2013 New England tournament
At Providence RI
Top 25 team results – 1. Mt. Anthony, VT 109, 2. Timberlane, NH 69½, 3. Exeter/West Greenwich RI 64½, 4. North Andover, MA 61. 5. Dracut MA 60½, 6. Danbury 59½, 7. New Fairfield and South Windsor 48, 9. Gardiner, ME and Glastonbury 47, 11. Billerica, MA 44½, 12. Frankin MA 38, 13. St. John’s Prep MA 35½, 14. East Providence RI 32½, 15. Methuen, MA 32, 16. Marshwood, MA 30, 17. Bridgewater Rayntham, MA and Fryeburg , ME 27, 19. Pembroke NH and Xavier 27, 21. Central Catholic, Fairfield Warde 26, 23. Skowhegan, ME 25, 24. Braintree, MA and Nashua North NH 24
Other Connecticut results
31. Windham High 21, 32. Foran 20, 39. Bacon Academy and Newington 18, 43. New Britain 17, 48. Conard, Somers 16, 58. Southington 13, 69. Wethersfield 11, 70. New Milford 10, 79. Hand, Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech 9, 83. Hall 8, 90. East Lyme, Holy Cross, Ledyard 6, 96. Westbrook/Old Saybrook 5, 105. Immaculate/Joel Barlow 4, 113. Manchester 3, 121. Hartford Classical/Capital Prep, Fairfield Ludlowe, Middletown CT, Portland, CT 2, 130. Trumbull 0, 162. Middletown, RI minus 1.
Individual results
106 -- Final: Peter DelGallo (Gardiner, ME) dec. Joseph Rossetti (Glastonbury), 3-2
3. Cam Kelly (Franklin, MA) dec. Ben Defronzo (Lincoln Sudbury, MA), 9-6
5. Hector Reynoso (Lawrence, MA) medical forfeit over Collin Cardoso (East Providence, RI)
113 -- Final: Connor Sheehan (Fryeburg, ME) dec. Troy Gassaway (Mt. Anthony, VT), 3-1
3. Michael Ruffino (Windham) dec. Ben Zogby (Franklin, MA), 6-4
5. Tyler Craig (Skowhegan, ME) medical forfeit over John Altieri (Warwick, RI)
120 -- Final: Kevin Jack (Danbury) dec. Taylor Shay (New Fairfield), 12-0
3. Jon Ryan (Dracut, MA) dec. Nick Derosa (Billerica, MA), 4-2, OT
5. Adam Corey (Timberlane, NH) dec. Brian Amato (Newington), 6-3
126 -- Final: Christian Monserrat (Methuen, MA) dec. Pat Lacroix (Central Catholic, MA), 5-2
3. Andrew Howard (Moses Brown, RI) dec. Colin Sevigney (Wells, ME), 3-2
5. Nick Makrys (Reading, MA) medical forfeit over Eric Reyes (Dedham, MA)
132 -- Final: Miguel Calixto (Mt. Anthony, VT) dec. Johnny Do (Framingham, MA), 8-6
3. Geovanni Medina (New Britain) dec. Kyle Peterson (Manchester Central, NH), 3-2, 2 OT
5. Abbas Tamaradze (Hampton Charter, MA) dec. Brandon Levesque (Bishop Guertin, NH), 4-2
138 -- Final: Mike Stewart (Dracut, MA) dec. Danny DelGallo (Gardiner, ME), 4-3
3. Paolo Tavares (New Bedford, MA) medical forfeit over C.J. Luth (Foran)
5. Jake Strohman (E Longmeadow, MA) pin Josh Burnham (Timberlane, NH), 0:39
145 -- FInal: Christian LaBrie (Exeter/West Greenwich) dec. Casey Mitchell (South Windsor), 3-0
3. Jim Ryan (Dracut, MA) dec. Tom Grifa (Silver Lake, MA), 9-4
5. Nolan Viens (Bellows Falls/Hartford, VT) dec. Coleman Powers (Camden, ME), 3-0
152 -- Final Andrew LaBrie (Exeter/West Greenwich, RI) dec.Sam Odell (South Windsor), 7-5 OT
3. Cody Hughes (Marshwood, ME) dec. Fritz Hoehn (North Andover, MA), 10-3
5. Lucas Muntz (Conard) dec. Devonn Pratt (Shawsheen, MA), 7-6
160 -- Final: Mikey Amorando (New Fairfield) dec. Brad Drover (North Andover, MA) 4-3
3. Juan Garcia (Danbury) dec. Colin Claflin (Pembroke, MA), 8-5
5. Connor Brown (Champlain Valley, VT) medical forfeit over Khamri Thomas (Windsor Locks)
170 -- Final: Elliott Antler (Xavier) dec. Jared Jensen (Brunswick, ME), 9-1
3. Justin Caparco (Johnston, RI) dec. Michael Gallagher (Narragansett, RI), 5-3
5. Alexe Restivo-Lage (Natick, MA) dec. David Burke (Exeter, NH), 8-3
182 -- Final: Aaron Conrad (Bridgewater Rayham, MA) dec. Ryan Neals (North Andover, MA), 7-3
3. Shawn Donahue (Braintree, MA) pin Austin Price (Mt. Anthony, VT), 2:00
5. Harry Denoncourt (Timberlane, NH) dec. Jimmy McDunnah (Wethersfield), 1-0
195 -- Final: Leo Trindade (Billerica, MA) dec. Ramesses Akamefula (Brookline, MA), 8-0
3. Joe Chimelski (Nashua North, NH) pin Kyle Foster (Somers), 1:29
5. Zachary Maxwell (Southington) dec. Jake Genereux (Duxbury, MA), 5-3
220 -- Final: Andrew Cavanna (Glastonbury) dec. Ian Butterbrodt (St Johns Prep, MA), 11-5
3. Dakoda Simula (Plymouth, NH) dec. Kyle Streeter (Harwood, VT), 4-1
5. Victor Irwin (Brewer, ME) medical forfeit over Nikolis Zicus (Lincoln, RI)
285 -- Final: Jesse Webb (Mt. Anthony, VT) pin Amed Hourani (Fairfield Warde), 4:54
3. Jonah Aurelio (East Providence, RI) pin Donavan Lozada (Chicopee, MA), 1:28
5. Corey Jean-Jacques (St Johns Prep, MA) won by decision over Jonathan Comeau (Belmont, MA), 6-3
Outstanding final: 152 pounds -- Andrew LaBrie (Exeter/West Greenwich, RI) dec.Sam Odell (South Windsor), 7-5 OT
Outstanding wrestler: Andrew LaBrie (152)
106
Glastonbury freshman Joseph Rossetti was literally seconds away from a New England championship but Peter DelGallo of Gardiner, Maine, hit a reversal with no time left on the clock to earn a 3-2 decision. Rossetti (44-3) had led the entire match. He got a takedown midway through the first period to take a 2-0 lead.
DelGallo escaped in the second period to cut the lead to one, 2-1.
The third period was wrestled with both men on their feet. Neither could get a takedown. But in the final seconds, DelGallo was leaning on Rossetti trying desperately to get behind him for a takedown. The referee awarded the takedown at the buzzer, giving DelGallo the victory.
DelGallo (52-0) had another last-second takedown to beat Cam Kelly of Franklin, Mass., in the quarterfinals, 2-1. “He’s been wrestling around New England for years,” Gardiner coach Matthew Hanley said. “And due to his older brother (Daniel), he knows not to ever quit. He drives (Peter) hard.”
Hanley said he rode DelGallo hard during the match. “He doesn’t get this type of competition often in Maine,” Hanley said. “He has a tendency to coast but I don’t have to press him. Here, I knew I would have to push him.”
Rossetti, the State Open champion, had a great tournament. He won his first match by pin and beat Massachusetts champion Brad Wong of Pembroke, 5-1 in the quarterfinals. Rossetti got the first takedown for a quick 2-0 lead and in the second period, he chose to be on top and earned three near fall points to take command. Wong is known for taking the lead and controlling the match from on top but Rossetti never gave him the chance.
113
Windham’s Michael Ruffino (44-3) finished third with a 6-4 win over Ben Zogby of Franklin, Mass., the second place finisher at the All-State tournament.
Ruffino advanced to the semifinals before he was beaten by eventual champion Connor Sheehan of Fryeburg, Maine, who broke two bones in his ankle in a match against Gardiner’s Peter DelGallo in December.
Sheehan won the New England title with a takedown with 15 seconds left in regulation to beat Mt. Anthony’s Troy Gassaway, 3-1. Sheehan had finished fourth in the tournament for the past two seasons. Sheehan beat Danbury’s Chris Bryant, 10-9 in the quarterfinals.
120
Danbury junior Kevin Jack gave up one inadvertent point in a dominating performance to win his first New England title. Jack beat New Fairfield freshman Taylor Shay, 12-0 in the championship match. He had two pins and an 11-0 decision over Jon Ryan of Dracut, Mass., in the semifinals.
“No one scored on him all weekend,” Danbury coach Ricky Shook said. “He was great. He’s been good in all positions. He is one of the best kids I’ve ever had in all positions. He’s done all of the work.”
Jack (42-0) became the first Danbury wrestler to finish a season undefeated since Demaine Dillard went 46-0 in 1990.
“With the schedule we wrestle, that is impressive,” Shook said.
Shay (45-6) beat three state champions to get to the finals. After winning his opening round match, Shay beat Vermont champion Dylan LaFountain of Mt. Anthony, 4-3, Rhode Island champion Alex D’Aloisio of Lincoln, 9-1 and Massachusetts champion Nick Derosa of Billerica, 10-6 in the semifinals.
In the rematch of the Massachusetts final, Dracut’s Jon Ryan beat Derosa, 4-2 in OT to finish third. A week ago, Derosa was the victor with a 5-2 decision.
Newington’s Brian Amato went 3-3 in the tournament and finished sixth.
126
No Connecticut wrestlers finished in the top six. Three-time Massachusetts champion Christian Monserrat of Methuen outlasted Patrick Lacroix of Central Catholic, 5-2 for his first New England title. A week earlier, Monserrat, a junior with a career record of 155-2, beat Lacroix, 7-1 in the Massachusetts final.
State Open champion Matt McAllister of Bacon Academy dropped his opening round match to Nick Makrys of Reading, Mass., 6-5 but rebounded with three straight wins in the consolation bracket including a 3-1 win over Ryan Peters of Timberlane, N.H. But McAllister was eliminated one win shy of a medal in a 7-5 loss to Andrew Brown of Moses Brown in Rhode Island.
132
After dropping a 2-1 decision to New Hampshire champion Brandon Levesque in the second round, New Britain’s Geovanni Medina (40-3) got to work. The senior won five straight matches in the consolation round to finish third with a 3-2 win over New Hampshire’s Kyle Peterson of Manchester Central in double overtime.
On the way, he beat three-time Massachusetts champion Paul Sughrue of Methuen, 7-5, Connecticut champion Howard Kilpatrick of Bacon Academy, 7-2 and Maine’s top seeded wrestler Trevor Smith of Marshfield, 14-2.
“He began slow but as the tournament went on, he began to wrestle better,” New Britain coach Charles Ferguson said. “He was able to do some good things and pull out some wins.” In the loss against Levesque, Medina didn’t initiate much action until the final 15 seconds and he didn’t have enough time to get the match-winning takedown.
In the consolation final against Peterson, neither wrestler scored in the first one minute session. In the second OT, Medina escaped with six seconds left in the first 30 second session to take a 3-2 lead. In the second 30 second session, Medina rode out Peterson to earn the win.
Medina has been an important wrestler to help the New Britain program grow. A linebacker on the Hurricane football team, he has helped recruit other football players to join the wrestling program.
Former Windham High wrestler Miguel Calixto, who now wrestling for Mt. Anthony, Vt., completed an undefeated season with his first New England championship with an 8-6 win over Johnny Do of Framingham.
Calixto (60-0) had two takedowns to take a 4-2 lead after two periods. After a Do escape, Calixto got another takedown to extend the lead to 7-3 with about a minute remaining. A penalty and a takedown with 16 seconds left cut the lead to two but that is as close as it would get.
“I’m lost for words,” Calixto said. “I’ve worked so hard for this one tournament. It feels really good to win.”
In Connecticut at Windham High, Calixto won three straight Class M titles and captured his first State Open title in 2012. In three previous New England tournament appearances, he had earned third, fourth and fifth place medals. Calixto enrolled at Mt. Anthony in the fall to focus on his academic work.
“Miguel has trained extremely hard for this,” Mt. Anthony coach Scott Legacy said. “He has been extremely focused all year. I’m extremely happy for him.”
138
Danny DelGallo of Gardiner, Maine finished second in New England a year ago at 138 pounds and was hoping to join his brother, Peter, as a New England champion. But Mike Stewart of Dracut, Mass., held on for a 4-3 victory. DelGallo was pushing hard for a takedown in the final 30 seconds and nearly had one but couldn’t finish it off.
Foran-Milford senior C.J. Luth (44-3) finished fourth. Banged up after a long season and a long weekend of wrestling, Luth couldn’t wrestle in the consolation final but he did well in the tournament.
In the quarterfinals against Rhode Island champion Serge Bouyssou of Scituate, Luth trailed 7-1 in the second period. But he rallied with a reversal in the second period to cut the lead to four. In the third period, he got a takedown to cut the lead to two, 7-5. In control, he turned Boyssou to take a 8-7 lead and eventually won, 9-7.
“He had to go into the gas tank for that one,” Foran coach Frank Peters said. “He’s been a third period wrestler. He can go the distance, as long as that distance is. He always gives everything he can.”
145
In the New England finals, it’s hard to make up a deficit. The athletes wrestling for a championship don’t make as many mistakes to allow a wrestler to make up points.
South Windsor’s Casey Mitchell gave up an early takedown to just couldn’t score any points in a 3-0 loss to Rhode Island champion Christian LaBrie of Exeter/West Greenwich.
Mitchell (49-1) wrestled well in the tournament with two pins and a 12-1 decision in the quarterfinals. “Casey opened it up a little more,” South Windsor coach Jude Knapp said. “He’s been more aggressive.”
152
Rhode Island champion Andrew LaBrie of Exeter/West Greenwich also brought home a New England championship with his brother, Christian. Andrew had to work a little harder with a 7-5 OT decision over South Windsor’s Sam Odell.
LaBrie held a 3-2 lead after two periods. In the third period, a reversal from Odell gave him a 4-3 lead but LaBrie countered with own reversal about six seconds later to regain a one-point lead, 5-4. But Odell (48-1) forced OT with an escape with 15 seconds remaining.
In overtime, LaBrie was moving in on Odell, who took a step and stumbled. That stumble got him into a tough position and LaBrie pounced on him, eventually getting the match-winning takedown.
Odell, who has committed to the U.S. Naval Academy, beat New Hampshire champion Jon Scheidegger of Sanborn in the quarterfinals, 8-0. In the semifinals, he outlasted Devonn Pratt of Shawsheen, Mass. 3-2.
Conard’s Lucas Muntz finished fifth with a 7-6 win over Pratt. Muntz won five of six bouts in the consolation round to earn the medal.
160
Close finishes don’t faze New Fairfield’s Mike Amorando. There have been plenty of them in the past two weeks. A week ago, Amorando dropped his first match of the season in a 2-1 loss in double overtime to Windsor Locks’ Khamri Thomas in the State Open finals.
At the New England tournament, Amorando (36-1) went to overtime to beat Massachusetts champion Jonathan Viruet, 3-2. And in the semifinals, he had to beat neighbor Juan Garcia of Danbury, 9-1 to earn a bid to the final.
In the finals, Brad Dover of North Andover,Mass., took a 2-0 lead with a takedown with 55 seconds left in the first period. Amorando escaped and later took down Dover for a 3-2 lead after one period. He extended the lead to 4-2 with a second period escape.
In the third period, Dover escaped with 40 seconds left to cut the lead to one, 4-3 but Dover couldn’t get a takedown giving Amorando the championship.
“I never expected this after last year,” Amorando said. He spent plenty of time in the offseason working out with 2004 U.S. Olympic wrestling coach Andy Seras and the Atlas Wrestling Club in Newtown. “It was all worth it.”
New Fairfield coach Paul Musso said, “It can be devastating when you lose in the State Open. But when you come here, this is what counts. These are the best wrestlers in New England. This was our goal. And (Mike) didn’t lose sight of that. This is very special.”
After losing to Amorando in the semifinals, Garcia won two straight bouts to finish third. He beat Colin Claflin of Pembroke, Mass, 8-5 in the consolation final.
Connecticut had three wrestlers in the semifinals, including State Open champion Khamri Thomas of Windsor Locks. But Thomas dropped a 3-2 decision to Drover, giving up a takedown with 12 seconds left in the third period for a 3-1 lead.
Thomas dropped a consolation semifinal bout in overtime to Claflin, 5-4 when Thomas was penalized for stalling. Thomas aggravated a knee injury in the match and didn’t wrestle for fifth place.
170
Xavier’s Elliott Antler was very sharp, winning the New England championship with four dominating victories. He beat Rhode Island champion Michael Gallagher of Narragansett, 14-8 in the semifinals with six takedowns. At one point, he led 13-6 with Gallagher with just six escapes.
In the final, he led Jared Jensen of Brunswick, Maine, 2-1 after one period. In the second period, he turned Jensen over in the final seconds to extend his lead to 5-1. Another takedown in the third period helped seal a 9-1 victory.
“He has gotten better as he has moved through the tournament,” Xavier coach Mike Cunningham said. “He has gotten more physical as the competition has gotten tougher. He is attacking more and he looks good. All of his stuff is coming together. He has been very good on this feet. It’s the time of year when some kids what (the season) to be over. But he keeps going.”
One of the wins in the tournament came over Massachusetts champion Alexe Restivo-Lage of Natick in the quarterfinals, 11-4. Jensen was the top ranked wrestler from Maine.
Antler, who won three straight Class LL titles and won his first State Open title a week ago, finishes the season undefeated at 46-0.
Newington High’s Chris Chorzepa, who finished second a week ago at the State Open, didn’t participate due to an injury.
182
For the second straight week, Aaron Conrad of Bridgewater-Raynham met North Andover’s Ryan Neals in a championship final. A week ago, Conrad remained undefeated with a 3-2 win in the Massachusetts finals. This week, Conrad (52-0) won the New England title with a 7-3 decision.
Wethersfield’s Jimmy McDunnah advanced to the semifinals but stumbled in the consolation rounds with two hard-fought, one-point losses to finish sixth. McDunnah dropped a 1-0 decision to Timberlane’s Harry Denocourt to finish fifth. He dropped a 2-1 decision to Vermont champion Austin Price of Mt. Anthony in the consolation semifinal.
In the semifinals, Conrad dominated with a 7-0 win over McDunnah. Conrad led 2-0 in the second period but McDunnah got pancaked to his back and gave up five points that decided the match.
195
State Open champion Zachary Maxwell of Southington found coming from behind a much more difficult practice at the New England tournament. Maxwell gave up three takedowns in a 7-6 decision to Ramesses Akamefula of Brookline, Mass., in the semifinals. An escape and takedown in the final seconds cut the lead to one but wasn’t enough.
A late takedown in the consolation semifinals cost him a 5-3 loss to New Hampshire champion Joe Chimelski of Nashua North. Maxwell got a takedown with four seconds left in the third period to beat Jake Genereux of Duxbury, Mass., 5-3 to earn a fifth place medal. Maxwell beat Genereux in the quarterfinals, 1-0.
Somers’ Kyle Foster advanced to the semifinals with a pair of wins but gave up three takedowns in a 7-4 loss to Massachusetts champion Leo Trindale of Billerica. Foster won his first consolation round match, 4-0 but got caught and pinned in 1:29 by Chimelski and finished fourth.
Trindale won the New England title with an 8-0 win over Ramesses Akamefula of Brookline, Mass.
220
Glastonbury’s Andrew Cavanna (46-0) built up a 6-3 lead after two periods to beat Ian Butterbrodt of St. John’s Prep in Massachusetts for a New England championship, 11-5. Cavanna was penalized twice for stalling in the third period to cut the lead to 6-5 but he surged with a takedown, using an ankle pic and three near fall points to ice the victory.
“I work on those takedowns every day,” he said. “I’ve been working on them forever. I knew if I pressed him on his feet and was tough on the bottom that the match would be mine.”
Cavanna did have a tough opening round bout, outlasting Sami Al-Ziad of Haverhill, 5-4. Tied at 3-3 with 19 seconds left, Cavanna let Al-Ziad escape, giving his opponent a 4-3 lead. Cavanna got the takedown, taking him down as he fell out of bounds. But Cavanna kept his toes in bounds to get the match-winning takedown with four seconds left.
How does it feel to win a championship? “It’s out of this world. You have to experience it yourself,” Cavanna said.
285
Fairfield Warde’s Amed Hourani was in a tight match in the New England finals with Jesse Webb of Mt. Anthony, Vt., when Hourani made a mistake. Tied at 1-1 in the third period, Hourani tried for a headlock but Webb was able to slip out of it for a takedown and a 3-1 lead. Another mistake saw Hourani on his back and he was pinned in 4:54.
But it was a good tournament for Hourani, who beat two state champions in his four victories up to the final. He pinned New Hampshire champion Camden Crowell of Pinkerton in 2:51 and beat Massachusetts champion Corey Jean-Jacques in the quarterfinals, 6-3.
“He has been improving every week since the state tournament,” Fairfield Warde coach Jason Shaughnessy said. “He has been learning to wrestle six minutes.” In less than a handful of matches did Hourani wrestle six minutes this year. The past few weeks were spent on conditioning.
RISLEY INDUCTED IN HALL OF FAME: Four men, including long-time Windham High coach and administrator Patrick Risley, were inducted in the New England Wrestling Hall of Fame before the finals in Providence.
Other coaches honored included Dr. Robert P. Fitzgerald, Jr., who has 310 career wins at Methuen High School, Harley G. Brown III, the coach at Mt. Mansfield Union High School, and Randy Cleary, the former coach at Plymouth Regional High School in New Hampshire.
Risley has been coaching high school wrestling in Connecticut for 25 years including 20 years as a head coach. He spent five years at Plainville High and the last 15 at Windham. The Whippets have won two Class M state titles (2004, 2006) and a Class S championship in February. His teams have won 10 league championships and he has 383 career wins.
A former wrestler at Boston College, Fitzgerald has coached two New England and 11 Massachusetts champions. His father, Robert P. Fitzgerald, Sr., was a Massachusetts Hall of Fame coach in football and wrestling. Brown, a former Vermont state champion and two-time Northern New England champion in college at Maine-Presque Isle, has been coaching at Mt. Mansfield for 27 years. His teams have won over 370 matches and finished as high as third in New England.
Since 1994, Cleary has coached Plymouth Regional to seven state titles and eight second place finishes. His career record is 260-49. He also coached the Plymouth State wrestling team for two years in 1992 and 1993. He led Plymouth State to the New England title in 1993.
GIRL PARTICIPATES AT 106: Senior Danielle Coughlin of North Andover, Mass., who was the first girl in Massachusetts to win a state title qualified for the New England tournament by finishing sixth at the Massachusetts All-State tournament. Coughlin won a Division II title at 106 pounds. Coughlin won over 114 matches in four years with North Andover, including a 36-9 record before the All-State tournament.
She went 1-2 in the tournament, beating George Wales of Fairfield Ludlowe in the first round of the consolations, 13-3 before she was eliminated by Hand’s Matt Elias, 7-6. Coughlin dropped her first match of the tournament to eventual champion Peter DelGallo of Gardiner, Maine, 4-0.
NOTES: Maine doesn’t have a season-ending tournament with the champions of their three classes – A, B and C. They rank the champions from each class for submissions to the New England tournament.