Charron brothers help No. 9 Killingly bring home a fourth state championship

Ellis Tech’s Sean Johnson, shown at last year’s State Open, won his fourth straight Class M title on Saturday and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

GUILFORD, February 16 – Brothers have won wrestling state championships on the same day before in Connecticut.

The first set of brothers accomplished that in 1979 when the Makarewicz brothers, Kevin and Barry, brought home a pair of Class S championships for Nonnewaug.

Five pairs of Connecticut brothers won State Open titles on the same afternoon and the Kane brothers – Timmy and Charley – won New England championships on the same day in 2016.

But there was some history made Saturday at the Class M championship with three brothers won state championships on the same day. Killingly’s Danny Charron (106), his twin brother Mike Charron (113) and his younger brother David Charron (125) each won titles to lead the Redmen to their first state championship in a decade.

The Charron brothers won three of Killingly’s four individual titles and helped the No. 9 Redmen beat Foran, 201½ to 161. No. 10 Avon, with a pair of champions at 220 and 285 pounds, was third with 151 points.

Derek Turner (170) also won for Killingly, which had a clean sweep of four wins in the finals.

Danny Charron had a pair of takedowns in the first period to fuel a 5-1 win over Josh Brault of Joel Barlow in the finals.

In a rematch of last week’s ECC Tournament final, Mike Charron came out on top this week with a 5-4 victory over Waterford’s Logan Smith. Mike Charron trailed 4-2 after two periods but escaped with 1:55 left in the third period to cut the lead to one. His takedown with 40 seconds left put Mike Charron on top to stay.

At 126, top-seeded David Charron didn’t give up a point in four victories concluding with a 6-0 win over New Fairfield’s Hunter Chin in the championship final.

Turner pinned Foran’s Umer Khan in 5:26 to complete the finals sweep for Killingly.

It was the fourth state title in school history for Killingly and the first since they won back-to-back titles in Class S in 2008 and 2009. The Redmen won a Class M title in 2003.

* * * *

Ellis Tech’s Sean Johnson also made some history. With his 17-6 win over Waterford’s Eric Zane at 138 pounds, Johnson became the eleventh wrestler in state history to win four consecutive state championships.

Johnson also won Class M titles at 126 pound as a junior, at 113 pounds as a sophomore and at 106 as a freshman.

“I am proud of Sean,” Ellis Tech coach Rafael Calixto said. “He won four titles in four different weight classes, it was special to be a part of . It doesn’t happen very often and I am just lucky to be a part of it.”

Johnson had three pins in the tournament and in the final, he had five takedowns.

* * * *

There were several repeat champions at the meet. Bacon Academy sophomore Braeden O’Brien won his second consecutive title at 120 pounds with a 5-0 win over Platt’s James Rondini.

Tolland senior Michael Angers (160) remained undefeated (33-0) and won his second straight Class M title. Angers had three pins in less than 1:32 to earn a berth in the championship match. Tied at 1-1 in the third period, Angers got a takedown with 1:18 left to beat Suffield/Windsor Locks’ Miguel Gonzalez, 3-1.

Two senior wrestlers brought home their third straight Class M championships. At 145, Berlin High’s Dan Veleas beat Joel Barlow’s Alex Klein-Wassink, 7-1 in the final. At 182, Joel Barlow’s Carson LiCastri had three first period pins to get to the final where he beat Branford’s Justin Osler, 8-4.

* * * *

With two individual champions and two third place finishes, Avon took third – their best performance in a state tournament since finishing second in Class S in 2006.

Seniors Chris Gens (220) and Henry Schrecengost (285), a second-year wrestler, won titles for the Falcons while Abhi Bhabad (120) and Jack Colman (160) each finished third.

Gens had three pins to earn a spot in the final including an eight-second pin of Masuk’s Peter Dutkowsky in the second round. That is the second fastest pin at 220 in the state record book.

In the final, Gens led 4-2 after two periods before he escaped and got a quick takedown early in the third period in a 7-4 win over Berlin’s Max Schlein.

Schrecengost also had three pins to earn a spot in the final where he outlasted Hayden Minski of Ellis Tech, 7-2.

2019 CIAC Class M championships
At Guilford
Team results – 1. Killingly 202½, 2. Foran 161, 3. Avon 151, 4. Joel Barlow 133, 5. Suffield/Windsor Locks 132, 6. Ledyard 130½, 7. Waterford 124½, 8. East Haven 121, 9. Branford 102, 10. Guilford 96, 11. Platt High 86½, 12. Ellis Tech 84, 13. Berlin 82, 14. New Fairfield 75½, 15. Bacon Academy 73½, 16. Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech 69, 17. Brookfield 61, 18. Masuk 59, 19. Bethel 52½, 20. Jonathan Law 48½, 21. Weston 40, 22. Tolland 34, 23. East Lyme 32, 24. Bunnell 31, 25. Abbott Tech 30, 26. St. Bernard/Norwich Tech 22, 27. Warren Harding 14, 28. Watertown 11, 29. Stratford 9, 30. Torrington 8, 31. Lewis Mills and Rockville 0
Individual results
106 pounds
Final: Danny Charron (Killingly) dec. Josh Brault (Joel Barlow), 5-1
3. Mason Concascia (Waterford) dec. Connor Doran (Ledyard), 13-6
5. Matty Carrozza (Brookfield) dec. Jake Defonce (Abbott Tech), 7-4
113 pounds
Final: Mike Charron (Killingly) dec. Logan Smith (Waterford), 5-4
3. Victor Garcia (East Haven) dec. Zachary Johns (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 9-7, OT
5. Charlie Prather (Joel Barlow) pin Tanish Joshi (Foran), 0:35
120 pounds
Final: Braeden O’Brien (Bacon Academy) dec. James Rondini (Platt), 5-0
3. Abhi Bhabad (Avon) dec. Johnny Cerquiera (Abbott Tech), 6-2
5. Julian Soares (New Fairfield) dec. Cooper Morissette (Killingly), 10-5
126 pounds
Final: David Charron (Killingly) dec. Hunter Chin (New Fairfield), 8-0
3. Isaiah Ross (Platt) dec. Jackson Archer (Lyman Mem/Windam Tech), 9-8
5. Ghassan Saleh (Suffield/Windsor Locks) pin Jordan Lang (Foran), 4:14
132 pounds
Final: Eamon Toland matos (Bethel) dec. Alec Divito (East Haven), 12-4
3. Keldon Larose (Guilford) dec. Tyler Miller (Ledyard), 4-3
5. Trevor Johnson (Killingly) dec. Caleb Ferland (Ellis Tech), 7-1
138 pounds
Final: Sean Johnson (Ellis Tech) dec. Eric Zane (Waterford), 17-6
3. Cole Dirico (Ledyard) pin Louis Stabile (Brookfield), 1:23
5. Matthew Raine (Suffield/Windsor Locks) forfeit over Isaac Bean (Killingly)
145 pounds
Final: Daniel Veleas (Berlin) dec. Alex Klein-Wassink (Joel Barlow), 7-1
3. Curtis Fedorko (Masuk) dec. Everett Minevich (East Lyme), 4-2
5. Ethan Edmondson (Foran) M FOR Vincent Mascola (Guilford), 10-4, 2:56
152 pounds
Final: Hunter Adams (Suffield/Windsor Locks) pin Shayne McCourt (Jonathan Law), 0:55
3. Ryan Powers (Lyman Mem/Windam Tech) dec. Brayden Grim (Ledyard), 10-2
5. Breon Phifer (Weston) dec. Zahir McLean-Felix (Brookfield), 8-6, OT
160 pounds
Final: Michael Angers (Tolland) dec. Miguel Gonzalez (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 3-1
3. Jack Colman (Avon) dec. Frankie McNeary (Joel Barlow), 2-1
5. Zachary Minch (Masuk) dec. Danny Jarrin (East Haven), 3-2
170 pounds
Final: Derek Turner (Killingly) pin Umer Khan (Foran), 5:26
3. Sebby Malespini (Berlin) dec. Colman Doucette (New Fairfield), 5-3 OT
5. Jacob Gannotti (Waterford) dec. Adam Crawford (Ledyard), 6-4 OT
182 pounds
Final: Carson Licastri (Joel Barlow) dec. Justin Osler (Branford), 8-4
3. Pat Brogan (Foran) dec. Ryan Greene (Platt), 6-4
5. Leonardo Amaro, Jr. (Bacon Academy) dec. Austin Pompa (Masuk), 10-8
195 pounds
Final: Nolan Bannon (Foran) dec. Josh Rao (East Haven), 7-2
3. Cody Mchenry (Branford) dec. Andy Flores (Platt), 15-3
5. Amir Johnson (Avon) forfeit over Andrew Allen (Ledyard)
220 pounds
Final: Chris Gens (Avon) dec. Max Schlein (Berlin), 7-4
3. Minsok Lee (Branford) dec. Billy Ives (Foran), 4-1
5. Adam Frame (Brookfield) dec. Jeremiah Harshberger (Waterford), 3-1 OT
285 pounds
Final: Henry Schrecengost (Avon) dec. Hayden Minski (Ellis Tech), 7-2
3. Rene Bernier (Killingly) dec. Roark Ryan (St. Bernard/Norwich Tech), 8-1
5. Armando Castaneda (East Haven) pin Anthony Martinez (Joel Barlow), 1:35
Outstanding wrestler: Sean Johnson (138), Ellis Tech
Brackets on Flo