Steven Burrell of Greens Farms Academy won a national title at the Prep School nationals on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of GFA wrestling)
Steven Burrell, Jr., of Westport’s Greens Farms Academy went 5-0 with 3 pins to win a national championship Saturday at 215 pounds at the 87th annual Prep School national championships in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Burrell beat Carter Neves of Blair Academy, 5-2, to become the second Dragon wrestler to win a prep school national title and the first since Stratford’s Nico Provo won in 2021. Burrell used a takedown with 1:17 remaining in the match to turn a one-point lead into a three-point advantage.
Burrell, who lives in New Rochelle, N.Y., was one of five All-American wrestlers for Greens Farms Academy, which finished fifth with 177½ points. Blair Academy won the tournament with 333 points followed by Lake Highland Prep from Orlando, Florida with 286½ points.
Newtown’s Nate Taylor earned All-American honors for the third straight year for GFA. Taylor finished second at 190 pounds, dropping a 4-0 decision to Jude Correa of Wyoming Seminar in the championship match. Taylor was 4-1 in the tournament with three pins.
Xavier Giles also finished second for GFA at 165 pounds, dropping a 3-1 decision to Blair Academy’s Peter Snyder in overtime. Snyder got a takedown with 21 seconds left in the extra period to win the national title.
Giles, who lives in the Bronx, N.Y., had three takedowns to beat No. 1 seed Nolan O’Boyle from Norfolk Academy in the semifinals.
Guilford’s Chris Murphy finished third at 285 for the Dragons with a 13-1 win over Aden Rie of Kiski in the consolation final. Murphy went 5-1 in the tournament.
North Haven’s Giuseppe Iamunno finished fourth at 138 pounds for GFA. Seeded eight, Iamunno went 3-1 in the consolation bracket to finish with a medal. He was 5-2 overall in the tournament.
Southbury’s William Henckel was the top seed at 152 for Blair Academy but he was upset in the semifinals in overtime by Claudio Torres of Lake Highland Prep, 3-1. Torres got a takedown with 16 seconds in OT to advance to the finals.
Henckel won his next two matches to finish third. He beat Christopher Crawford of Wyoming Seminary, 3-2 in triple OT with the ultimate tiebreaker.
Pearson Hill of Choate Rosemary Hall earned All-American honors for the third time in his scholastic career with an eighth place finish at 175 pounds. Choate Rosemary Hall’s Manuel Beigel, a Michigan football recruit, came one win shy of All-American honors with a loss in the blood round at 285 pounds.
Brunswick School from Greenwich didn’t have any All-Americans but Carlo Tucci came close. Tucci, a freshman who finishes with a 28-8 record and 17 pins, also fell one win short of All-American honors falling in the blood round. He won three matches in the tournament.
In the girls tournament, Southbury’s Sarah Henkel of Blair Academy won a national championship at 152 pounds with a 2-0 win over Tayla Tidsley of Phillips Andover. An escape and a penalty point provided the winning margin. Henckel went 4-0 in the tournament with three pins, two in the first period.
Greens Farms Academy’s April Torres finished second at 165 pounds, falling in the final to Alex Alli of Wyoming Seminary by pin.
The Choate Rosemary Hall girls team finished fifth sparked by All-Americans Sachi Mehra (114), Leanne La (132) and Elsa Holmes (138), who each finished fourth in their respective weight classes.
2023 National Prep School championships
At Upper Marlboro, Md.
Top 10 results – 1. Blair Academy (NJ) 333, 2. Lake Highland Prep-Orlando, Fla. 286½, 3. Malvern Prep 280, Wyoming Seminary (PA) 253, 5. Greens Farms Academy-Westport 177½, 6. St. Mary’s Ryken 126½, 7. Mount Saint Joseph 123½, 8. St. Christopher’s School 119½, 9. Northfield Mt. Hermon-Northfield MA 111½, 10. Baylor School 97
Other Connecticut schools: 37. Choate Rosemary Hall 22, 39. Brunswick 19, 69. Canterbury 6, 78. Hotchkiss 5, 81. Avon Old Farms 4, 90. Taft 2
Championship finals
106 Davis Motyka (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Liam Davis (Lake Highland Prep), 1-0
113 Lukas Littleton (Malvern Prep) dec. Ethan Rivera (Lake Highland Prep), 3-1 , OT
120 Luke Lilledahl (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Leo Deluca (Blair Academy), 5-2
126 Marc-Anthony McGowan (Blair Academy) dec. Nikolaus O’Neill (Malvern Prep), 4-1
132 Jack Consiglio (Malvern Prep) pin Matthew Lopes (Blair Academy), 4:54
138 Eligh Rivera (Lake Highland Prep) dec. Spencer Barnhart Malvern Prep), 5-3
144 Ethan Mojena (Lake Highland Prep) dec. Sam Cartella (Western Reserve Academy), 7-4
150 Claudio Torres (Lake Highland Prep) dec. Mekhi Neal (St. Mary’s Ryken), 9-8
157 Joseph Sealey (Wyoming Seminary) pin Reed Fullmer Malvern Prep), 3:20
165 Peter Snyder (Blair Academy) dec. Xavier Giles (Green Farms Academy), 3-1, OT
175 Lorenzo Norman (Blair Academy) dec. Omury Alvarez (Baylor School), 8-1
190 Jude Correa Wyoming Seminary) dec. Nate Taylor (Green Farms Academy), 4-0
215 Steven Burrell Jr. (Green Farms Academy) dec. Carter Neves (Blair Academy), 5-2
285 Nolan Neves Hardwick (Blair Academy) dec. Billy Brosko (Haverford School), 4-3
Third place (consolation finals)
106 Tyler Conroy (Malvern Prep) forfeit over Julian Rios (Phillips Andover)
113 Tyler Dekraker (Blair Academy) dec. Jacob Bond (Baylor School), 8-0
120 Tommy Link Malvern Prep) dec. Joseph Calvin (Father Ryan High School), 7-2
126 Colin Kacena (Lake Highland Prep) dec. Coleman (Mount Saint Joseph), 4-2
132 Tyson Sherlock (Gilman School) dec. Zeno Moore (Lake Highland Prep), 3-1, OT
138 Cale Roggie (St. Christopher’s School) dec. Giuseppe Iamunno (Green Farms Academy), 6-4
144 Joel Brown (Landon) dec. Clayton Gabrielson (St. Mary’s Ryken), 6-3
150 William Henckel-Southbury CT (Blair Academy) pin Christopher Crawford (Wyoming Seminary), 7:30
157 Paul Ognissanti (Blair Academy) dec. Jt Chance (Western Reserve Academy), 3-1
165 Joshua Boykin (Lake Highland Prep) dec. Nolan O’Boyle (Norfolk Academy), 6-5, 3 OT
175 David Barrett (Northfield Mt. Hermon) dec. Shane Cartagena-Walsh (St. Benedict’s Prep), 6-4, OT
190 Daniel Williams (Lake Highland Prep) dec. Josh Anthony Hardwick (Blair Academy), 8-7
215 Joshua Cordio (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Bryce Phillips (Mount Saint Joseph), 3-2
285 Chris Murphy (Green Farms Academy) dec. Aden Roe (Kiski School), 13-1
Fifth place
106 Ellis Kirsch (Bullis School) dec. Austin Wood (St. Mary’s Ryken), 8-5
113 Wyatt Fry (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Drew Roggie (St. Christopher’s School), 2-0
120 Jack Parker (St. Christopher’s School) dec. Charlie Desena (Lake Highland Prep), 3-2
126 Vincent Paolucci (Archbishop Spalding) dec. Jay McDonnell (The Haverford School), 5-1
132 Casen Roark (Father Ryan High School) forfeit over Brycen Arbogast Charlotte (Benedictine Prep)
138 Billy Dekraker (Blair Academy) dec. Emmitt Sherlock (Gilman School), 3-1
144 Logan Rozynski (Blair Academy) dec. Tyler Hood (St. Christopher’s School), 1-0
150 Nathan Rickards (Malvern Prep) dec. Mitchell Faglioni (St. Christopher’s School), 2-1
157 Alex Gavronsky (Belmont Hill) dec. Declan Casey (St. Benedict’s Prep), 4-3
165 Shaymus Macintosh (Northfield Mt. Hermon) dec. Anwar Alli (Wyoming Seminary), 3-1
175 Dominic Federici (Wyoming Seminary) dec. Omer Barak (Lake Highland Prep), 10-6 SV
190 Nick Wehmeyer (Malvern Prep) dec. Luke Malveaux (St. Thomas), 1-0
215 Brady Colbert Man (Paul VI) dec. Gabe Fisher (Montgomery Bell Academy), 9-1
285 Gavin Bage Mount Saint Joseph) dec. Max Fisher (Montgomery Bell Academy), 1-0
Seventh place
106 Oumar Tounkara (St. Benedict’s Prep) dec. Jayden Jackson (Loyola-Blakefield), 9-7, OT
113 Jake Tamai (Mount Saint Joseph) dec. Kody Tanimoto (All Saints Episcopal), 3-2
120 Sean Garretson (Archbishop Spalding) forfeit over Sulayman Bah (Kiski School)
126 Griffin Stewart (Calvert Hall) forfeit over Kade Davidheiser (The Hill School)
132 Luke Murray (Peninsula Catholic School) dec. Walker Turley (St. Christopher’s School), 10-4
138 Nate Askew (Baylor School) dec. Lane Foard Reva (Benedictine Prep), 3-2
144 Sp O’Donnell (Malvern Prep) dec. Chancery Deane (Father Ryan High School), 1-0
150 Micah Tisdale (Baylor School) dec. T.j. Langley (Western Reserve Academy), 2-0
157 Mason Buckler (St. Mary’s Ryken) DQ Ben Smith (Mount Saint Joseph), 0:00
165 Will Buckler (St. Mary’s Ryken) forfeit over Colby Isabelle (The Hill School)
175 Haden Bottiglieri (Belmont Hill) pin Pearson Hill Wallingford, CT (Choate Rosemary Hall), 3:49
190 Gerard Johnson (St. Mary’s Ryken) dec. Ruben Karapetyan (St. John’s College), 4-1
215 Dylan Greenstein (Northfield Mt. Hermon) dec. Stosh Zalota (Malvern Prep), 7-4
285 Logan Marissal (Northfield Mt. Hermon) dec. Philip Tabasso (Malvern Prep), 3-0
Outstanding wrestler: Steven Burrell Jr., Greens Farms Academy (215)
2023 National Prep School championships brackets and results (FloArena)
