No. 5 East Hartford, No. 2 Danbury battle hard and ending up sharing Class LL title

TRUMBULL, Feb. 19, 2022 – The heroic victories never stopped coming for No. 5 East Hartford nor No. 2 Danbury in Saturday’s Class LL championship meet.

Late in the final round of tournament, it looked Danbury had finally pulled away from East Hartford when senior Kai O’Dell pinned in the finals at 138 pounds and Hatter teammate Logan Kovacs earned an 8-0 major decision at 145 pounds.

That put the Hatters up by 10 points with just two wrestlers remaining for East Hartford.

East Hartford’s Cooper Lavigne (152) was tied 0-0 with Trumbull’s Hayden Provencal after two periods when Lavigne got a pin with 49 seconds left for fifth place and a big four points for the Hornets.

Suddenly, the Hornets had new life. A pin from freshman Drayvn Roberts (160) in the final match of the evening against Ridgefield junior Andrey Kosygin could tie the tournament.

Roberts, the top-seeded freshman, pinned Kosygin in 2:11 to help lift East Hartford to a share of their first-ever state championship in wrestling. East Hartford and Danbury finished tied for the title with 232 points, the first time a CIAC wrestling tournament ended in a tie.

Twice, teams have won championships by a half-point in 2019 (Bristol Eastern in Class L) and 1991 (Berlin in Class M).

It was the sixth straight Class LL title for the Hatters, if we skip 2021 when the sport was cancelled in the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and their 21st Class LL crown. For an excited East Hartford, it was their first state championship. The closest they had come in the past was a second place finish in 1987 when current coach Todd Albert was on the squad.

“They wrestled super hard in this tournament and did a great job,” Albert said. “ I could not be more proud of this team. I am elated. These guys battled all season. Three quarters of my team never wrestled in high school — my freshmen and sophomores.”

The championship brought tears to the eyes of some East Hartford coaches.

It’s been a while Danbury has been challenged this hard at the Class LL championship meet. But it wasn’t anything different than last week’s FCIAC championship meet where the Hatters had to rally with numerous victories on the consolation round to beat Fairfield Warde.

“We were down 31 (at the end of day one),” Danbury coach Ricky Shook said. “One of our guys didn’t make weight which put us in an extra jam but we went 9-for-9 in that next round this morning. We had nine guys qualify for (a medal and) the State Open in that round. We had great (wrestling in the consolation rounds) and that is where we won it. Our heavyweight (Nun Ajdinoski) came from the No. 9 seed and ran through (the tournament). We wrestled really well.”

There wasn’t much of a difference in the performance of the two teams.

Danbury had five finalists, four individual champions and nine medalists. East Hartford had three finalists, two champions and 12 medalists. Danbury had 40 wins and 25 pins in the tournament. East Hartford had 41 wins and 26 pins.

“We look for every opportunity to score at every moment,” Albert said. “Just keep scoring until the match is over is what we tell our kids.”

And there were plenty of critical wins in both lineups. East Hartford’s Devon Durant (195) beat Danbury’s Daniel Craig, 2-1, in the consolation semifinals with a takedown with five seconds left in regulation. The Hornets went 7-2 in the consolation final and fifth place bouts as they battled Danbury for the title.

The Hatters went 2-1 in three consolation round bouts. Jesse Defonce (132) and Liam Bryne (152) each won four straight consolation rounds bout to finish third. Bryne had a pair of one-point victories on his way to a third place finish.

“(Coach) Shook always tells us in every big tournament, we’re going to win (it) in the wrestlebacks,” O’Dell said. “Just like what is happening today.”

The final round included the championship finals, third place bout and fifth place bout with wrestling beginning at 170 pounds.

Fairfield Warde’s Will Ebert (170) improved to 37-0 on the season with pin over East Hartford’s Xavier Quiles. Ebert, who won his second Class LL championship, was named Outstanding Wrestler.

At 182 pounds, Danbury sophomore Dominic Iaquinto won a state title with a pin while the Hornets kept pace with Sam Montovanni getting a pin his fifth place bout.

A pin by East Hartford’s Adrian Martin-Davis (220) to finish third cut the Danbury lead to one point, 211-210. Danbury’s Ajdinoski won his first state title at 285 pounds with a pin to push the lead to five, 217-212.

In the final at 106, East Hartford freshman Isaac Quiles outlasted Danbury freshman Deydon Soto, 9-3 to cut the Danbury lead to one point, 217-216.

East Hartford took their first lead of the finals, 220-219, when Jayden Burney (132) got a pin his fifth place bout while Danbury’s Jesse Defonce won by a decision.

O’Dell’s pin at 138 and Kovacs major decision at 145 put Danbury up by 10 points setting the stage for the Hornets rally with their final two wrestlers.

Fairfield Warde, with three individual champions and five finalists, finished third with 204 points with Ridgefield, also with five finalists, finished fourth with 146½ points. Southington, which had four finalists, was fifth with 144½ points.

Ridgefield sophomore Dominic Barrella (113) beat Warde freshman Dominick Spadaro in the finals, 10-3 before Warde freshman Ben Zuckerman (120) outlasted Ridgefield senor Alex Blaha, 1-0 for his first state title.  At 126, Ridgefield’s Nathan Blaha beat Southington’s Josh Howard with a pin in 3:43 to win a championship.

Southington’s Ben Gorr beat Norwalk sophomore Nick Fatone, 6-1 to win a title before O’Dell (138) won his second Class LL title by pin in 4:58 over Southington junior Colton Thorpe. At 152, Warde’s Lucas Coleman (32-2) beat Ridgefield’s Lucas Ferreira, 7-5

At 195, Norwalk’s Brendan Gilchrist (18-0) pinned Trumbull’s Aethan Munden, 4-2. At 220, Trumbull junior Lucas Cylwik outlasted Warde’s Nehemias Pettway in double OT, 4-2.

The top six finishers in each weight class advanced to next weekend’s State Open championships in New Haven.

* * * *

Brien McMahon’s Calli Gilchrist became the first girl to win a medal at the Class LL championship tournament. Gilchrist, a nationally-ranked girls wrestler, finished sixth at 113 pounds. Six girls won medals on Saturday.

South Windsor’s Lilliana Fraize (106) was sixth in Class L while Pomperaug’s Julianna Morris (132) was also sixth in Class L.

At the Class M meet, Bethel’s Riberio Esther finished sixth at 120 pounds. In Class S, Somers’ Taylor McCormack was third at 106 pounds while Old Lyme’s Hoshena Hemme was fifth at 106.

They are the first girls to win medals in a CIAC boys tournament since Sam Rebentisch of Jonathan Law finished sixth at the Class M championship meet at 106 pounds in 2013. Prior to Saturday, just four girls had ever won a medal in a boys CIAC tournament.

The highest finish for a girl in a CIAC boys tournament is Montville’s Jessica Bennett, who was second at 103 pounds in the Class M tournament in 2009.

---

2022 Class LL tournament
At Trumbull
Team results – 1. Danbury and East Hartford 232; 3. Fairfield Warde 204; 4. Ridgefield 146½, 5. Southington 144½; 6. Trumbull 121; 7. Fairfield Prep 113; 8. Norwalk 109; 9. NFA 84½; 10. Fairfield Ludlowe 77½; 11. Staples 76; 12. Greenwich 63½; 13. Brien McMahon 63; 14. East Lyme/Norwich Tech 55; 15. Manchester 54; 16. Hall 52; 17. Conard 47; 18. Glastonbury 44; 19. New Britain 39; 20. Enfield 32; 21. Westhill 20; 22. New Haven 19; 23. Stamford 5½; 24. Amity 5
Individual results
106 pounds
Final: Isaac Quiles (East Hartford) dec. Deydon Soto (Danbury), 9-3
3. Owen Sheiman (Fairfield Warde) dec. Ryan Ouelette (Glastonbury), 7-2
5. Armen Arakelian (Conard) pin Chase Watkins (Staples), 2:53
113 pounds
Final: Dominic Barrella (Ridgefield) dec. Dominick Spadaro (Fairfield Warde), 10-3
3. Alvin Moody (Manchester) pin Stephen Numme (Greenwich), 3:24
5. Jared Mangiafico (Southington) pin Calli Gilchrist (Brien McMahon), 1:36
120 pounds
Final: Ben Zuckerman (Fairfield Warde) dec. Alex Blaha (Ridgefield), 1-0
3. John Schneider (Brien McMahon) dec. Jaiden James (NFA), 8-7
5. Phoenix Gardella (Norwalk) dec. Damion Jaggon (East Hartford), 7-0
126 pounds
Final: Nathan Blaha (Ridgefield) pin Josh Howard (Southington), 3:43
3. Dylan Sherman (Fairfield Ludlowe) dec. Lincoln Carlson (East Lyme/Norwich Tech), 5-3
5. Andrew De la Rosa (Glastonbury) dec. Robert McNally (Enfield), 6-4
132 pounds
Final: Benjamin Gorr (Southington) dec. Nick Fatone (Norwalk), 6-1
3. Jesse Defonce (Danbury) dec. William Smith (Fairfield Prep), 5-2
5. Jayden Burney (East Hartford) pin Victor Petkov (Ridgefield), 0:56
138 pounds
Final: Kai O’dell (Danbury) pin Colton Thorpe (Southington), 4:58
3. Jaeckez Mendez (East Hartford) dec. Connor Devega (NFA), 4-2
5. Andrew Grabinski (Trumbull) dec. Jack Cahill (Norwalk), 7-1
145 pounds
Final: Logan Kovacs (Danbury) dec. Joseph Cardozo (Fairfield Prep), 8-0
3. Jeremy Brault (Fairfield Warde) dec. Thomas Brunelli (NFA), 3-2
5. Yaxier Rivera (East Hartford) medical forfeit Zavier Hernandez (Brien McMahon)
152 pounds
Final: Lucas Coleman (Fairfield Warde) dec. Lucas Ferreira (Ridgefield), 7-5
3. Liam Byrne (Danbury) medical forfeit Alex Cardozo (Fairfield Prep)
5. Cooper Lavigne (East Hartford) pin Hayden Provencal (Trumbull), 4:11
160 pounds
Final: Drayvn Roberts (East Hartford) pin Andrey Kosygin (Ridgefield), 2:21
3. Jake Long (Hall) dec. Warren Little (Trumbull), 10-2
5. Noah Fraas (Staples) dec. Will Mears (Fairfield Ludlowe), 5-3
170 pounds
Final: William Ebert (Fairfield Warde) pin Xavier Quiles (East Hartford), 1:19
3. Robert Clarke (Manchester) dec. Hugh Baldwin (Conard), 5-2
5. Ben Vansteen (Brien McMahon) pin Alton Lee (Hall), 1:49
182 pounds
Final: Dominic Iaquinto (Danbury) dec. Connor Smith (Fairfield Prep), 7-4
3. Ryan Gilchrist Norwalk, CT (Norwalk) dec. Louis Ceci (Greenwich), 7-5 SV
5. Sammy Montovani (East Hartford) pin Corbin Milne (Trumbull), 1:36
195 pounds
Final: Brendan Gilchrist (Norwalk) pin Aethan Munden (Trumbull), 2:21
3. Jackson Oliver (Staples) dec. Devon Durant (East Hartford), 6-4 OT
5. Mark Wrobel (Fairfield Ludlowe) dec. Daniel Craig (Danbury), 6-5 OT
220 pounds
Final: Lukas Cylwik (Trumbull) dec. Nehemias Pettway (Fairfield Warde), 4-2 TB2
3. Nicholas Augeri (Staples) dec. Jhonnyel Ramirez (Danbury), 4-1
5. Adrian Martin-Ddavis (East Hartford) pin Anthony Berruecos (New Haven), 3:43
285 pounds
Final: Nuh Ajdinoski (Danbury) pin Joseph Mazzarella (Southington), 4:27
3. Michael Warner (East Hartford) dec. Marquise Eason (New Britain), 3-1
5. Malachi Mercer-Robinson (Fairfield Prep) medical forfeit over Noah Santiago East Lyme, CT (East Lyme/Norwich Tech)
Outstanding wrestler: Will Ebert, Fairfield Warde (170)
2022 Class LL championships (Bracket, results) Flo Arena.