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Danbury’s Ryan Jack finishes fourth at Beast of East tournament

 

Danbury’s Ryan Jack, left, won a medal at the Beast of the East tournament for the second straight year.

NEWARK, Delaware, December 23, 2018 – Danbury’s Ryan Jack couldn’t stop Michael Colaiocco of Blair Academy from winning a record fourth Beast of the East championship Sunday at the University of Delaware.

Colaiocco became just the third wrestler in tournament history to win a fourth title with his victory at 126 pounds. For the second straight year, Colaiocco knocked Jack out of the championship round. On Sunday, he beat Jack in the semifinals with a 15-5 decision.

But Jack rebounded with a win in the consolation semifinals to finish fourth at the 26th annual Beast of the East tournament. It’s the highest finish for a state wrestler in the tournament. Danbury’s Jakob Camacho finished fifth two years ago.

Jack was the only state medalist in the tournament. New Canaan’s Tyler Sung (145) and Danbury’s Jordan Agosto (285) were also wrestling on Sunday. Agosto was eliminated in his first match of the morning.

Sung beat Max Hammond of St. Paul (Maryland) School for Boys, 5-3 thanks to a takedown with 1:29 left in the third period. But Sung, who was 5-2 in the tournament, was eliminated in an 8-6 overtime loss to Connor Strong of Mt. St. Joes (Maryland).

Sung got a takedown with 29 seconds left in the third period to force OT but Strong won the bout with a takedown with 16 seconds remaining in OT.

Jack won his quarterfinal match with a 3-0 win over Sean Pierson of Nazareth, Pa. In the semifinals, he faced Colaiocco, who had seven takedowns in the 15-5 victory.

In the consolation semifinals, Jack beat Joey Olivieri of Hanover Park, N.J., with another 3-0 decision. In the consolation final, Robert Howard of Bergen Catholic (N.J.) beat Jack, 6-4, to finish third.

Jack trailed 5-0 in the second period before escaping to cut the lead to four. In the third period, he escaped and got a takedown with eight seconds remaining to cut the lead to one, 5-4. Jack let Howard go immediately to try for the winning takedown but time ran out. Jack went 5-2 in the tournament.

Connecticut medalists Beast of the East

December 2018
Ryan Jack, Danbury (126), fourth

December 2017
Ryan Jack, Danbury (120), sixth
Ryan DeVivo, Xavier (170), sixth

December 2016
Jakob Camacho, Danbury (120), fifth

Connecticut Wrestling Online has been covering the sport of wrestling in Connecticut and New England since 2001.

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