2015 New England championships                       Complete brackets
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Three men inducted into Hall of Fame
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- Three men were inducted into the New England Council’s Wrestling Hall of Fame at the recent New England championship meet in North Andover, Mass.

Andrew Goodwin, a two-time New England champion in high school at Windham High, and a two-time college All-American at Springfield College, was inducted from Connecticut along with Lou Ferullo, a long-time referee from New Hampshire and Robert Germann, a long-time official from Massachusetts.

Goodwin was a superb wrestler at Windham High where he captured New England championships in 1992 and 1993. At Springfield College, he was a two-time All-American at the NCAA Division III national championship meet. He was third at 142 pounds in 1996 and a finalist at 142 in 1997.

After graduating, Goodwin has spent time as an assistant coach at Glastonbury High School and at Springfield College. For seven years, he helped run the State Open.

Germann wrestled at Lowell State University in college and has been a high school official for 35 years and a collegiate official for 30 years.

 He was named official of the year in 1996 by the Massachusetts Wrestling Coaches Association. He has worked at the Massachusetts state championships 18 times and at the New England championships nine times.

 
Ferullo wrestled at the University of New Hampshire where he won a New England championship in 1983 and qualified to wrestle in the NCAA Division I tournament.

 He began working as an official in 1987 and has worked at 15 New England championship tournaments, 20 New Hampshire and five Massachusetts state tournaments.

He is a past president of the New Hampshire Wrestling Officials Association and is a member of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association’s (NHIAA) wrestling committee. He is a member of the wrestling officials organizations in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

n Fairfield Warde's Charles Kane, right, battles Ryan Monteiro of East Longmeadow, Mass. in the New England finals at 138 pounds. Kane won, 5-2 to finish the season undefeated.
​Three state wrestlers bring home New England titles

By GERRY deSIMAS, JR.
Connecticut Wrestling Online
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – In a bright and airy North Andover High gymnasium Saturday, three Connecticut wrestlers won New England championships, 10 wrestlers made the finals and two of the top three teams in New England were from the Nutmeg State.

Southington’s Zach Murillo (106) won the first New England title in his school history, Fairfield Warde’s Charles Kane (138) won a championship and completed an undefeated season while Danbury senior Juan Garcia (182) soothed some of the sting from a New England finals loss a year ago with his first New England title.

Vermont’s Mount Anthony Union from Bennington won their third straight New England title and their ninth overall with 122½ points. But for the first time since 1990, there were two Connecticut teams among the top three.

Newtown, with two finalists, was second with 84 points and Fairfield Warde, with just three wrestlers in the tournament, was third with 69 points. It was the best finish in the tournament for both teams.

“I’m happy. We’ve had a fantastic season,” Newtown coach Chris Bray said. “Every tournament we’ve gone to this year, they’ve brought their ‘A’ game.” 

Warde’s Timmy Kane (126), Charles Kane (138) and Daniel Ebert (145) combined to go 12-2 in the tournament. Charles Kane finished first, Ebert took second to New Hampshire champion Ryan Peters of Timberlane while Tim Kane took third.

“We brought three strong wrestlers and they all placed,” Fairfield Warde coach Jason Shaughnessy said. “This is a high-end tournament and you have to compete.”

Mt. Anthony had 12 wrestlers in the tournament. Two won titles and three others won medals for finishing in the top six. But every Patriot wrestler won at least one match and two won a pair of bouts. “Each title is different,” Mt. Anthony coach Scott Legacy said. “We got contributions from everyone. It was a real team effort.”

With 10 Connecticut wrestlers in the finals, we’ll take a look at each weight class and the key results from Connecticut wrestlers.

106
Southington’s Zach Murillo (106) became the first Southington wrestler to win a New England championship when he pinned Kevin Morris of Tyngsborough, Mass., in 1:31. Bristol Central’s Joshua Nelson, who finished fourth at the State Open a week earlier, took sixth at 160 pounds.

Murillo (45-3), who won the State Open a week ago, was the first Southington wrestler to earn a spot in a New England final since Bill Lee in 1999. Murillo wasted little time and pinned Morris with 29 seconds left in the first period.

“I didn’t expect a pin but he went right after him,” Southington coach Derek Dion said.

The opportunity developed quickly. Murillo was moving in for a takedown, got a wizard in and got Morris on his back and into a cradle. He squeezed it off quickly.

Murillo said, “I needed to be aggressive. To cap off the season with a pin is a perfect way to finish.” Morris (51-3) had beaten Murillo at the Lowell Holiday Tournament in December, 2-1.

Murillo’s father Lou was a two-time State Open champion at Platt High in Meriden. His brother, Lou, Jr., also won a State Open title with Platt. “I feel fantastic,” Zach Murillo said. “I’ve been working for this my whole life.”

Danbury freshman Jakob Camacho (48-5) beat New Hampshire champion Jordan Rowlette of Bishop Guertin, 6-3 to finish third. Trumbull’s Tristan Haviland pinned Conor Thompson of Quabbin Regional in Barre, Massachusetts to finish fifth.

Camacho won his first two bouts before losing 5-3 in overtime to Morris in the quarterfinals. He won another three to finish third.
2015 New England championships
At North Andover, Mass.
Team results – 1. Mt. Anthony, Vt., 122½, 2. Newtown 84, 3. Fairfield Warde 69, 4. Marshwood, ME 55, 6. Timberlane NH 54, 7. Danbury 51½, 8. Springfield Central 51, 9. Moses Brown RI 42, 10. Londonderry, NH 41, 11. Trumbull 40, 12. Bishop Guertin, MA 37½, 13. Catholic Memorial, MA 34, 14. Pinkerton, NH and Southington 32, 16. St. John’s Prep, MA 31½, 17. Barnstable, MA and Framingham, MA 30, 19. North Andover, MA 29½, 20. New Milford 27, 21. South Windsor 26½, 22. Mt. Mansfield, Vt., 26, 23. Danvers, MA 25½, 24. Minnechaug, MA and Windham High, 25
Other Connecticut teams
27, Simsbury 24, 31. Foran 23, 32. New Fairfield and Xavier 22, 38. Suffield/Windsor Locks/Eat Granby and NFA 21, 44. Immaculate/Joel Barlow 19, 50. Woodstock Academy 18, 58. Montville 13, 63. Killingly 12, 67. Hand, Branford and Bristol Central 11, 80. Berlin 8½, 83. Westhill 7, 91. Nonnewaug 6, 100. Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech 5, 108. Morgan, Fairfield Ludlowe and New London 4, 136. Avon 2, 141. New Britain, Haddam-Killingworth, Notre Dame-Fairfield and Ledyard 0
Individual results
106 – Final: Zach Murillo, Southington, pin Kevin Morris, Tyngsborough, MA, 1:31; 3. Jakob Camacho, Danbury dec. Jordan Rowlett, Bishop Guertin, NH, 6-3; 5. Tristan Haviland, Trumbull pin Conor Thompson, Quabbin, MA
113 – Final: Abraham Bloom, Moses Brown, RI dec. Luca Cruco, Newtown, 4-2; 3. Alec Opsal, New Fairfield dec. Michael Aquino, Catholic Memorial, MA, 6-1, OT; 5. Matt Foster, NFA dec. Matt Garcia, Springfield Central, MA, 11-4
120 – Final: Ben Bliss, Mt. Mansfield, Vt., dec. Jacob Martin, Windham, 5-2; 3. Kyle Linder, New Milford dec. Ryan Luth, Foran 13-3; 5. Seth Brown, Coventry, RI dec. Greg Zaw, Sandwich, MA, 7-5
126 – Final: Troy Gassaway, Mt. Anthony, Vt. Dec. Bradley Beaulieu, Marshwood, ME, 1:42; 3. Timmy Kane, Fairfield Warde dec. Peter Delagallo, Gardiner, ME, 7-6; 3. Jeremy Fields, Danbury dec. Andrew Ellis, Arlington, MA, 3-2
132 – Final: Dylan Lafountain, Mt. Anthony, Vt. Dec. Cross Cannone, Trumbull, 3-2; 3. Jon Ryan, Dracut, MA dec. Nick Widmann, John Stark, NH, 11-1; 5. Josh Wesolows, Pentucket, MA dec. Thomas Wynosky, Montville, 10-8
138 – Final: Charles Kane, Fairfield Warde dec. Ryan Monteiro, Minnechaug, MA, 5-2; 3. Andrew Howard, Moses Brown RI dec. Jean Luc Lemieux, Londonderry, NH, 5-3; 5. James Leuci, Newtown dec. Chris Behen, Danvers, MA, 3-1
145 – Final: Ryan Peters, Timberlane NH dec. Daniel Ebert, Fairfield Warde, 4-3; 3. Keith Fernandes, Simsbury dec. Pat Ferzoco, Central Memorial, MA, 7-1; 5. Emmett LiCastri, Immaculate/Joel Barlow pin Ronan Ball, Nashoba, MA
152—Final: Luke Boyle, Triton, MA dec. Brandon Levesque, Bishop Guertin, NH, 2-1; 3. Joe Accousti, Newtown dec. Grayson Deluca, Woodstock Academy, 9-4; 5. Jake Stetson, Framingham, MA dec. Davey Goodall, Chelmsford, MA, 14-5
160 – Final: 1. Jonathan Viruet, Springfield Central dec. Max Odell, South Windsor, 7-6; 3. Stephan Nix, Newport, NH dec. Fran Gesel, White Mountains, NH, 11-5; 5. Jackson Howarth, Marshwood, ME dec. Joshua Nelson, Bristol Central, 6-2
170 – Final: Fritz Hoehn, North Andover, MA dec. Anthony Falbo, Newtown, 13-4; 3. Cody Hughes, Marshwood, ME dec. Ebed Jarrell, East Greenwich, RI, 5-2; 5. Richie Mills, Winnisquam, NH dec. Austin Caffrey, Killingly, 7-2
182 – Final: Juan Garcia, Danbury dec. Connor Humphries, East Longmeadow, MA, 3-1; 3. Matt Froio, Cohasset, MA pin Brian Lonergan, Timberlane, NH, 1:51; 5. Ian Steckel, Malden Catholic, MA dec. Dakota Carden, Branford, 15-6
195 – Final: Dylan Barreiro, Pinkerton, NH dec. Khamri Thomas, Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby, 3-1; 3. Jake O’Brien, Framingham, MA dec. Tyler Mattison, Mt. Anthony, Vt., 5-2; 5. Richard Bilodeau, Londonderry, NH dec. Dan Wensley, Wakefield, MA, 6-3
220 – Final: Ian Butterbrodt, St. John’s Prep, MA pin Jack Luciano, Mt. Anthony, VT. 1:49; 3. Michael Curtis, Wells, ME dec. Tylor Fenwick, Mt. Hope, RI, 8-5; 5. Nick Rose, Arlington, MA dec. Khaleed Exum-Strong, NFA, 9-8
285—Final: Owen Murray, Barnstable, MA dec. Josh Sokol, Hopkinton, MA, 5-1; 3. Austin Shrewsbury, Westfield, MA dec. Chidiebere Broderick, Xavier, 8-4; 5. Nick Day, Northampton, MA pin Damon Young, Mt. Anthony, Vt.
Outstanding wrestler: Fritz Hoehn, North Andover, MA (170)
Outstanding finals match: 152 pounds; Luke Boyle, Triton, MA dec. Brandon Levesque, Bishop Guertin, NH, 2-1

113
Two first period takedowns were enough to lift sophomore Abraham Bloom of Moses Brown in Providence to a 4-2 win over Newtown’s Luca Crudo in the New England final at 113 pounds. Bloom got the first takedown of the bout after 40 seconds and Crudo quickly escaped. But Bloom got a second takedown with 40 seconds left in the first period for a 4-1 lead.

Crudo rode out the second period but couldn’t get a takedown in the third period. Crudo was awarded one point for stalling with 38 seconds remaining but that is as close he could get.
It was an excellent tournament for Crudo, who finished fourth at the State Open a week earlier. At the New England tournament, Crudo (44-6) beat three state champions in consecutive matches to earn a spot in the finals.

Crudo beat Massachusetts champion Chris Derosa of Billerica, 3-1 and then pinned Vermont champion Calvin Call of Mt. Anthony in 3:08. In the semifinals, he beat State Open champion Alec Opsal of New Fairfield, 6-1. 

Crudo had a first period takedown against Opsal and extended his lead to 4-0 with a second period reversal. A third period near fall clinched the bout for Crudo.

“He has had a hard time with weight management,” Bray said. “His body is trying to grow. In this tournament with a single weigh-in, he is stronger. He was able to eat a good breakfast and looks like a different wrestler. He is feeling good and strong.”

In most two day tournaments, wrestlers have to weigh in on Friday and then again on Saturday morning. So wrestlers have to be careful what they eat on Friday evening. At the New England tournament, wrestlers have to weigh in just on Friday.

NFA’s Matt Foster won four bouts and took fifth with an 11-4 win over Matt Garcia of Springfield Central. Opsal took third with a 6-1 win in overtime over Michael Aquino of Catholic Memorial.

120
Vermont champion Ben Bliss of Mt. Anthony had a pair of takedowns in the first two periods to take command of his New England final against Windham’s Jacob Martin. Bliss led 4-1 after two periods. Martin cut the lead to two, 4-2 with an escape with 1:34 remaining in the third period. But when Martin was penalized for an illegal move with 43 seconds left, it gave Bliss a three-point lead.

Martin (47-4) won four in a row to earn a spot in the final. On the way, he beat New Hampshire champion Jacob Nault of Goffstown, 4-2 and beat Massachusetts’ Greg Zaw of Sandwich, Mass., 7-3 in the semifinals. Zaw was second in the Bay State.

“He’s looking real good,” Windham High coach Pat Risley said before the final. “He’s tough on his feet. He’s a hard working kid. He’s been taking leads early and controlling matches.”

Martin was second at the State Open to New Milford’s Kyle Linder and won the Class S championship. Linder, who lost to Bliss in the quarterfinals, won five matches to finish third. Linder (41-4) beat Foran’s Ryan Luth in the consolation final, 13-3.

126
Fairfield Warde’s Timmy Kane dropped his first match of the season to Bradley Beaulieu of Marshwood, Maine, in the semifinals, 2-1. Beaulieu who earned his 55th consecutive victory with the win got a takedown with 27 seconds left in the first period. Kane cut the lead to one with an escape at the end of the first period.

Kane rode out Beaulieu in the second period but couldn’t turn him to earn any points. In the third period, Kane tried to escape but couldn’t break free. Beaulieu (55-1) lost in the final to Troy Gassaway of Mt. Anthony in 1:42. It was the second straight New England title for Gassaway (60-1).

Kane (48-1) rebounded with a pair of wins in the consolation bracket to finish third. He pinned Massachusetts champion Andrew Ellis in 26 seconds and then outlasted Maine’s Peter Delgallo of Gardiner, 7-6, with a third period reveral to finish third.

Danbury’s Jeremy Fields won four of five bouts in the consolation bracket including a 3-2 win over Ellis to finish fifth, scoring all three points in the third period.

132
A year ago, Trumbull’s Cross Cannone beat nearly everyone except Danbury’s Kevin Jack. Cannone lost to Jack in the finals of the FCIAC, Class LL, State Open and New England tournament. This year, Cannone won the Class LL title, captured the State Open title with a 42-1 record.

Cannone was 11 seconds away from winning a New England championship on Saturday night against Vermont champion Dylan Lafountain of Mt. Anthony. But a momentary lapse cost him.

Cannone led 2-0 after two periods thanks to a takedown with 46 seconds left in the first period. In the third period, Cannone nearly tilted Lafountain but couldn’t quite get it done and get some crucial back points.

With 11 seconds left in the match, Lafountain was finally able to get away from Cannone to cut the lead to one point, 2-1. The two wrestlers scrambled. Lafountain got an underhook in – a wizard – and saw that Cannone was leaning on one arm. Lafountain reached for it and Cannone fell over and for a second, he went to his back.
 He continued to roll to his stomach but the damage was done. Lafountain (61-2) got a title-winning takedown with two seconds remaining and a 3-2 victory.

“I just kept pushing to the last second,” Lafountain said. “I wrestle with (two-time New England champion and teammate) Troy Gassaway every day. He pushes me every day. I didn’t panic. I just went with it. If it was supposed to happen, it will happen.”

The defeat put a damper on an excellent performance from Cannone in the tournament. Cannone (45-2) beat Bradley Lupi of Mt. Everett, Mass., in his first bout, 5-3. He pinned Peyton Cole of Ellsworth, Maine in 26 seconds. In the semifinals, he beat three-time Massachusetts champion Jon Ryan of Dracut, 6-1. Cannone got Ryan (51-2) into a first period cradle for five quick points to take control of the match.

Montville’s Thomas Wynosky finished sixth, dropping a 10-8 decision to Josh Wesolows of Pentucket, Mass.

138
Fairfield Warde junior Charles Kane was looking for an opening in the New England final against sophomore Ryan Monteiro of Minnechaug, Mass. The score was tied at 1-1 early in the third period after Kane was escaped.


With less than a minute to go, Kane found it. He quickly moved in for a double leg takedown and a two-point near fall with 34 seconds remaining to take a commanding four-point lead. An escape by Monteiro with a second or two left on the clock gave Kane a 5-3 victory, a New England championship and an undefeated season (48-0).


It’s most wins in an undefeated season for a Connecticut wrestler since 2011 when Patrick Gillen was 49-0 for Shelton High.
“I got him moving, got the single leg, swung it out and got a double-leg takedown,” Kane said. “I got him moving too fast before he could sprawl and defend the shot.”

Kane beat New Hampshire champion Danny Scalz of Timberlane in the quarterfinals, 14-8. In the semifinal, he outlasted Chris Beher of Danvers, Mass., 5-2. Tied at 2-2, Kane took control of the match with an escape and takedown in the third period.


“He’s a smart wrestler,” Warde coach Jason Shaughnessy said. “He stays in position and grinds out matches. When it came down to it, he got the leg and attacked when he needed it. If (the move) isn’t there, he won’t force it or make a mistake.”

Newtown’s James Leuci won four of five consolation round bouts to finish fifth with a 3-1 win over Chris Behen of Danvers, Mass.

145
Fairfield Warde’s Daniel Ebert beat two state champions on his way to earning a spot in the 145-pound final against TImberlane’s Ryan Lane. Ebert beat Vermont champion Dominic Hah of St. Johnsbury, 7-3 in the quarterfinals with a pair of takedowns and a near fall. In the semifinal, Ebert beat Massachusetts champion Ronan Ball of Nashoba, 8-6 in a wild match.

Ebert led 4-2 after one period thanks to a takedown and a reversal. He extended the lead to 6-2 in the second period thanks to another reversal. In the third period, Ball twice allowed Ebert to intentionally escape only to take him down.

That cut the lead to two points with 1:10 remaining in the match. But Ebert (44-4) was able to hold off Bell’s attacks to earn a spot in the final.


Against Lane in the final, Ebert gave up the first takedown but tied the match on a reversal. In the second period, Lane took a 4-2 lead with a reversal of his own. Ebert was down to begin the third period and spent the final two minutes trying to get away. Lane was penalized one point for stalling with 43 seconds remaining but held on for a 4-3 victory.

State Open champion Keith Fernandes of Simsbury dropped a 7-1 decision to Lane in the semifinal. Fernandes (42-3) went 4-1 in the tournament and finished third with a 7-1 victory over Pat Ferzoco of Catholic Memorial. Emmett LiCastri of Immaculate/Barlow finished fifth by pinning Ball.

152
The tournament officials voted this championship match as the most exciting in the tournament. Massachusetts champion Luke Boyle of Triton got a reversal with three seconds left to beat New Hampshire champion Brandon Levesque of Bishop Fuertin, 2-1.

State Open champion Joe Accousti of Newtown finished third with a 9-4 decision over Woodstock Academy’s Graysen Deluca in a rematch of last week’s State Open final. Accousti lost a 3-2 decision to Boyle in the quarterfinals thanks to a third period escape.

160
Springfield Central’s Jonathan Viruet is one of the most decorated wrestlers in his school’s history. He was won two Massachusetts titles, captured a National High School Coaches Association national title last March and won a New England title last year.

So when South Windsor’s Max Odell rolled Viruet to his back in the first period of the 160 pound championship match to take a 4-2 lead, there were a few surprised fans in the crowd.

Viruet (44-2) opened the match with a takedown and tried to lock Odell (40-3) into a cradle. Looking for a quick pin, he rolled and got stuck. Odell caught him and put Viruet on his back for the first time this year.

“I was overconfident, I got a little cocky, got a little greedy,” Viruet told the Springfield Republican. “Max has really good hips and he’s an awesome freestyle wrestler. He was able to reverse me there, I wasn’t expecting to go to my back.”

Viruet didn’t panic. He escaped and got a takedown before the period was over to take a 5-4 lead.


In the second period, Viruet extended his lead to 6-4 with an escape only to see Odell tie it with a takedown with 31 seconds remaining. Viruet’s escape with 11 seconds left gave him a 7-6 lead after two periods.

In the third period, Viruet tied up Odell for the 7-6 win and his second straight New England championship at 160 pounds.


Odell had a nice tournament and it included a 11-0 win over the Maine state champion Jackson Howarth of Marshfield, handing him his first loss of the season after 52 consecutive wins. In the semifinal, Odell beat Bristol Central’s Joshua Nelson, 8-1.

Nelson, who finished fourth at the State Open a week earlier, took sixth at 160 pounds.

Nelson won his first matches to earn a spot in the semifinals and a medal. He beat Vermont state champion Jacob Woodside, 3-2 with a two-point reversal in the third period and outlasted Brandon Weyant of Hampshire Regional in Northampton, Mass., 4-3 in triple OT in the quarterfinals. State Open champion Max Odell of South Windsor prevailed in the semifinals, 8-1 and Nelson lost two in the consolation bracket.

170
Fans in eastern Massachusetts and Maine were eagerly awaiting a championship match that included four-time Maine champion Cody Hughes, who entered the tournament with a 52-0 record and the Maine state record for career wins (223), and North Andover’s Fritzh Hoehn, the Massachusetts state champion.

But Newtown sophomore Anthony Falbo spoiled that matchup with a thrilling takedown with three seconds remaining in the third period for a 3-1 decision over Hughes, who will attend Virginia Tech next fall.

Each wrestler had an escape but Falbo was able to get the key takedown at the end for the win. “I picked up the pace. I was focused,” Falbo said. “We were both attacking each other and being aggressive. We were both looking for an opening, looking for an open shot. I didn’t want it to go to overtime so I pushed pace.” Falbo improved to 48-0 with the win over Hughes.

But in the final, Hoehn was too much. He took down Falbo five times in a 13-4 victory and remain undefeated at 56-0. Hoehn led 2-1 after one period but he grabbed control in the second period with two takedowns and a near fall for a 8-3 lead. Falbo (48-1) hadn’t given up a takedown this season.

“Once he took that first shot on me and I blocked it, I knew I could take him down,” Hoehn said. Hoehn let Falbo intentionally escape three times. “I just wanted to wrestle on my feet,” Hoehn said.

Hoehn was voted the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

“He did to Anthony what Anthony usually does to other people,” Newtown coach Chris Bray said. “It’s a measuring stick. You never really know how good they are until you get out on the mat.”

Bray has lost just twice in his scholastic career. A year ago, he lost in the New England semifinals. Killingly’s Austin Caffrey finished sixth at 170 pounds with four victories.

182
A year ago, Danbury’s Juan Garcia said he was crushed after dropping a two-point decision in the New England final at 170 pounds. “I’ve been wrestling smart the whole tournament, “ he said. “I don’t want it to be close. I don’t want to leave it up to the referee.”

Garcia (42-2) took charge from the start in a 3-1 win over Connor Humphries of East Longmeadow, Mass., to capture a New England championship. “I was tired,” he said. “I knew I had to score first.”

Garcia had a 2-0 lead thanks a takedown in the first 30 seconds. He extended his lead to 3-0 with an escape midway through the second period. Humphries cut the lead to two with 1:38 left thanks to an escape but Garcia fended Humphries off for the remainder of the bout.

“Scoring first is so important mentally and physically and it’s hard to come back from that,” Garcia said.


Garcia beat New Hampshire champion George Tan of Concord in the quarterfinals, 5-2. He also shutout Matt Froio of Cohassett, Mass. 4-0 in the semifinals.

Garcia said he felt stronger since there was just one weigh-in at this tournament so he had a good dinner on Friday night and a good breakfast on Saturday morning. He’ll be attending Notre Dame College in Ohio next fall. It is one of the top Division II wrestling programs in the country.

Branford’s Dakota Carden finished sixth at 182, dropping a 15-6 decision to Matt Froio of Cohassett.

190
Khamri Thomas from the Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby co-op was looking for his second straight New England championship. He earned a spot in the finals with three wins including a 10-3 win over Vermont champion Tyler Mattison of Mt. Anthony and a 5-3 win over Jake O’Brien of Framingham in the quarterfinals.


In the finals, he faced New Hampshire champion Dylan Barre from Pinkerton High, who was aggressive from the start and stunned Thomas, 3-1 to win a New England championship. “I just kept pushing the pace and attacking,” Barre said. “I was trying to work angles because I didn’t want to get caught under him.”

It was scoreless after one period. Thomas took a 1-0 lead in the second period on escape. The first two periods were primarily on their feet as both wrestlers looked for opportunities to shoot and try to get a takedown.

Barre escaped two seconds into the third period to tie the match at 1-1. Barre picked a point when Thomas was called for stalling with 1:19 remaining. Both men spent most of the remainder of the match looking for an opening to try and get a takedown.

Trailing by one, Thomas picked up the pace in the final 30 seconds. He nearly took down Barre with four seconds left in regulation but Barre fell off the mat and into the ropes around the mat.


220
Ian Butterbrodt of St. John’s Prep in Massachusetts beat Vermont champion Jack Luciano in the final by pin in 1:49 to win the title. Khaleed-Exum Strong dropped a 9-8 decision to Nick Rose of Arlington, Mass., to finish sixth.

285
In a rematch of the Massachusetts state finals from a week ago, Owen Murray of Barnstable beat Josh Sokol of Hopkinton for the second straight week, 5-1. Xavier’s Chidiebere Broderick took third with an 8-4 win over Austin Shewsbury of Westfield, Mass.