59th annual New England boys wrestling championships
At Providence, R.I.
Date: Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2
Location: Providence Career and Technical Academy.
Participants: Top 7 wrestlers from Massachusetts; top 5 from Connecticut, top 3 from Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island
Friday’s schedule: Wrestling begins at 5:30 p.m. Round two begins at 7 p.m.
Saturday’s schedule: Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. with quarterfinals and consolation round matches. Championship semifinals begin at noon. Championship finals, consolation finals (third place) and fifth place bouts begin at 3:45 p.m.
Brackets and real-time results (FloArena)
Pre-tournament brackets (PDF)
Watch the tournament online (FloWrestling.com)
Tickets: No tickets will be sold at the door. Order them online. Day 1, Day 2
2024 state championship meets: State championship results from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine.
Last year: 1. Ponaganset RI 143 (tournament record) , 2. St. John’s Prep-Danvers MA 82, 3. Coventry RI 75, 4. Xavier 68, 5. Haverhill MA 67½
Defending champions returning (6): Raekwon Shabazz, Xavier (113), Peyton Ellis, Coventry RI (126), Sidney Tildsey, Shawsheen MA (138), Gabriel Bouyssou, Scituate RI (150), Nathan Blanchette, Central Catholic-Lawerence MA (175), Thomas Brown, Chelmsford, MA (285)
Last year’s championship matches
106 Raekwon Shabazz (Xavier) dec. Emmett Logan (Lowell MA), 12-4
113 Peter Rincan (Bedford NH) dec. Alex Schaeublin (Saint John’s Prep MA), 8-3
120 Peyton Ellis (Coventry RI) dec. David Perez (Ponaganset RI), 3-2
126 Jacob Joyce (Ponaganset RI) dec. Jack Callahan (Tewksbury NA), 17-3
132 Hayden Myers (Coventry RI) dec. Connor Swaim (North Kingstown RI), 3-1
138 Sidney Tildsley (Shawsheen MA) pin Jaeckez Mendez (East Hartford), 2:27
145 Gabriel Bouyssou (Scituate RI) pin Teghan McConnell (Bedford NH), 1:12
152 Jack Richardson (Killingly) dec. Jason Hood (Ponaganset RI), 3-1, 2 OT
160 Rawson Iwanicki (Saint John’s Prep MA) dec. Brent Nicolosi (Haverhill MA), 7-3
170 Rafael Knapp (Algonquin MA) dec. Isael Perez (Hope RI), 10-8
182 Nathan Blanchette (Central Catholic MA) dec. Spencer Fine (Bishop Hendricken RI), 8-4
195 Brendan Gilchrist (Norwalk) dec. Sammy Montovani (East Hartford), 3-1
220 Naszier Matthews (Fitch) pin Matt Harrold (Haverhill MA), 2:53
285: Thomas Brown (Chelmsford MA) dec. Joe Church (Bishop Hendricken RI), 8-2
Outlook: Defending New England Ponaganset, R.I., has 11 wrestlers in the tournament after winning eight weight classes in last week’s RI state tournament and putting 10 wrestlers in the finals. The Chieftains had a state record 302½ points and beat second place Coventry by 145½ points. Three-time Rhode Island champions Jared Hood (120) and Andrew Reall (165) are looking for New England titles. Reall was the only senior in Ponaganset’s lineup at the state championships last week.
In Massachusetts, Haverhill won their first state championship by winning the All-State meet with one individual champion and six wrestlers qualifying for the New England championships. Shawsheen, who had two champions, qualified five wrestlers, including returning New England champion Sidney Tildsey. Defending champion Nathan Blanchette of Central Catholic also won the MA title and qualified.
No. 1 Xavier is bringing nine wrestlers, the most of any Connecticut team. The Falcons, who had five finalists and three champions, won their third straight State Open title a week ago and bring back defending New England champion Raekwon Shabazz, who is up one weight class to 113.
As in any tournament, the key will be picking up victories – especially victories in the consolation bracket.
More news: The last time the New England tournament was in Connecticut was 2011 in New Haven at Hillhouse. … Timberlane Regional from Plaistow, N.H. holds the tournament record with 10 New England titles, most recently in 2012. Mt. Anthony is second with nine New England titles, with their most recent title in 2015. … Ponaganset is looking to be the second Rhode Island to win consecutive New England titles. Coventry, R.I. won in 1988 and 1989
1st annual New England girls wrestling championships
At Providence, R.I.
Date: Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2
Location: Providence Career and Technical Academy.
Participants: Top 4 wrestlers from Massachusetts; top 3 from Connecticut, top 2 from Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island
Friday’s schedule: Wrestling begins at 5:30 p.m. Round two begins at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday’s schedule: Wrestling begins at 9 a.m. with quarterfinals and consolation round matches. Championship semifinals begin at 12:30 p.m. Championship finals, consolation finals (third place) and fifth place bouts begin at 3:45 p.m.
Brackets and real-time results (FloArena)
Pre-tournament brackets (PDF)
Watch the tournament online (FloWrestling.com)
Tickets: No tickets will be sold at the door. Order them online. Day 1, Day 2
2024 state championship meets: State championship results from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire.
Outlook: Ledyard’s Tatianna Irizarry (107), Bethel’s Esther Ribeiro (145) are ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes. Each state has two No. 1 ranked wrestlers.
