Four state wrestlers earn All-America honors
MANHEIM, Pa., April 5 -- Four Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors at the third annual National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA)'s U.S. High School Open tournament at Delaware State University.
Wrestlers in grades 9-12 were eligible to compete. Norfolk's Joel Webster (130), Waterford's Shawn Karasavicz (194), Fairfield's Brendan Herlihy (220) and Meriden's Willie Brown (280) earned All-America honors by finishing in the top eight of their respective weight class. Herlihy was sixth and Brown was eighth while Webster and Karasavicz each finished seventh. All four also wrestled on Team New England that took fifth in the 10th annual Brute Scholastic Duals.
Phillips earns All-America honors at nationals
CLEVELAND, Ohio, April 4 -- Killingly's Tom Phillips won three matches including a quarterfinal bout in overtime to finish fourth at the National High School Coaches Senior Tournament and earn All-America honors at 103 pounds. Phillips (3-2) lost to Tennessee's Blake Tinsley by pin for third place.
He is the 14th state wrestler to earn All-America honors at the tournament and the first from Killingly. It is the best finish since New Canaan's Brett Wilderman took fourth at 189 in 1995.
Twelve state wrestlers competed in the tournament. Danbury's Mike Silvestri (103), Brandon Stavola of Amity (135), RHAM's Greg Dussol (152) and Danbury's Tim Ferreira (275) each earned one victory each. Connecticut finished 38th in the field with 17 points.
Shaw takes fourth in
U.S. Olympic trials
INDIANAPOLIS, May 23 -- Waterford High junior Stefanie Shaw, 17, finished fourth in the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials at 138.75 pounds (63 kilograms). Shaw beat top-seeded Sally Roberts, a bronze medalist at last year's World Championships, 4-2 in the semifinals. But Shaw lost in the challenge tournament finals to No. 2 seed Alaina Berube, 5-4. In the consolation round, Shaw fell to No. 3 Kaci Lyle by technical fall. "I got caught a couple of times when I shouldn't have," Shaw told the New London Day. "She got me. I've got to find out what works and what doesn't and what I need to work on." Click on the link for more compete trials results from The Mat.com.
Tribute to courage
LEDYARD, April 27 -- USA Wrestling Connecticut is collecting donations for the Jeffrey Braun Foundation to pay tribute to Braun, a former Stafford High wrestler who died in Iraq at the age of 19 serving his country last December. Contributors will be proudly listed at USA Wrestling Connecticut's Web site. Click here for a special message from Mike Quibble, director of USA Wrestling Connecticut.
Perry wins national title,
Shaw takes second
LAKE ORION, Mich. -- NFA's Jade Perry won a national championship at 138 pounds at the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association (USGWA) national tournament on March 27-28 while Waterford's Stefenie Shaw (144) finished second. The two top finishes helped Connecticut to an seventh place finish in the tournament. Other state girls in the high school division earning All-America honors (top 8) included Danbury's Susie Levitt (4th, 105) and Woodstock's Megan Corden (7th, 122). Trinity College's Melyssa Fuqua won a national title in the University Folkstyle Division at 165 pounds. In the junior high division, Uncasville's Jessica Bennett (4th, 180) and Brooklyn's Spirit Souza (6th, 144) earned All-America honors.
Shaw earns spot on U.S. team
WATERFORD -- Waterford High Junior Stefenie Shaw has been named to the U.S. Pan-American wrestling team at 63 Kg (kilograms) or 138.75 pounds. She will wrestle for the U.S. team at the Pan-Am Games on May 7-9.
All-State banquet
Stavola, Dussol share Wrestler of the Year honor
Amity's Brandon Stavola (135) and RHAM's Greg Dussol (152) shared the state wrestler of the year award, it was announced at the Connecticut High School Coaches Association's annual All-State and Academic All-State wrestling banquet. Stavola, who won the Class LL and State Open title, was the only state wrestler to win a New England title. Dussol, a two-time State Open and Class M champion, finished second in New England to Maine's Decota Cotton, who earned the tournament's outstanding wrestler award.
Bristol Central's Pat Parente was honored for his many contributions to wrestling while the coaching staffs from Danbury, Rockville, Windham and Nonnewaug were honored with the coach of the year awards. Gerry deSimas, Jr., editor of Connecticut Wrestling Online and wrestling writer for the Waterbury Republican-American was named sportswriter of the year.
Berlin's Ciarcia wins three
at NCAA Div. I tournament
ST. LOUIS, March 20 -- Brown University's Nick Ciarcia (184) was the only Connecticut native competing in the 2004 NCAA Division I wrestling tournament and finished one win shy of qualifying for a medal. Ciarcia dropped his first bout losing to sophomore Dan Pitsch of Oregon State, 8-6. In his first consolation round bout, Ciarcia beat Wyoming sophomore Sam Wendland, 9-4. He beat Wisconsin's Brady Reinke in 1:16 and beat No. 6 seed Nick Frost of Arizona State, 3-1. But he fell to Lehigh's Travis Frick, 2-1 in the fifth round of the consolation round. Ciarcia finished 3-2 in the tournament.
Ciarcia, a Berlin resident, was seeded 17th in the tournament. Ciarcia was upset in the second round of the 100th EIWA championships but rallied in the consolation bracket to take fourth and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. He finished the regular season at 24-11.
New England Tournament
NEW HAVEN, March 6 -- Connecticut had a tournament-high nine wrestlers in the finals but only Amity's Brandon Stavola (130) came home with a victory. Plainville's Jesse Cavallaro (119) lost in 2 OT, Glastonbury's Gordon Holden (140) lost in OT while Killingly's Larry Loomis (160) lost by 1 on a reversal with four seconds left. Vermont's Mt. Anthony Union won the New England title for the fourth time in eight years while Danbury finished third -- the best finish by a state school since 1997.
Three state coaches were inducted into the New England Wrestling Council's Hall of Fame -- New Fairfield/Brookfield coach Bob Serrano, Simsbury's Frank Chaves and Berlin's Jim Day.
N. England video and photos
State Open
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 28 -- Danbury won their fourth straight State Open championship by a tournament-record 46 points over Windham, 141.5 to 95.5. Killingly was a distant third with 70 points. Four Danbury wrestlers won titles and six out of seven that competed finished among the top four to earn berths to next weekend's New England Championships. RHAM's Greg Dussol (152) and Glastonbury's Ross Massey (215) successfully defended their titles while Simsbury sophomore Joey Martin earned the tournament's outstanding wrestler award by winning at 112 by winning his second straight title.
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 28 -- Ron LaBeef and Jim Day provide play-by-play and color commentary.
State championship weekend
Danbury, Ledyard, Windham, Nonnewaug win state titles
Danbury was voted No. 1 in the final state coaches poll for the eighth straight year. Class M champion Windham was voted No. 2 with Class L champion Ledyard at No. 3. Class S champion Nonnewaug made its season debut at No. 8.
