No. 8 Killingly wins Greater Hartford Open; No. 3 Simsbury beats Timberlane

Hall’s Drew Currier, right, gave the home fans something to cheer for with a Greater Hartford Open championship on Saturday with a win over Killingly’s Jack Richardson in the finals at 120 pounds, 18-10. Currier was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler. 

WEST HARTFORD, January 11 — In one of the closest races in tournament history, No. 8 Killingly got enough pins and extra points for major decisions to win the 17th annual Greater Hartford Open for the first time Saturday with a 4½-point victory over defending champion Southington, 158½ to 153, at Hall High.

Killingly had one individual and three finalists. Kaden Ware won at 106 for KHS while Jack Richardson (120) and David Charron (126) each finished second. Charron lost in overtime to Zachary Johns of Suffield/Windsor Locks on a takedown just 12 seconds in OT.

It was Killingly’s first Greater Hartford Open championship. The closest race in tournament history was a 1½ point by Conard over Hall in 2008.

No. 6 Southington had just 10 wrestlers in the tournament and nine earned medals by finishing in the top six. Caleb Brick (145) won a championship by beating Jacob Zotti of Newington in the finals, 11-2. At 160, Josh Vitti dropped a 5-4 decision to Manchester’s Traivon Nieves, who got a takedown with 13 seconds left in the third period. Nieves won his 100th career match with the win.

Suffield/Windsor Locks also had just 10 wrestlers but they had two individual champions and four finalists. Johns won at 126 with Ghassan Saleh (132) winning with a pin over East Hartford’s Xavier Quiles. Haddam-Killingworth also had two individual champions with Nicholas Glynn (152) and Thomas Perry (285) winning titles.

Results and boxscores: Saturday, January 11, 2020

No. 3 Simsbury had two individual champions and six finalists to win the John D. Gorman Memorial tournament in Cumberland, R.I. with a 6½ win over defending tournament champion Timberland Regional from Plaistow, N.H. Simsbury had 228 points – the most points scored by a team in the tournament this decade – with Timberlane coming in second with 221½. Host Cumberland was third with 210½ points.

Ty Finn (132) won an individual title for Simsbury with a pin while Saul Pera (145) won with a decision. John Mairano (138), Carter Sirois (160), Tommy Guilfoyle (220) and D’Sean Martin (285) each finished second. Martin dropped a one-point decision to Bristol Eastern’s Nick St. Peter in triple OT, 3-2.

Mason Lishness (120) and Trent Thompson (106) also won individual titles for No. 4 Bristol Eastern, which finished fourth.

Results and boxscores: Saturday, January 11, 2020

Fitch-Groton won their first tournament in 18 years, beating ECC rival Montville, 167-154, to capture the Casey Yates Invitational at Lyman Memorial in Lebanon. Fitch had a pair of freshman champions – Melakai Maddox (145) and Naszier Matthews (160) – and four finalists. Cameron Aldinger (152) and Cal Meuse (182) each finished second. It was the first tournament title for Fitch since winning the Lancer Invitational and the Frank Chaves Invitational in 2002. Montville had six finalists but just Somuadina Agunego (285) won.

For the second straight year, Staples went 4-0 to win the John Chaco Duals in Westport on Saturday. Staples (8-3) beat Newtown, 54-16 to clinch the championship

Results and boxscores: Saturday, January 11, 2020

No. 10 Bristol Central beat East Haven, 51-24, in the championship match of the East Haven Duals. The Rams (11-0) beat Foran, New Fairfield and Stratford to earn a shot in the finals. East Haven (9-2) earned a spot in the finals for the third straight year. Foran beat Platt, 41-39, to finish third.

Branford (10-1) beat Avon, 45-27 in the championship match of the 32nd annual Art Power Duals in Berlin to win the tournament for the first time. Host Berlin nipped Pomperaug, 34-33, on criteria (fewer forfeits) to finish third.

Results and boxscores: Saturday, January 11, 2020

With three individual champions, Agawam, Mass., won the 14th annual Lawless Invitational in Canton. Tom Caracciolo (170), David Baranov (195) and Antonio Ramos (285) won titles for the Brownies, who score 145½ points to win the tournament for the first time. Host Canton was second with 123½ points with one individual champion – Ethan Titus (106) – and three finalists.

The tournament, which was hosted by Nonnewaug for so many years, moved to Canton this year because a renovation of the Nonnewaug school left the gym too small to hold three mats and the number of wrestlers and spectators that attend the tournament. It was the first regular season tournament hosted by the Warriors in Canton since 1972. Brookfield’s Zahir McLean-Felix (160) was named outstanding wrestler.

Results and boxscores: Saturday, January 11, 2020

Gilbert’s Devin Matthews (132) remained undefeated (16-0) as he won an individual title at the 32nd annual Mount Anthony Union tournament in Bennington, Vermont. Kyle Matthews (152, 15-1) won an individual title for Gilbert, who finished third in the tournament. With six champions and 11 finalists, Mt. Anthony easily won the tournament with 234½ points with St. Johnsbury, Vt., finishing second with 135. Gilbert was third with 102 points.

Results and boxscores: Saturday, January 11, 2020