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Anderson earns 300th career win; Teams secure conference titles

Trumbull High coach Charlie Anderson earned his 300th career win.

TRUMBULL, February 6, 2019 — On the final two evenings of the regular season, teams won conference championships while Trumbull High recognized their long-time coach Charlie Anderson with his 300th career win.

No. 2 Simsbury secured their first CCC West championship since 2015 with a win over Farmington while No. 3 Bristol Eastern won the CCC South title for the eighth time in nine years. RHAM topped Enfield to win the CCC East crown while No. 8 Xavier dominated Foran to take the SCC Division I title.

No. 5 Fairfield Warde secured the FCIAC East championship for the 14th consecutive year with a 56-13 win over arch-rival Fairfield Ludlowe.

But in Trumbull, the Eagle wrestling family honored Anderson after Tuesday night’s 66-15 victory over Stamford. Anderson (301-86-3) has been coaching wrestling in Connecticut since 1986. This is his second stint as the head coach of the Eagles.

“It is nice but it doesn’t really feel like 300,” he said.

He spent three years as an assistant coach at Southern Connecticut State before becoming an assistant coach at Norwalk High. He took over as head coach from 1991-99 and was the FCIAC Coach of the Year in 1999.

Anderson has had two tours as the head coach in Trumbull in 2007-12 and 2016 to present. He was the assistant coach from 2013-15.

His 2017 Trumbull team (20-1) had the best record in his career and the 2018 Trumbull team (26-3) had the most wins in a single season in his career. This year’s team finished the dual meet portion of the schedule with a 25-5 record and is ranked No. 4 in the latest Connecticut Wrestling Online top 10 poll.

Anderson will be one of six men inducted into the Connecticut chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on May 4 at the MGM Hotel at Foxwoods for their contributions to the sport of wrestling and our communities. Tickets are now on sale.

Results: Wednesday, February 6

No. 2 Simsbury (15-1, 6-0 CCC West) had four pins and took advantage of eight forfeits to beat Farmington, 63-12 and win the CCC West championship for the first time since 2015. … No. 8 Xavier turned in a dominating performance to beat Foran 56-12 to win the SCC Division I title. Seniors Jameel Salami, Dylan Sousa, Grant Barber and Tom Cullen picked up key wins for the Falcons.

Results: Wednesday, February 6

With a strong performance from wrestlers in the upper weight classes, RHAM beat Enfield, 42-34 to win the CCC East championship for the second time in the last three years. The Sachems (17-11, 5-0 CCC East) had six pins in the meet and won six consecutive bouts from 145 pounds to 195 pounds to take control of the bout. RHAM forfeited three weight classes but won eight of the 11 matches on the mat.

With six pins and two technical falls, No. 3 Bristol Eastern (16-1, 6-0 CCC South) took care of business in a dominating 64-3 victory over cross-town rival Bristol Central to win the CCC South championship for the third consecutive season and for the eighth time in the last nine years.

It was the most lopsided victory — 61 points — in the long series that began in 1963. With nine straight wins in the series — the longest run by either side, Eastern has trimmed Central’s lead in the series to 28-27-2. Central’s last victory in the series was a 32-26 win in 2010.

Results: Wednesday, February 6

Thanks to six pins and five forfeits, Gilbert (26-3) ended the dual meet season with a 69-0 shutout over Portland. The Yellowjackets won 13 of their last 14 matches and set a new school record for most wins in a season (26). It snaps the old record of 24 set in 2009 when the Yellowjackets were 24-1 and finished third in Class S.

Wethersfield finished 16-6 on the year with a 48-26 victory over neighboring rival Newington. In the past four years, the Eagles have gone 63-21 in dual meets.

Results: Wednesday, February 6

The North Central Connecticut Conference race isn’t as buttoned up as we reported earlier this week. For the past two seasons, the team with the best dual meet record was acknowledged as the league champion.

Canton (20-3, 7-0 NCCC) went undefeated this season in the league including a 42-36 win over Suffield/Windsor Locks (11-4, 6-1) with a pin in the final match to secure the win.

However, Connecticut Wrestling Online learned Tuesday that the NCCC modified the criteria for determining a league champion before the season began. The league has gone back to a point system they used in previous years.

Teams get one point for every dual meet victory over a league opponent and a ½ point for every team they beat at the league championship meet, which is Saturday in Granby.

We reported earlier this week that Canton had won their first league championship since 2002. Well, not quite yet. Canton is in the driver’s seat with seven points. The Warriors need to finish either first or second in the NCCC Tournament to secure the title.

And Canton has won the NCCC Tournament for the past two seasons.

Suffield/Windsor Locks has a chance to grab the title or a share of it. First, Suffield/Windsor Locks has to win the tournament. If Canton finishes third, they will share the league championship with the Warriors. If Canton finished fourth, Suffield would be the league champion.

It is an unlikely scenario. The team with the best dual meet record from the regular season in the NCCC has finished either first or second 22 times in the last 23 NCCC tournaments.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of Connecticut Wrestling Online. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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