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This page was last updated on: September 5, 2001

7th annual Eagle Classic
At Manchester
Team scores -- 1. Mt. Anthony Union, Vt., 278, 2. Berlin 182.5, 3. RHAM 152.5, 4. Windham High 146.5, 5. New Fair-field 105.5, 6. East Windsor 86, 7. Fermi 78.5, 8. East Catholic 70.5, 9. Rockville 55, 10. South Windsor 51.5, 11. Berlin 'B' 34, 12. Manchester 30, 13. Farmington 23, 14. Parish Hill 6, 15. Tolland, Somers 0
95 pounds (exhibition)
1. Eric Mayer (MAU) pin Matt Gineo (Tolland), 1:30
3. Navarre Jones (Windham) pin Henry Wasik (Berlin), 3:58
5. Brendan Donnelly (East Cath) dec. Mike Carlise (East Windsor), 9-6
103
1. Chris Pruden (MAU) pin Jason Vernes (East Windsor), 3:04
3. Ian Kessler (New Fairfield) dec. Jorge Cruz (Windham), 3-1
5. Trevor Brown (RHAM) dec. Matt Graffagnino (Farmington), 3-0
112
1. Brad Krause (MAU) dec. C.J. McCormack (Berlin), 7-5
3. Nick Venoutsos (South Windsor) dec. Pat Szczesiul (Fermi), 9-1
5. Karl Dinkler (Farmington) dec. Nate Ouellette (RHAM), 8-4
119
1. Paul Monick (MAU) dec. Lincoln LeFebvre (East Catholic), 7-1
3. Kevin Gaughan (New Fairfield) dec. Ryan Burke (East Windsor), 16-5
5. Jordan Blain (Windham) dec. Brent Herud (Farmington), 7-2
125
1. Chris Scheinberg (East Catholic) dec. Kyle Willard (MAU), 6-3
3. Steve Arel (Fermi) pin Derek Aivano (Berlin), 1:46
5. Tim Crudden (Rockville) pin Tal Stimpson (Parish Hill), 5:27
130
1. Chris Szczesiul (Fermi) dec. Brendan Mancz (MAU), 7-1
3. Matt McCormack (Berlin) dec. Brock Littlefield (RHAM), 4-2
5. Mike Azzarito (New Fairfield) pin Mike Mulcunry (Farmington), 3:01
135
1. Ben Davis-Oscar (Windham) dec. Greg Dussol (RHAM), 12-6
3. John Szymanski (Berlin) dec. Joe Lambert (MAU), 16-4
5. Anthony Carlino (Berlin 'B') injury default Randy Blowers (Rockville)
140
1. Ben Lackey (MAU) dec. Louie Grano (RHAM), tech. fall, 20-5, 4:04
3. Jason Rivera (South Windsor) dec. Joel Pecoy (Fermi), 3-0
5. Ben Gardner (Rockville) dec. Justin Giarnella (Berlin), 5-1
145
1. Dan McAveney (New Fairfield) pin Ian Coyne (RHAM), 3:19
3. Adam Russell (East Windsor) pin Brandon Strout (Windham), 0:47
5. Brett Miller (Mt. Anthony) dec. Tom Marturano (Berlin), 5-3
152
1. Kevin Davis (RHAM) dec. Ron Pelley (East Windsor), 5-2
3. Bilal Khan (Windham) dec. Bill Aust (Berlin), 3-1
5. Jeremy Morin (Mt. Anthony) dec. Dave D'Amara (Manchester), 5-2
160
1. Mike Laroche (Berlin) dec. Taro Moraga (RHAM), 3-2
3. Ron Wright (MAU) dec. Jim Burnham (South Windsor), 10-3
5. Sean Flynn (Fermi) dec. Peter Okrasa (East Windsor), 6-5
171
1. Rick Serrao (MAU) dec. Mike Walsh (New Fairfield), 6-4, OT
3. Jim Punkunas (Berlin) dec. Mike Colgan (RHAM), 1-0
5. John Kelly (Windham) dec. Mike Downard (Manchester), 6-4
189
1. Mike Powers (MAU) dec. Jon Ridel (Berlin), 6-4
3. Andy Reindl (Berlin 'B') dec. Mike Serrano (Windham), 8-2
5. Dan Freney (Rockville) dec. Jon Fornwalt (East Windsor), 8-3
215
1. Kiel Santelli (MAU) dec. John Russo (Berlin), 12-3
3. Andre Diaz (Windham) pin Manny Medina (Manchester), 4:34
5. Fred Johanns (East Catholic) pin Ryan Malcolm (Farmington), 3:12
275
1. Aaron Trusty (Berlin) dec. Bill Harris (MAU), 6-0
3. Edwin Rosario (Windham) dec. Dan Abele (Manchester), 10-3
5. Justin Mattern (Rockville) pin Ron Daigle (East Catholic), 0:40
AWARDS
Team sportsmanship award -- Mount Anthony Union
Lee Phinney sportsmanship award -- Kevin Goughan (New Fairfield, 119)
Best technician -- Ben Lackey (Mount Anthony, 140)
Dennis Sigemann fast fall award --
Navarre Jones (Windham, 95), 4 pins in 13:58
Outstanding wrestler (lightweights, 95-140) -- Ben Lackey (Mount Anthony, 140)
Outstanding wrestler (upperweights, 145-275) -- Mike Laroche (Berlin, 160)

  

Berlin looks to keep improving
Mt. Anthony wins 5th straight Eagle Classic
By Gerry deSimas, Jr.
CONNECTICUT WRESTLING ONLINE
MANCHESTER, Jan. 20, 2001 -- On paper, the success of the Berlin High wrestling team this season looks sparkling -- 13 wins in 16 matches, a first place finish in the Berlin Invitational, a third place finish in its own Art Power Duals and a spot in the state coaches top 10 poll (seventh place).

Saturday, the Redcoats placed five wrestlers in the finals of the seventh annual Eagle Classic at East Catholic High and had 14 wrestlers win medals as Berlin finished a distant second behind Vermont powerhouse Mount Anthony Union, 278-182.5.

Mike Laroche (160) and Aaron Trusty (275) won titles for Berlin. Laroche outlasted RHAM's Taro Moraga, 3-2, courtesy of a third-period escape while Trusty won his third straight Eagle Classic championship with a 6-0 victory over Mt. Anthony's Bill Harris. Laroche was named the tournament's most outstanding heavyweight wrestler (145-to-275 pounds.)

While pleased with their success Saturday, Berlin High coach Jim Day knows his team needs to get better if they hope to defend their Class L championship next month.

"We've been very consistent at being inconsistent," Day said. "We've been following the same pattern all year. We can't anticipate how the majority of our wrestlers will perform. I guess my standards are high. We finished second in a quality tournament and distanced ourselves from (third-place) RHAM. But we we have a long way to go if we want to contend for a state title."

RHAM finished third in the tournament with 152.5 points with Windham High fourth at 146.5. Berlin's junior varsity finished 11th with 34 points while Farmington was 13th with 23 points. Bristol Central was scheduled to compete but didn't attend due to the slippery weather Saturday morning. Canton, Hall and Stafford also withdrew due to the weather.

Mt. Anthony, despite losing 10 starters from a year ago, placed 11 wrestlers in the finals and won eight titles to easily win the tournament for the fifth straight year.

Laroche knows about living up to high expectations. The senior won a State Open champion-ship at 145 pounds a year ago and entered Saturday night's final 21-0 record. It was Laroche's third match of the year against Moraga, who earned a spot iin the finals with his semifinal upset of Mt. Anthony's Ben Wright, who finished second in New England last year.

"When you're successful the previous year, there is a lot of pressure to do it again. It's expected," Laroche said. "It's tough. You just need to keep working hard. It all comes with hard work. You can't get to a certain plateau and stay there. There is always someone trying to get you."

Trusty (24-0) had a solid tournament, winning 3-2 in the semifinals over Windham's Edwin Ro-sario and controlling his final with Harris.

"Any time you win a quality tournament like this, it has to give you a boost of confidence," Day said.

Berlin's C.J. McCormack (112) dropped a tough 7-5 decision in the finals to Mt. Anthony's Brad Krause while Jon Ridel (189) couldn't get by Mt. Anthony's Mike Powers in a 6-4 loss. John Russo (215) dropped a 12-3 decision in the final to Mt. Anthony's Kiel Santelli.

Berlin's Andy Reindl, a 12th seed at 189, had an outstanding tournament, finishing third. Reindl lost in the semifinals but won a pair of consolation round matches including a 7-5 win over third seed Dan Freney of Rockville.

Chris Pruden (103) and Brad Krause (112) won titles for the second straight year at the Eagle Classic for Mt. Anthony. At 171, Mt. Anthony's Rick Serrao beat New Fairfield's Mike Walsh, 6-4, with an overtime takedown.

"We wrestled pretty well," Mt. Anthony coach Scott Legacy said. "We had some close matches. We won some and we lost some. There is some tough competition here and we feel fortunate to get invited each year."

One of the most thrilling finals was at 125 where hometown favorite Chris Scheinberg outlasted Mt. Anthony's Kyle Willard, 6-3. Scheinberg, a senior who won his third tournament of the season, is now 18-0.
Scheinberg's takedown with 40 seconds left snapped a 2-2 tie and put him in command. Willard cut the lead to one by escaping with 24 seconds to go but Scheinberg's takedown as time ran out sealed the victory.

"I just do what I have to do," Scheinberg said.

Fermi's Chris Szczesiul (130) remained undefeated at 20-0 with an impressive 7-1 victory over Mt. Anthony's Brendan Mancz in the final. It was Szczesiul's third tournament win of the season. He also won the Doug Parker Invitational and Farmington Valley tournament.