Fairfield Warde’s Will Ebert, left, has four pins in five victories at the NHSCA Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Va. Ebert advanced to Sunday’s championship game at 160 pounds.
Two Connecticut wrestlers will be wrestling in the finals Sunday at the National High School Coaches Association’s (NHSCA) national championship tournaments at Virginia Beach, Va.
Fairfield Warde’s Will Ebert and Norwalk’s Michael Bartush, who wrestled at Westport’s Greens Farms Academy this season, both earned a berth in the finals of the Senior Division tournament.
With five victories and four pins, Ebert moved into the finals at 160 pounds against Florida’ Jonathan Ley from Lake Highland Prep. In five matches, Ebert has given up just one point.
Bartush won three matches to earn a spot in the finals at 182 pounds against South Dakota’s Luke Rasmussen, the two-time state champion from Brookings High School. An escape early in the third period and a two-point takedown with 1:30 remaining gave Bartush a 3-1 lead in his 3-2 semifinal win over New Jersey’s Remy Brancato.
The last Connecticut wrestler to earn a spot in the Senior Division final was Stratford’s Nico Provo, who won a national title in the Senior Division tournament a year ago at 126 pounds.
Three other Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors in the Senior Division tournament.
Canton’s Ethan Titus will wrestle for fifth place Sunday at 113 pounds. After a 2-0 loss to New England champion Isiac Paulino of Montausett Regional in Fitchburg, Mass., in the quarterfinals, Titus won two of his next three matches to earn All-American honors.
At 132 pounds, Simsbury’s John Mairano (132) advanced to the semifinals before dropping a 3-2 decision to J.T. Richards of North Carolina. Mairano, who won his first three matches in the tournament, will wrestle for fifth place.
Guilford’s Chris Murphy (182) will also wrestle for fifth place after earning All-American honors for the second straight year. Murphy won his first four matches including a 4-2 overtime win over Wyoming’s Harrison Hoopes in the quarterfinals.
Murphy had two takedowns in the final 21 seconds but it wasn’t enough in an 11-9 semifinal loss to Minnesota’s Grady Schott.
In the Junior Division tournament, Avon’s Isaiah Adams (113) earned All-American honors and will wrestle for seventh place. Adams is 5-2 in the tournament. He began the tournament with a 5-4 win over Missouri’s Nate Martin thanks to a takedown with 1:10 remaining.
The girls tournament and middle school tournament will be held on Sunday.
You watch the tournament on FloWrestling.com. Live results are available on FloArena.
2022 NHSCA national championships (FloArena)
