Avon beats RHAM by half point for first state title in 29 years

Avon High coaches Doug Fink, left, and John McLaughlin celebrate after Isaiah Adams (113) won his second straight Class M championship on Saturday and helped the Falcons win the state title.

MILFORD, Feb. 18, 2023 – The Avon High wrestling team had done all they could.

With three weight classes remaining in the CIAC Class M championship meet, the Falcons had a 5½-point lead over No. 7 RHAM. Thirteen of 14 Avon wrestlers won at least one match, three Falcons (Isaiah Adams, Jonah Weber, Roel Johnson) won individual state titles and Avon wrestlers had 21 pins in the tournament.

But Avon’s day was done. All they could do was watch RHAM’s final two wrestlers and hope.

RHAM’s Michael Marques was focused and intense in his 195-pound final against East Haven’s Jason Toth. Marques knew a pin would be worth six points and likely give the Raptors a state championship.

Marques raced out to a quick 6-1 lead and eventually pinned Toth in 3:34, sparking a wild celebration among the RHAM wrestlers and their fans. Coach Ryan Fitch hugged Marques on the mat and the duo were quickly surrounded by a group of Raptor wrestlers celebrating a state championship with RHAM leading Avon by a half point.

But that half-point lead disappeared in a few seconds.

One of the Raptors celebrating with Marques on the mat was bare chested with his singlet around his waist. That’s an automatic one-point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, according to Carmen Delvecchio, the co-head official at the tournament.

That put Avon back in the lead by a half point, 196½-196, and when RHAM’s final wrestler of the day dropped a 9-4 decision in the fifth place bout at 285 pounds, Avon had won their ninth state championship and their first since 1995.

For RHAM, it was a crushing end to their bid to win their first state title since 2002. For Avon, it was an awkward finish to an outstanding effort that gave them their first state title under long-time coach John McLaughlin.

“To win this tournament is phenomenal,” McLaughlin said. “RHAM is a great team. Berlin is a great team. Foran is a great team. To win this tournament is an incredible honor. Our kids really stepped up. We have four seniors who are phenomenal. Three won and one got fourth. But then, we had a lot of sophomores really step up and fill the gap.”

Eleven of Avon’s 14 wrestlers had at least one pin with Adams getting four pins and Weber, Johnson and Elijah Fagin (120) getting three pins each. The Falcons had 21 pins. Without the bonus points that come with winning by pin, Avon wouldn’t have been in position to win.

“Bonus points win tournaments,” McLaughlin said.

RHAM’s Michael Marques (195) has East Haven’s Jason Toth on his back in Saturday’s final in Milford. Marques won by a pin.

Everything didn’t go as planned for the Raptors in the tournament, according to head coach Ryan Fitch. He had anticipated higher finishes from some wrestlers but the Raptors still had a half point lead over Avon before the final round, which included the championship final, the third place and fifth place medal matches.

“We definitely fought as a team,” Fitch said. “We had some (wrestlers) who didn’t fulfill their jobs but other kids stepped up. Coming into this, I thought we had the best team. Things didn’t pan out exactly that way but (the kids) kept fighting and fighting. We should have won it.”

RHAM had three wrestlers in the finals. Ben Fournier (106) pinned Platt’s Cesar Rodriguez to give the Raptors a 6½ point lead only to see Avon match it when Adams pinned Berlin’s Mason Arborio in 4:13 to cut the lead to a ½ point again.

Adams (42-0) dominated and looked like he would win by technical fall, which would have given Avon just 5½ points instead of six. At the beginning of the third period, he led by 14 and a two-point takedown would have given Adams a tech fall and ended the match. He needed to take down Arborio (30-4) right to his back, a tough move against a talented wrestler who won a Class M title at 106 a year ago.

But Adams got it done and picked up a crucial extra half-point.

RHAM extended their lead to 191-188½ when Kyle Currier (126) finished third by beating Avon’s Tristan Gauvin for the second time in the tournament, 6-2.

Weber’s win over Foran’s Antonio Perez for the title at 145 pounds gave the Falcons a 192½ to 191 lead. In the 152 pound final, Platt’s Caiden Talento got a two-point takedown with 22 seconds left in regulation to beat RHAM’s top-seeded Jeremy Devine, robbing the Raptors an opportunity to take the lead back.

Avon extended their lead to 196½ to 191 when Johnson won his first state title at 160 pounds with a 9-2 win over Hand’s Ralph Carter.

Marques victory with a pin at 160 gave the Raptors a 197-196 ½ lead until they were penalized.

Fitch was told his team got the unsportsmanlike call for the uniform violation and then celebrating on the mat. Reached later by phone, Delvecchio confirmed that the unsportsmanlike call was for the wrestler being barechested, not the celebration. Wrestlers on the mat are supposed to be in uniform.

“The refs not understanding that these kids were celebrating a championship,” Fitch said as he thought about the situation. “They knew if we pinned we won and they took it away from us. It’s unfortunate.”

Fritch paused. “Avon wrestled very well this weekend. They deserve credit, too. Their whole team wrestled well. They didn’t have any (unexpected) losses like we did,” he said.

“I didn’t necessarily want to win that way,” McLaughlin said. “I like to win straight up. But I am very proud of the team.”

RHAM collected a silver trophy, their best finish in a CIAC tournament since 2002 when they last won a Class M state championship.

Don Shivas of Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross tries to control Branford’s Drew Schwartz, left, in the Class M finals at 285 pounds Saturday. Schwartz won with a pin.

It was the third time that a CIAC championship tournament had been decided by a half-point. Berlin won a Class M title by a half-point over Bunnell  in 1991 and Bristol Eastern beat Simsbury by a half point at the 2019 Class L championships.

Avon had three wrestlers win state titles in the same tournament for the first time since 1995. Platt’s Talento won his second straight Class M title along with Adams. Talento earned the tournament’s outstanding wrestler award.

Branford’s Cole Snider (182) lost in his bid to win a second straight title when he was pinned by Suffield’s Joshua Nieroda, who improved to 33-0 on the season. Nieroda won his second Class M title. His first came in 2020 when he was a freshman and won at 113 pounds.

The Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross co-op had a pair of finalists – brothers Don Shivas at 220 and Anthony Shivas at 285 pounds. Don Shivas was pinned in the finals by Branford’s Drew Schwartz but Anthony Shivas was able to pin Abbott Tech’s Oscar Tapia in the final in 3:03.

Tapia, who trains with Danbury, was the No. 21 seed at 285 pounds and beat the No. 1, 4, 5 and 12 seeds on the way to finals with four pins.

Foran’s Antonio Madero (126) won his second consecutive Class M title with a pin over Branford’s Jake Elpi. Joel Barlow’s Scott Romano (138) also won back-to-back titles with a 7-0 win over Foran’s Craig Mager.

Bethel’s Jerry Hill (120) won his first Class M title with a technical fall win over Foran’s Mason Hallstrom while Brookfield’s Danny Carrozza (132) followed in his brother’s footsteps with a state title win over E.O. Smith’s Caleb Phillips in 4:40. Matt Carrozza won a Class M title a year ago.

Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech’s Cameron Sammarco (170) won a title with a pin in 55 seconds.

Head coach Ryan Fitch and the wrestlers and fans of the RHAM wrestling celebrate after Michael Marquis’ pin put the Raptors in the lead at Saturday’s Class M championship meet in Milford.

2023 Class M championships
At Milford (Jonathan Law)
Team Scores: 1. Avon 196½; 2. RHAM 196; 3. Foran 187; 4. Berlin 183; 5. Branford 150; 6. Platt 128; 7. New London 117; 8. Lyman Mem/Windham Tech 95; 8. Suffield/Windsor Locks 95; 10. Ellis Tech 85; 11. Brookfield/Shepaug 81; 12. Daniel Hand 76; 13. Weston 75; 14. Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross 70; 15. Ledyard 68; 16. East Haven 64½; 17. Bethel 62½; 18. Notre Dame-West Haven 59½; 19. Jonathan Law 59; 20. EO Smith 56½; 21. Joel Barlow 51; 22. Bristol Eastern 43½; 23. Rockville 38; 24. Masuk 31; 25. Abbott Tech 28; 26. North Haven 23; 27. Lyman Hall 10; 28. Wolcott Tech 7; 29. Bullard Havens 4; 30. Torrington 3
106 pounds
Final: Ben Fournier (RHAM) pin Cesar Rodriguez (Platt), 1:31
Third: Tatianna Irizarry (Ledyard) dec. Peter Annis (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 2-0
Fifth: Collin Sullivan (Berlin) dec. Matt Bray (Brookfield/Shepaug), 3-2
113 pounds
Final: Isaiah Adams (Avon) pin Mason Arborio (Berlin), 4:13
Third: Keith Pokornowski (Foran) dec. Jack Batista-Fletcher (East Haven), 8-7
Fifth: Georgios Sezenias (Ellis Tech) dec. Josiah Estriplet (Ledyard), 10-9
120 pounds
Final: Jerry Hill (Bethel) tech fall Mason Hallstrom (Foran), 24-8 5:41
Third: Hunter Sanchez (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech) dec. Elijah Fagin (Avon), 3-2
Fifth: Edwin Lovely (Ellis Tech) forfeit over Andy Martinez-Soliz (New London)
126 pounds
Final: Antonio Madero (Foran) pin Jake Elpi (Branford), 4:49
Third: Kyle Currier (RHAM) dec. Tristan Gauvin (Avon), 6-2
Fifth: Joel Yaport (Platt) major dec. Brayden Hancock (Jonathan Law), 8-0
132 pounds
Final: Danny Carrozza (Brookfield/Shepaug) pin Caleb Phillips (EO Smith), 4:40
Third: Nehemiah Czelusniak (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech) major dec. Carter (Branford), 8-0
Fifth: Kolby Sanders (Ellis Tech) pin Miles Tolman (Rockville), 4:07
138 pounds
Final: Scott Romano (Joel Barlow) dec. Craig Mager (Foran), 7-0
Third: Nicholas Koops (Berlin) tech fall Gavin Plourde (RHAM), 17-2 3:51
Fifth: Larkin Pantano (Daniel Hand) pin Jereck Echevarria Castro (Platt), 2:22
145 pounds
Final: Jonah Weber (Avon) dec. Antonio Perez (Foran), 11-5
Third: Brayden McCourt (Jonathan Law) dec. Naser Saleh (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 5-3
Fifth: Hiram Sepulveda (Berlin) dec. Nathan Wolyniec (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross), 2-1
152 pounds
Final: Caiden Talento (Platt) dec. Jeremy Devine (RHAM), 3-2
Third: Landon Vieira (Berlin) dec. Jack Janes (Avon), 7-2
Fifth: Charles Wahl (Daniel Hand) dec. Kip Faison (Brookfield/Shepaug), 4-2
160 pounds
Final: Roel Johnson (Avon) dec. Ralph Carter (Daniel Hand), 9-2
Third: Kanye Nance (New London) pin Dylan Kollar (RHAM), 1:15
Fifth: Conlan Simard (Berlin) dec. Sebastian Miranda (Notre Dame-West Haven), 5-1
170 pounds
Final: Cameron Sammarco (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech) pin Ahmed Hernandez (Platt), 0:55
Third: Greg Kealey (Branford) dec. Aidan Dejesus (Berlin), 4-1
Fifth: Xaiver Dietz (Ellis Tech) dec. Trevin Robledo-Thompson (New London), 12-6
182 pounds
Final: Joshua Nieroda (Suffield/Windsor Locks) pin Cole Snider (Branford), 3:43
Third: Joseph Cichowski (Foran) pin Gavin Fallon (Avon), 3:46
Fifth: Tatum Peiffer (Weston) pin Adam Zavecz (Bristol Eastern), 1:51
195 pounds
Final: Michael Marques (RHAM) pin Jason Toth (East Haven), 3:34
Third: Michael Melendez (Platt) pin Thomas Jeffers (EO Smith), 3:42
Fifth: William Alvarado (Masuk) forfeit over Jimmy Lowman (Notre Dame-West Haven)
220 pounds
Final: Drew Schwartz (Branford) pin Don Shivas (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross), 5:07
Third: Nick Ebrahimi Berlin) pin Kaiden Smith (New London), 2:56
Fifth: Colin Rechenberg Suffield/Windsor Locks) pin Jagger Rees (Foran), 0:52
285 pounds
Final: Anthony Shivas (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross) pin Oscar Tapia (Abbott Tech), 3:03
Third: Henry Santana-liriano (New London) pin Endrit Brahimaj (Bethel), 2:36
Fifth: Sean Martin (Weston) dec. Thiago Delacruz (RHAM), 9-4