At a glance: Newtown dominates; East Hartford takes Chaves Invitational

Newtown captured their own Nighthawk Invitational Duals tournament Wednesday. (Photo courtesy NHS Wrestling)

With nine pins, undefeated Newtown dominated Norwalk, 62-18 to win the third annual Nighthawk Invitational Duals tournament for the third time on Wednesday. Newtown (6-0) had seven pins in a 52-23 win over Branford in pool play. Four pins and two forfeits helped Norwalk slip past Stratford, 39-38 in pool play to earn a spot in the final.

East Hartford had six individual champions to win the 36th annual Chaves Holiday Invitational in Simsbury for the first time with a 241½ to 211 victory over Minnechaug Regional from Wilbraham, Mass. Host Simsbury, which had eight finalists and two individual champions, finished third with 207½ points.

Isaac Quiles (132), Jaeckez Mendez (144), Jesean Lewis (157) Yaxier Rivera (165), Drayvn Roberts (175) and Sammy Montovani (215) each won for the Hornets with Quiles, Mendez, Lewis, Rivera and Montovani each winning their respective weight class with a pin. East Hartford had seven finalists.

East Hartford’s 241½ points was the second-highest total in tournament history, only trailing 248½ from Simsbury in 2021.

Results: Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023

At the Ryan Sabbagh Holiday Tournament in Danbury, the host Hatters had four individual champions and six finalists to win the tournament with a commanding performance. Danbury scored 224½ points with RHAM taking second with 188 and New Milford finishing third with 141 points.

Northwestern Regional had two finalists at the Berkshire Holiday Tournament in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. … Avon (6-3) and Ellis Tech are two of four teams competing at the KGA Holiday Tournament in Orlando on the grounds of Walt Disney World in Florida. The other two teams are Carthage, New York and St. Thomas Aquinas from Edison, N.J.  Avon and Ellis Tech both lost to Carthage and Aquinas on Wednesday with Avon beating Ellis Tech. The four teams will wrestle again on Wednesday.

Xavier is competing in the two-day Mid-Hudson Classic in Arlington, New York that will finish on Thursday.

Results: Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2023

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With five pins, RHAM won their own RHAM Invitational Duals tournament on Dec. 23 with a 39-34 victory over NFA, who had three pins. Each team won seven matches in the title match. NFA advanced to the finals with a 42-40 win over Avon thanks to five pins and two wins by forfeit. Avon had five pins, a forfeit victory and a major decision.

RHAM had a 41-37 victory over Windham to win their pool and earn a spot in the finals. The Raptors also beat East Haven and Montville.

Results: Saturday, Dec. 23. 2023
Results: Friday, Dec. 22, 2023 

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At the Jerry Watkins Colonial Duals at Ledyard on Saturday, Dec. 23, it was a competitive afternoon with three teams finishing with 2-1 records – Guilford, Foran and host Ledyard.

Guilford came up with the two most competitive victories with a 39-38 win over Foran and a 40-36 decision over New Fairfield. The Grizzlies dropped a 42-37 decision to host Ledyard, who beat New Fairfield by four, 39-35 and lost to Foran by 24, 58-24. Foran also beat New Fairfield, 48-33.

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At the John Williams Duals at Rockville, Platt went 4-0 with a victory over Notre Dame-West Haven in the championship match, 42-35 to win the tournament. The Panthers had eight wins in the finals, including four pins and a pair of forfeits. Plainville finished third with a decision over Portland/Cromwell to take third.

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Killingly went 5-0 with victories over Old Lyme, Griswold/Wheeler, Ellis Tech, Putnam and Stafford to capture their own Holiday Duals tournament. The most competitive match for Killingly was against ECC rival Griswold/Wheeler in a 64-18 victory. Griswold/Wheeler was second with a 4-1 record. Killingly won the event for the sixth straight time.

Results: Saturday, Dec. 23. 2023
Results: Friday, Dec. 22, 2023 

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Ridgefield was 5-0 at the Jerry McDougall Duals at Trumbull with victories over Conard, Westhill, Staples, Brookfield/Shepaug and host Trumbull, 48-33. Trumbull finished second with a 4-1 mark.

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Danbury improved to 5-0 with victories over Fairfield Ludlowe, 55-19, St. Joseph, 70-9 and Greenwich, 71-6 on Friday, Dec. 22.

Results: Saturday, Dec. 23. 2023
Results: Friday, Dec. 22, 2023