Provo, Rossetti capture Prep School national championships

Greens Farms Academy’s Nico Provo, left, and Loomis Chaffee’s Dom Rossetti, center won national titles at the Prep School Nationals Monday in Pennsylvania. GFA assistant coach Jon Valles is on the left. Rossetti also trains at South Side Wrestling Club that is run by GFA coach Jack Conroy. (Photo courtesy Jack Conroy)

Stratford’s Nico Provo won his second national tournament in less than two weeks by capturing the 2021 National Prep School Open tournament in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Monday.

Representing Greens Farms Academy in Westport, Provo beat Brennen Cernus of Wyoming Seminary in the championship match at 120 pounds, 8-2, to win his first prep school national title. Provo won the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) Senior Nationals two weeks ago in Virginia Beach.

Provo was one of eight wrestlers from Greens Farms Academy to earn All-American honors by finishing in the top eight of their respective weight classes.

Glastonbury’s Dominic Rossetti, a senior from Loomis Chaffee in Windsor, won his first national Prep School title with his 3-0 win over Lorenzo Norman of Blair Academy in the championship bout at 152 pounds.

Greens Farms Justin Mastroianni of New Canaan was seconds away from a victory in the championship match but Danny Wask of Blair Academy got a takedown as time expired to earn a 2-1 victory in the final at 145 pounds.

Greens Farms freshman Nate Taylor (160) of Newtown finished third at 160 pounds while Brunswick’s Chris Perry became a four-time Prep School All-American by finishing third at 138 pounds.

Provo, who is going to Cornell in the fall, went 5-0 with three pins and a technical fall to earn Prep School All-American honors for the third time. He gave up just one takedown and a pair of escapes in his first four bouts including a 38 second pin of Wyoming Seminary’s Kai Owen in the semifinals.

Cernus was a defending national champion at 113 pounds. He was tied 2-2 with Provo after getting a one-point escape with 1:53 left in the match. But Provo got a takedown with 57 seconds remaining and a four-point near fall with 18 seconds left to clinch the championship.

Provo is the first Greens Farms wrestler to win a Prep School national title.

“It’s hard to put into words what this means,” Provo said. “National Preps, for us, our season leads up to this moment. It is THE tournament and to finally win it, it’s about time. It means a lot to me and it means a lot to GFA and the program.”

“He is a special kid. He has a special work ethic and he is super motivated,” Green Farms Academy coach Jack Conroy said. “I am proud of his ability to go out there and let it rip.”

Rossetti had two pins to earn a spot in the semifinals where he beat Braden Baller of Liberty Christian, 10-0. In the championship match, Rossetti took a 1-0 lead thanks to an escape early in the third period and he clinched the victory with a takedown with 22 seconds left in regulation.

It’s the first Prep School national title for Rossetti and for Loomis-Chaffee, which had five wrestlers reach the final. The most recent was Sean Boyle, who was second at 103 pounds in 2003. Rossetti will be attending Columbia University in the fall.

“He is just great at controlling the match,” Conroy said. For the last few months, Rossetti has been working out with the GFA team at South Side Wrestling Club in Bridgeport, which is run by Conroy. “We’re very impressed on how he has grown and developed.”

Mastroianni wasn’t challenged on his way to the finals at 145 pounds with three pins and a 15-0 technical fall victory in the semifinals.

Mastroianni had a 1-0 lead thanks to an escape with 1:52 left in the third period. Welk got in deep with two takedown attempts in the final minute but couldn’t finish. After a second stalemate call with 11 seconds remaining, Welk tried for another takedown. Using a wizard with four seconds left, he got Mastroianni on his knees and was able to get the match-winning takedown as time expired although the Greens Farms bench protested to no avail.

It was his second runner-up trophy in less than two weeks. Mastroianni finished second at the NHSCA Senior Nationals.

Perry (138) won six bouts to become the first Bruin to earn All-American honors four times with his third place finish. Perry won his first matches by pin and beat Dominic Federici, 8-2 in the quarterfinals.

After a loss to Hill School’s Kelvin Griffin in the semifinals, Perry got a reversal with 57 seconds left in the third period to beat Clayton Gabrielson in the consolation semifinals. In the consolation final, Perry built up a five-point lead to beat J.T. Chase of Western Reserve Academy, 5-2.

Taylor rebounded from a two-point loss in the quarterfinals with four straight wins in the consolation round to finish third with a 4-2 win over Aldan Bowers of Christian Brothers in Tennessee. Trailing by one, Taylor escaped with 1:57 left in the third period and got a takedown with 1:47 remaining to take control of the bout.

Taylor, who won a national title at the NHSCA Freshman Nationals in Virginia Beach, advanced to the consolation final with a 4-2 win in overtime over Colby Isabelle.

Greens Farms Aiden Hebert of Westport (132) and Peter Kane of Fairfield (145) each finished fourth. Kane went 5-2 with two pins while Hebert went 4-2 with two pins.

Greens Farms wrestlers Michael Bartush of Norwalk (195) was fifth while Caleb Seyfried (126) of Westport was seventh and C.J. Shea of Milford (132) was eighth.

“It’s hard to imagine four years ago we only had one All-American in the history of the (Greens Farms) program and today we have eight in this tournament,” Provo said. “This was the last hurrah.”

A year ago, the Dragons had two All-American wrestlers. This year, they had eight. No team scores were kept at the tournament but Greens Farms would have been a contender.

“This was a culmination of a lot of work in the past year,” Conroy said. “We have established a winning tradition and we don’t plan to let up.”

West Hartford’s Brian Nanmoun (220) from Avon Old Farms finished sixth while Brunswick School senior Nick Bell (160) earned All-American honors by finishing eighth.

The 2021 National Prep School national championships were held May 2-3 at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Parke with competition in 14 weight classes. Wrestlers were required to be attending their respective prep school during the 2020-21 school year.

Masks were required to be worn at all times by athletes, coaches and spectators although athletes were not required to wrestle in masks on the mat.

2021 National Prep School Open
At Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Championship
106 Jack Consiglio , PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Carter Nogle Laurel, dec. (Maryland), 6-1
113 Kade Davidheiser Barto, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Sulayman Bah Saltsburg, PA (Pennsylvania), 9-4
120 Nico Provo Stratford, CT (Greens Farms Academy) dec. Brennen Cernus Kingston, PA (Wyoming Seminary), 8-2
126 Spencer Barnhart West Grove, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Daniel Sheen St Charles, IL (Pennsylvania), 8-6
132 Jimmy Harrington Tyngsborough, MA (New England) dec. Gregor McNeil Greece, NY (Pennsylvania), 4-3
138 Shayne Van ness Somerville, NJ (NJ/NY) dec. Kelvin Griffin Berwick, ME (Pennsylvania), 9-0
145 Danny Wask Sussex, NJ (Blair Academy) dec. Justin Mastroianni New Canaan, CT (Greens Farms Academy), 2-1
152 Dominic Rossetti Windsor, CT (Loomis Chaffee) dec. Lorenzo Norman Bound Brook, NJ (Blair Academy), 3-0
160 Cesar Alvan Ludlow, MA (Northfield Mt. Hermon) dec. Gavin Cagle Chattanooga, TN (Tennessee), 6-4
170 Gabe Arnold Kingston, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Alex Whitworth Chattanooga, TN (Tennessee), 5-1
182 Jack Wehmeyer Sellersville, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Tj Stewart Triangle, VA (NJ/NY), 4-2 SV
195 Caden Rogers , PA (Pennsylvania) dec. David Harper Chattanooga, TN (Tennessee), 3-1
220 Nicholas Feldman Malvern, PA (Pennsylvania) pin Gabe Fisher Nashville, TN (Tennessee), 4:35
285 Coltin Deery Malvern, PA (Pennsylvania) DEF Jake Kaminski Riverside, IL (Pennsylvania), 3-1 7:30

3RD PLACE
106 Emmitt Sherlock Linthicum Heights, dec. (Maryland) dec. Hunter Sloan Doylestown, PA (Pennsylvania), 3-2, 3 OT
113 Brycen Arbogast Charlotte Court House, VA (Virginia) dec. Tommy Link Upper Darby, PA (Pennsylvania), 4-2, OT
120 Kai Owen Tampa, FL (Pennsylvania) dec. Nikolaus Oneill Philadelphia, PA (Pennsylvania), 2-1
126S am Cartella Hudson, OH (Pennsylvania) dec. Joel Brown Potomac, dec. (Maryland), 2-0
132 Christian Colman Fort Washington, PA (Pennsylvania) forfeit over Aiden Hebert Westport, CT (Greens Farms Academy)
138 Chris Perry Mohegan Lake, NY (Brunswick) dec. JT Chance Hudson, OH (Western Reserve Acad), 5-2
145 Paul Ognissanti , dec. (NJ/NY) dec. Peter Kane Fairfield, CT (Greens Farms Academy), 5-0
152 Sam Beckett Pottstown, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Zane Cox Moseley, VA (Virginia), 16-3
160 Nate Taylor Newtown, CT (Greens Farms Academy) dec. Aidan Bowers Memphis, TN (Tennessee), 4-2
170 Omaury Alvarez Dalton, GA (Tennessee) forfeit over Andrew Donahue Powell, OH (Pennsylvania)
182 Cole Rees Erie, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Gunnar Garriques , TN (Tennessee), 5-1
195 Luke Duthie Fort Washington, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Andrew Connolly Malvern, PA (Pennsylvania), 8-1
220 Alex Semenenko , NY (NJ/NY) dec. Jeff Miller Pawling, NY (Pennsylvania), 3-1
285 Antonio Ramos Springfield, MA (New England) dec. Harrison Levans Fort Washington, PA (Pennsylvania), 4-2 OT

5TH PLACE
106 Bryan Santangelo Adamstown, dec. (Maryland) pin Davis Motyka Edwardsville, PA (Pennsylvania), 1:54
113 Logan Rozynski Sparta Township, NJ (Pennsylvania) dec. Pearce Phillips Charlotte, NC (North Carolina), 5-3 OT
120 Jackson Bond Lyerly, GA (Tennessee) dec. Matt Hart Hudson, OH (Pennsylvania), 4-2
126 Brenden Barnes Chester, VA (Virginia) dec. Jacob Wright Arnold, dec. (Maryland), 3-0
132 Skylar Smith Dallas, TX (Texas) dec. Dyson Dunham Haymarket, VA (Virginia), 4-2
138 Clayton Gabrielson Chesapeake Beach, dec. (Maryland) dec. Dominic Federici Edwardsville, PA (Pennsylvania), 4-2
145 Joe Fisk Severn, dec. (Maryland) dec. Reed Fullmer Wayne, PA (Pennsylvania), 5-1
152 Braeden Baller Argyle, TX (Texas) pin Nathaniel Insko Charlotte, NC (North Carolina), 2:39
160 Colby Isabelle Pottstown, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Magnus Frable Kingston, PA (Pennsylvania), 5-1
170 David Barrett Longmeadow, MA (New England) pin Bryce Phillips , dec. (Maryland), 1:40
182 James Conway , dec. (Maryland) dec. Gervacio Gonzalez Germantown, TN (Tennessee), 1-0
195 Michael Bartush Norwalk, CT (Greens Farms Academy) pin John Perdue Houston, TX (Texas), 0:31
220 Logan Cohn Henrico, VA (Virginia) pin Brian Nanmoun West Hartford, CT (Avon Old Farms), 4:10
285 Billy Brosko Broomall, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Dj Moehring Kingston, PA (Pennsylvania), 8-4

7TH PLACE
106 Sal Palmisano Hudson, OH (Pennsylvania) dec. Alex Ropski Memphis, TN (Tennessee), 13-1
113 Tyson Sherlock Linthicum Heights, dec. (Maryland) dec. T.j. Langley Hudson, OH (Pennsylvania), 2-0
120 Billy Dekraker , VA (Maryland) dec. Nasir Wilkinson Potomac, dec. (Maryland), 4-2
126 Caleb Seyfried Westport, CT (Greens Farms Academy) pin Cord Vallis Boxford, MA (New England), 2:45
132 Dayne Dalrymple Memphis, TN (Tennessee) dec. C.J. Shea Milford, CT (Greens Farms Academy), 1-0
138 Joshua Viarengo West Chester, PA (Pennsylvania) forfeit over Jaren Powell Liberty, TX (Texas)
145 Matthew Lawrence Owings Mills, dec. (Maryland) dec. Louis Colaiocco Sparta Township, NJ (NJ/NY), 3-2
152 Mason Alley , TN (Tennessee) pin Kyree Day Baltimore, dec. (Maryland), 4:21
160 Owen Quinn Blue Bell, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Nick Bell Greenwich, CT (Brunswick), 9-3
170 R.J. Moore Ambler, PA (Pennsylvania) dec. Andrew Lavayen Falls Church, VA (Virginia), 6-4
182 Brady Fincham Waynesboro, VA (Virginia) forfeit over Wolfgang Frable Kingston, PA (Pennsylvania)
195 Connor Billingsley Memphis, TN (Tennessee) pin Brooks Heard Addison, TX (Texas), 1:59
220 Asher Hodge Memphis, TN (Tennessee) tech fall Mac Levin Philadelphia, PA (Pennsylvania), 17-2 3:02
285 Liam Dietrich Pawling, NY (Trinity-Pawling) dec. Max Fisher Nashville, TN (Tennessee), 2-0