State Open and Girls Invitational begin on Saturday at Hillhouse

Fans call for a takedown in the 220 pound final at the Class LL championships between Trumbull’s Lukas Cylwik and Fairfield Warde’s Nehemias Pettway.

The State Open wrestling championships and the second CIAC Girls Invitational tournament get underway Saturday at the Floyd Little Athletic Center on the campus of Hillhouse High in New Haven.

The two tournaments were delayed a day by Friday’s snow, ice and freezing rain across the state. Action begins at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Championship semifinals in the girls tournament are on Saturday at 6 p.m. with the championship semifinals in the boys tournament begin on Saturday at 7 p.m.

All spectators and athletes are required to wear a mask inside the building. Only wrestlers engaged in their matches can remove their masks.

Tickets can only be purchased online. No tickets will be sold at the door.

Class L champion Xavier, the No. 1 ranked team in the latest Connecticut Wrestling Online poll, is the favorite to win the State Open with challenges expected from No. 2 Danbury and several other teams. The top five wrestlers in each weight class will qualify for next weekend’s New England championship tournament in Providence.

Five defending champions return from 2020 in the CIAC Girls Invitational, including two champions that will meet at 132 pounds. More below on the two tournaments.

2022 State Open championships
Location: Floyd Little Athletic Center, Hillhouse High, New Haven
Saturday, February 26
Wrestling begins at 12:45 p.m.; Championship quarterfinals, 3:30 p.m.; Championship semifinals, 7 p.m.
Sunday, February 27
Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. with consolation semifinals; Third place and fifth place matches, 11 a.m.; Parade of Champions, noon; Championship finals, 12:15 p.m.
Last time (2020): Danbury 158, Xavier 109, Fairfield Warde 103
Brackets: 2022 State Open brackets and results
Seeds: 2022 Open seeds
Live scoring: FloArena
Defending champions returning from 2020: None
Outlook: Friday’s snow, sleet and freezing rain delayed the start of the tournament. Semifinals will be Saturday night at 7 p.m. with the championship finals on Sunday at noon.

No. 1 Xavier (12-1) is the team to beat. The Class L champion Falcons have 12 wrestlers in the tournament including five state champions – Raekwon Shabazz (106),  Max Morse (113), Jackson Heslin (120), Dylan Levesque (138) and Thomas Lunt (220). Xavier has been tested with a challenging schedule that includes out-of-state tournaments in Delaware (Beast of the East), New York (Mid-Hudson Classic) and Maryland (War at the Shore). No. 2 Danbury, who has won the last four State Opens, have four Class LL champions in the field and nine wrestlers in the tournament. No. 5 East Hartford (20-0) has two Class LL champions and 12 wrestlers in the field.

Other teams with large delegations in the tournament include No. 10 Haddam-Killingworth (16-5) with 11 wrestlers and No. 4 Simsbury (14-2) and No. 6 Branford (24-1) with 10 wrestlers each.

The key to winning the State Open will be winning matches and continuing to earn points in the consolation round. The top five wrestlers from each weight class will advance to the New England championships on March 4-5 in Providence, R.I.

Tickets: All tickets must be purchased online through GoFan at https://gofan.co/app/school/CIAC. No tickets will be sold at the door.
Video: Live video will be available through FloWrestling or the NFHS network. Each is a paid subscription service.

2022 CIAC Girls Invitational
Location: Floyd Little Athletic Center, Hillhouse High, New Haven
Saturday, February 26
Wrestling begins at 2 p.m.; Championship quarterfinals, 3 p.m.; Championship semifinals, 6 p.m.
Sunday, February 27
Wrestling begins at 10:15 a.m. with consolation semifinals; Third place and fifth place matches, 11:15 a.m.; Parade of Champions, noon; Championship finals, 12:15 p.m.

Last time (2020): No team scores kept.
Brackets: 2022 State Open seeds and brackets
Live scoring: FloArena
Defending champions returning from 2020: Samatha Yap, Stamford (106), Linda Holeman, Ledyard (132), Camryn Brown, Amity (132), Ella Nichols, Bristol Eastern (152) and Zayvro Castandeda, East Haven (235)
Outlook: Five of the 10 champions from the 2020 CIAC Girls Invitational are back including two that will battle at 132 pounds – Ledyard’s Linda Holeman and Amity’s Camryn Brown. Holeman won at 126 two years ago while Brown prevailed at 132. Also in that six-girl weight class is Pomperaug’s Julianna Morris, who is ranked No. 4 in the country at 127 pounds. Brown is currently ranked No. 21 in the country at 127.

Bristol Eastern’s Ella Nichols ranked No. 9 in the nation at 152, is a defending champion and will compete at 145. Stamford’s Samantha Yap (106) and East Haven’s Zayuro Castandeda (235) are also back looking for additional titles. Brien McMahon’s Calli Gilchrist (112), the first girl to win a medal at the Class LL championships, is the third seed at 112. She is ranked No. 23 in the country at 112.

This is the first year that this is an official CIAC championship event. The 2020 event was a pilot. The 2020 champions will be recognized as tournament champions.

Tickets: All tickets must be purchased online through GoFan at https://gofan.co/app/school/CIAC. No tickets will be sold at the door.
Video: Live video will be available through FloWrestling or the NFHS network. Each is a paid subscription service.