, 8-6 in the first match of the tournament. But Ekpenyong rallied with three consecutive wins by beating Oregon’s Justin Halsead, 10-2, topping California’s Ed Ruiz, 7-4 and outlasting Danbury’s Brian Jennings, 5-2. Ekpenyong was eliminated by Louisiana’s Ben Willeford, 3-1.
Danbury's Brian Jennings (112) went 2-2 in the tournament. Teammate Charlie Costanzo (119) was 2-2 while Amity's Alex Carpenter was 3-2. Hand's Brian Onofrio (152) and Tim Granata (285) were the only other Connecticut wrestlers to earn a victory.
NHSCA U.S. Open
Four Connecticut wrestlers earn
All-American honors
SALISBURY, Md., July 4, 2010 – Two Connecticut wrestlers made the finals at the National High School Coaches Associaton’s 14th annual U.S. Open wrestling championships and four earned All-American status by finishing in the top eight of their respective weight classes.
Junior Aren Norman (189) of Bacon Academy and eighth grader Walker Dempsey (119) of Stamford each finished second in their respective weight classes. Norman won three straight bouts before dropping a 1-0 decision to junior Michael Kazalas of Keystone Oaks, Pennsylvania.
Dempsey, who wrestled at Greenwich Country Day School this past winter, dropped a 12-2 decision in the finals to Mt. Anthony, Vt., sophomore Zak Hale. Dempsey did win three matches in a row, including a 2-1 decision in the semifinals and a 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals.
Stamford’s Joe Battinelli (112) finished fourth to earn All-American honors for the second straight year. A year ago, Battinelli finished seventh at 103 pounds. East Haven’s Julius Feniola (285) finished seventh to earn All-American honors.
Norman and Dempsey are the first Connecticut wrestlers to earn a spot in the U.S. Open finals since Greenwich’s Brandon Williamson (189) finished first in 2006.
Other recent U.S. Open tournament
All-Americans from Connecticut
2009: Joe Battinelli, Stamford (103), 7th
2008: Aren Norman, Bacon Academy (189), 4th
2008: Michael McKeever, Immaculate (215), 6th
2007: No results available
2006: Brandon Williamson, Greenwich (189), 1st
2005: Matt Volpe, Brookfield (112), 8th
2005: Ryan Quinn, Bacon Academy (171), 6th
2004: none
2003: Charles Cycon, Westhill (160), 4th
Spencer wins national freestyle championship
FARGO, N.D., July 25 – Niantic’s Ross Spencer, who graduated from East Lyme High last month, won a national title Sunday at the USA Wrestling Junior freestyle national championship with a 1-1, 3-1 victory over defending national champion Ruben Navejas of Washington State. A last-second takedown at the end of the first period gave Spencer a key win in the opening period. Wrestlers who win two of three periods win the match.
After giving up a takedown early in the second period, Spencer, 18, hit a three-point move, getting the takedown and throwing Navejas to his back to seize control of the bout.
Spencer was a two-time Class L champion at East Lyme and won the State Open at 103 as a junior. He was second in the Open this year at 112 and sixth in New England. Navejas won the Washington state title as a sophomore at 103 and was second at 103 this past winter.
Spencer is believed to be the first Connecticut wrester to win a USA Wrestling national title since South Windsor’s Anthony Valles (98 pounds) won back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2004.
Spencer, Malone earn All-American honors at USA Wrestling
FARGO, N.D., July 24 – Two Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors at the 2010 USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior freestyle national wrestling championships. Granby’s Dom Malone (112) finished third in the Cadet freestyle tournament (ages 15-16) with a record of 8-1. East Lyme’s Ross Spencer (105) earned a spot in the Junior freestyle tournament by winning his first six matches. He’ll face Ruben Navejas of Washington in the championship bout.
Other Connecticut wrestlers did come home with victories in both tournaments. In the Cadet tournament, Connecticut finished 25th, tops among all New England states. Stamford’s Walker Dempsey (119) went 5-2 while Xavier’s Elliott Antler (152), Xavier’s Tyler Cunningham (145) and Glastonbury’s Tyler Keane (112) each went 2-2 in the competition.
In the Junior tournament, Salisbury’s Robert Ruiz (125) went 4-2 while Bristol Eastern’s Andrew Chase (105) finished 3-2. Shelton’s Patrick Gillen (215), Pomfret’s R.J. LaBeef (125) and Farmington’s Sean O’Connell (171) each went 2-2.
In USA Wrestling, scoring is done by period with the winner taking the best-of-3 periods. Each period is two minutes long with 30 seconds of rest between periods.
YPSILANTI, MI., April 4 – Branford junior Cheyenne Carden stunned defending national champion Kerstin Harmon in the finals at 128 pounds to win her first U.S. Girls Wrestling Association (USGWA) national championship Sunday at Eastern Michigan University. Carden won three matches including a thrilling 6-4 win over Harmon, who was ranked 12th in the nation and had just won her third straight Ohio state title.
Carden, who earned All-American honors for the second straight year, beat Brooke Alton of West Virginia in the semifinals, 14-5 and topped Michigan’s Breanna Miseler in the quarterfinals, 6-2. She saw limited action this winter with the Branford High wrestling team.
Three other high school wrestlers and three middle school wrestlers earned All-American honors by finishing in the top eight of their respective weight classes.
Manchester’s Taylor Zboray (103) took fourth while Trumbull’s Zipporah Drozdowicz (128) finished fifth. Oxford’s Kimberly Pearce (155) also took fifth.
In the middle school division, Lebanon’s Breana Lohbush (95) finished second while the Avon twins of Kiely Quijano (75) and Kaely Quijano (70) each earned All-American honors. Kiely Quijano finished second while Kaely Quijano took third.
