With a strong finish to the tournament, RHAM won their first state championship since 2002 with a win over Berlin on Saturday in Guilford. (Photo courtesy CIAC)
This time, the RHAM High wrestling team left nothing to chance.
A year ago, the Raptors were locked in a close battle with Avon for the Class M championship but when the Raptors were penalized one point for unsportsmanlike conduct during the finals, it came back to haunt them in a half-point loss.
On Saturday, RHAM won six of eight matches in the medal round, including going a perfect 3-for-3 in the finals to win their first state championship since 2002 with a 211-207½ victory at Guilford High.
RHAM trailed Berlin by 6½ points before the start of the medal round – the championship final and matches for third place and fifth place. Berlin had nine wrestlers alive in the medal round and RHAM had eight.
Ben Fournier (106). Kyle Currier (132) and Gavin Plourde (138) each won individual titles for the Raptors. Fournier won his second straight Class M title with a 6-0 win over Brookfield/Shepaug’s Matt Bray. Currier beat Avon’s Elijah Fagin, 9-3 and Plourde beat defending champion Brookfield/Shepaug’s Danny Carrozza, 14-7.
In the consolation finals for third place, RHAM’s Landon Roy (120) and Nolan Plourde (165) each battled for one-point victories. Roy got an escape with 25 seconds left in the third period to beat Guilford’s Dante Bilskis, 7-6. It was Roy’s fourth straight win in the consolation round.
Plourde outlasted Berlin’s Aidan DeJesus, 6-5, to finish third. Plourde had a two-point near fall midway through the third period to take a two-point lead.
In the fifth place matches, Thiago Delacruze (215) got a pin to pick up two extra bonus points for the Raptors.
Berlin’s Mason Arborio (120) won his second state championship with a 6-4 win over Foran’s Mason Hallstrom. Arborio’s first state title came in 2022. And Berlin teammate Conlan Simard (175) beat Bethel’s Everett Salmon, 5-3 to win his first Class M title.
But Berlin lost two other bouts in the finals and went 1-2 in consolation final matches and 0-2 in fifth place matches, enabling the Raptors to get past them.
Still, it was Berlin’s best finish since finishing second at the Class L championships in 2008.
Joel Barlow’s Scott Romano won his third straight Class M championship at 150 pounds while Branford’s Cole Snider (190) brought home his second Class M title. Snider had previously won in 2022. Anthony Shivas of the Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross co-op win his second consecutive Class M title at 285 pounds.
2024 Class M championships
At Guilford
Team results – 1. RHAM 211, 2. Berlin 207½, 3. Foran 154, 4. Guilford 150, 5. Bristol Eastern 143, 6. New London 140, 7. Avon 133, 8. Brookfield/Shepaug 18, 9. Notre Dame-West Haven 113, 10. Branford 102½, 11. Ellis Tech 91, 12. Portland/Cromwell 88½, 13. Bethel 84, 14. East Haven 80½, 15. Rockville 66, 16. Masuk 64, 17. Hand 62, 18. Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross 61, 19. Fitch 59½, 20. Joel Barlow 48½, 21. North Haven 43½, 22. Jonathan Law 34, 23. Woodstock Academy 28, 24. Wolcott Tech 17, 25. E.O. Smith 9, 26. Lyman Hall 7, 27. Platt Tech 4
Championship finals
106 Ben Fournier (RHAM) dec. Matt Bray (Brookfield/Shepaug), 6-0
113 Jack Fletcher (East Haven) dec. Georgios Sezenias (Ellis Tech), 12-4
120 Mason Arborio (Berlin) dec. Mason Hallstrom (Foran), 6-4
126 Christopher Manganiello (Notre Dame-WH) pin Andy Martinez-Soliz (New London), 0:46
132 Kyle Currier (RHAM) dec. Elijah Fagin (Avon), 9-3
138 Gavin Plourde (RHAM) dec. Danny Carrozza (Brookfield/Shepaug), 14-7
144 Elijah Mcdermott (Guilford) dec. Hiram Sepulveda (Berlin), 7-1
150 Scott Romano (Joel Barlow) dec. Antonio Jennings (Foran), 7-0
157 Luke Longo (Masuk) dec. Ryan Sevigny (Notre Dame-WH), 8-1
165 Matthew Gish (Portland/Cromwell) dec. Lucas Theriaque (Woodstock Academy), 3-2
175 Conlan Simard (Berlin) dec. Everett Salmon (Bethel), 5-3
190 Cole Snider (Branford) dec. Gavin Fallon (Avon), 7-5
215 Kaiden Smith (New London) pin Matthew Tarzia (Bethel), 2:27
285 Anthony Shivas (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross) dec. Nicholas Ebrahimi (Berlin), 3-2
3RD PLACE
106 Yussuf Bah (Bristol Eastern) pin Anthony King (Masuk), 3:35
113 Collin Sullivan (Berlin) dec. Andrew Brown (Bristol Eastern), 8-3
120 Landon Roy (RHAM) dec. Dante Bilskis (Guilford), 7-6
126 Adrian Cruz (Foran) FOR Edwin Lovely (Ellis Tech), 0-0
132 Miles Tolman (Rockville) dec. Alex Uzzo (Guilford), 6-4
138 Antonios Aspras (Foran) dec. Gabriel White (Bristol Eastern), 8-6 OT
144 Nathan Wolyniec (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross) dec. Lance Stewart (Fitch), 2-1
150 Dylan Warner (Branford) dec. Jace Iamunno (North Haven), 12-6
157 John Murphy (Avon) dec. Kip Faison (Brookfield/Shepaug), 7-6
165 Nolan Plourde (RHAM) dec. Aidan Dejesus (Berlin), 6-5
175 Giovanni Da silva-Escalera (New London) pin Tyler Quinn (Portland/Cromwell), 2:53
190 Trey Parker (Brookfield/Shepaug) pin Tim Mrachek (Berlin), 3:31
215 Tim Hastings (Guilford) pin Maxwell Janes (Avon), 1:22
285 Logan Murphy (Guilford) dec. Henry Santana-liriano (New London), 7-2
5TH PLACE
106 Sawyer Miller (Foran) pin Sybella Landrie (Berlin), 1:20
113 Adam Dean (Portland/Cromwell) dec. Miles Yorio (RHAM), 5-1
120 Dylan Desanti (Wolcott Tech) pin Ammar Kuljancic (Ellis Tech), 1:16
126 James Feather (Brookfield/Shepaug) dec. Ryan Sullivan (Berlin), 13-5
132 Luke Viens (Bristol Eastern) dec. Brayden Hancock (Jonathan Law), 11-3
138 Aki Bhabad (Avon) FOR Stryder Hanson (Joel Barlow), 0-0
144 Larkin Pantano (Daniel Hand) dec. Kolby Sanders (Ellis Tech), 13-9
150 Shad Stewart (Fitch) dec. Amilio Venditti (Jonathan Law), 9-3
157 Christian Ortiz (New London) dec. Andrew King (Daniel Hand), 10-2
165 Ralph Carter (Daniel Hand) dec. Sebastian Miranda (Notre Dame-WH), 17-8
175 Owen Broyles (Bristol Eastern) pin Boone Swanson (RHAM), 4:08
190 Cris Menendez (Bethel) pin Jonah Labbadia-Volon (Guilford), 2:33
215 Thiago Delacruz (RHAM) pin Rio Fernandez (Bristol Eastern), 3:12
285 Ryan Jones (Branford) FOR Endrit Brahimaj (Bethel), 0-0
Outstanding wrestler: XXXXX
2024 Class M brackets and results (FloArena)
Printable brackets
Class L: Record-setting win over Xavier
WILTON, Feb 17, 2024 – Xavier looked like the No. 1 ranked team in Connecticut Wrestling Online’s top 10 poll with a record-setting performance at the Class L championship meet.
The Falcons had five individual champions and six finalists to easily win their fourth straight Class L championship with a tournament-record 343 points, erasing their own mark of 318½ set in 2022. Six Xavier wrestlers finished third and all 14 wrestlers finished in the top six of their respective weight class to earn berths to next week’s CIAC State Open.
No. 4 Newtown had a strong second place finish with 251 points with No. 3 New Milford finishing third with 219 points and No. 7 Simsbury taking fourth with 176½ points.
Raekwon Shabazz (113), Braylon Gonzalez (126), Kevin Kasperowski (132), Anthony Basile (138) and Charles Weidman (215) each won individual titles for Xavier. Shabazz won his third consecutive Class L title while Gonzalez, Kasperowski, Weidman and Basile each won for the second straight year.
Kenna Gioffre (120), Fisher Stites (165) and Jon DaSilva (285) each won for Newtown. For Stitles and DaSilva, it was their second consecutive Class L title.
Platt’s Caiden Talento (157) won his third straight state championship with a 3-1 win over Newtown’s Marc Maurath thanks to a takedown with 28 seconds remaining in the match. Talento, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler, won his first two titles in Class M.
A takedown with four seconds left in the first period and an early escape in the third period helped undefeated Evan Schibi of Gilbert/Torrington beat Newtown’s Jake Maddox, 3-2 in the final at 150 pounds. It was the first year for Gilbert/Torrington in Class L. Before joining together with Torrington as a co-op program, Gilbert had always competed in Class S.
2024 Class L championships
At Wilton
Team results – 1. Xavier 343, 2. Newtown 251, 3. New Milford 219, 4. Simsbury 176½, 5. Platt 133, 6. Bristol Central 103, 7. East Lyme/Norwich Tech 99, 8. Maloney 98½, 9. Fairfield Ludlowe 92½, 10. Bunnell 89, 11. Stratford 81, 12. South Windsor 74, 13. Selton 61½, 14. Amity 61, 15. Windsor 57½, 16. Middletown 57, 17. Gilbert/Torrington 51½, 18. New Canaan 46, 19. Wilton 45, 20. Farmington 41½, 21. Cheshire 25, 22. Newington 21, 23. Wethersfield 4, 24. Bloomfield/Weaver 3
Championship finals
106 Isaiah McDaniel (Middletown) dec. Tommy Milligan (Newtown), 13-2
113 Raekwon Shabazz (Xavier) pin Cesar Rodriguez (Platt), 0:58
120 Kenna Gioffre (Newtown) dec. Kyden Merlin (South Windsor), 7-4
126 Braylon Gonzalez (Xavier) dec. Alex Oberc (New Milford), 18-5
132 Kevin Kasperowski (Xavier) dec. Tyler Roussel (New Milford), 11-1
138 Anthony Basile (Xavier) tech fall Griffin Devivo (Simsbury), 26-11 4:43
144 Dylan Sherman (Fairfield Ludlowe) dec. Kyle Levesque (Xavier), 9-5
150 Evan Schibi (Gilbert/Torr) dec. Jake Maddox (Newtown), 3-2
157 Caiden Talento (Platt) dec. Marc Maurath (Newtown), 3-1
165 Fisher Stites (Newtown) pin Lincoln Archibald (Bristol Central), 2:39
175 Lincoln Carlson (East Lyme/Norwich Tech) pin Adam Oberc (New Milford), 3:05
190 Maximus Konopka (Simsbury) dec. Brayden Soleau (East Lyme/Norwich Tech), 4-0
215 Charles Weidman (Xavier) pin Christopher Reiss (New Milford), 0:47
285 Jon Dasilva (Newtown) pin Riccardi Fernandez (New Milford), 3:20
3RD PLACE
106 Zack Dixon (Xavier) pin Angel Stimson (East Lyme/Norwich Tech), 3:38
113 Ethan Quinn (Simsbury) pin Logan Gagne (Maloney), 3:32
120 Seamus Hallinan (Xavier) dec. Adrian Photopoulos (New Milford), 6-1
126 Alex Lamarre (Bristol Central) dec. Coleman Finn (Simsbury), 7-5
132 Jereck Echevarria Castro (Platt) pin Marcus Cavallo (Stratford), 4:35
138 Jacob Gordon (South Windsor) dec. Brennan Botelho (New Milford), 15-11
144 Antonio Arguello (Newtown) tech fall Teddy Goetz (New Canaan), 16-1 3:35
150 John Lagana (Xavier) dec. Derek Mcmahon (Middletown), 12-4
157 Vincent Rivera (Xavier) DEF Donell Young (Fairfield Ludlowe), 3-0 1:59
165 Lorenzo Caratozzolo (Wilton) dec. Zachary Fong (Xavier), 8-6 OT
175 Maximus Morse (Xavier) pin Justin Duhancik (Stratford), 2:35
190 Christian Sewell (Windsor) dec. Charles Dunn (Newtown), 5-3 OT
215 Michael Melendez (Platt) M FOR Patrick Dabrowski (Shelton)
285 Alden Gaboury (Xavier) pin Semih Selimoglu (Farmington), 4:14
5TH PLACE
106 Justin Bunnell (Platt) dec. Joseph Fleming (New Milford), 8-1
113 Micah Kelly (Fairfield Ludlowe) pin Makhi Gardner (Bunnell), 4:28
120 Kaden Dragon (Bristol Central) pin Mohammed Ramlek T (Maloney), 2:08
126 Cayden Morin (Bunnell) pin Daren Johnson (Maloney), 1:32
132 Giuliano Sirianni (Simsbury) dec. Andre Eblamo (Bunnell), 11-3
138 Trey Kaupp (New Canaan) dec. Grayson Renkert (Newtown), 9-0
144 Alex Rivard (Farmington) dec. John Granger (Simsbury), 4-3
150 Ryder Langlois (New Milford) dec. Angel Lainez (Stratford), 3-2
157 Branimir Lah (Amity) FOR Chad Mairano (Simsbury)
165 Danilo Scalizitti (New Milford) FOR Cooper Macnevin (Amity)
175 Andrew Corey (Newtown) pin Griffin Humes (Simsbury), 4:45
190 Jayshaun Barrett (South Windsor) pin Paul Cristalli (Xavier), 4:18
215 Tyler Rebick (Simsbury) M FOR Senia Johnson Windsor)
285 Connor Morin (Bunnell) pin Rafael Figueroa Rosario (Maloney), 1:46
Outstanding wrestler: Caiden Talento, Platt, 157
2024 Class L brackets and results (FloArena)
Printable brackets
Class S: Killingly rolls to championship
KILLINGLY, Feb. 18, 2024 – With four individual champions and five finalists, Killingly easily won their third Class S state championship since 2020 with a 212-158½ win over Eastern Connecticut Conference rival Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech.
It was the best-ever finish for Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech in a CIAC state tournament. Windham was third with 135½ points.
Killingly won their eighth tournament of the year with Bradey Jonasch (106), Brady Zadora (132), Soren Rief (215) and Anthony Oates (285) winning individual championships.
In a rematch of last week’s ECC finals, Rief got a reversal and near fall in the second period to take a 4-0 lead and beat top seed Malachi Fowler of Windham, 4-3 in the title match. Last week, Fowler prevailed, 3-1.
New Fairfield’s Joe Mahoney, who was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler after his pin of Harrison Accorsi of Somers in the finals at 126 pounds, won his third Class S state championship.
James Linder, Jr. of Montville (144) and Lewis Mills’ Jack Gedney (120), who trains with Simsbury, each captured their second consecutive Class S title.
2024 Class S championships
At Killingly
Team results – 1. Killingly 212, 2. Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech 158½, 3. Windham 135½, 4. New Fairfield 130½, 5. Plainville 119½, 6. Haddam-Killingworth 115½, 7. Weston 110, 8. Montville 108, 9. Waterford 107, 10. Griswold/Wheeler 101, 11. Canton 99½, 12. Stafford 91½, 13. Nonnewaug, 81, 14. Ledyard and St. Joseph-Trumbull 81, 16. Bacon Academy 71½, 17. Suffield/Windsor Locks 67½, 18. Old Lyme 63½, 19. Somers 53½, 20. Terryville/Thomaston 47½, 21. Putnam 42, 22. Rocky Hill 37, 23. Sheehan 32, 24. Stonington 30, 25. Lewis Mills 29½, 26. Coventry 25½, 27. Morgan 25, 28. Granby 23, 29. Northwestern Regional 21, 30. Notre Dame-Fairfield 17, 31. Ansonia 5, 32. North Branford 4, 33. East Granby and East Hampton 2, 35. St. Bernard’s and St. Paul 0
Championship matches
106 Bradey Jonasch (Killingly) dec. Peter Annis (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 8-4
113 William Accorsi (Somers) tech fall Calvin Sammarco (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 15-0 3:30
120 Jack Gedney (Lewis Mills) dec. Hunter Sanchez (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 7-2
126 Joe Mahoney (New Fairfield) pin Harrison Accorsi (Somers), 5:41
132 Brady Zadora (Killingly) pin Reese Titus (Canton), 1:20
138 Jay Chase (Sheehan) pin Ethan Bochman Rodriguez (Terryville/Thomaston), 0:58
144 James Linder Jr. (Montville) dec. Durkin Stankevich (Nonnewaug), 12-3
150 Lucas Gannotti (Waterford) dec. Naser Saleh (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 6-0
157 Luke Chapman (Montville) pin Giovanni Sanchez-Ruelas (Killingly), 2:28
165 Chase Catalano (Old Lyme) dec. Cooper Theriault-Dinielli (Plainville), 7-5
175 Cooper Light (Stonington) dec. Cameron Sammarco (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 3-1
190 Jaycee Diaz (Windham) pin Zachary Ruest (Waterford), 3:24
215 Soren Rief (Killingly) dec. Malachi Fowler (Windham), 4-3
285 Anthony Oates (Killingly) pin Lucas Kellogg (St Joseph), 0:37
3RD PLACE
106 Tatianna Irizarry (Ledyard) pin Ryan Mcveigh (New Fairfield), 2:33
113 Zaphyr Musshorn (Plainville) dec. Seth Christie (Griswold/Wheeler), 4-2
120 Noah Mccarthy (Haddam-Killingworth) tech fall Vincent Andreozzi (Griswold/Wheeler), 15-0 3:38
126 Gabriel Garcia (Windham) pin Jacob Pacheco Coventry), 2:28
132 Lucas Judd (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech) pin Shawn Pitrulle (New Fairfield), 4:37
138 Miles Fine (Weston) dec. Gunnar Howes (Haddam-Killingworth), 7-3
144 Michael Maroney (St Joseph) pin Rylee Kenny (Griswold/Wheeler), 0:55
150 Olaf Kasinski (Weston) dec. Deven Lamothe (Putnam), 11-5
157 Jeff Bernardi (Nonnewaug) dec. Logan Wolf (Stafford), 10-3
165 Carson Brown (Bacon Academy) pin Colin McCormack (New Fairfield), 3:57
175 Dante Colella (Bacon Academy) dec. Jordan Delmonico (Montville), 10-8
190 Ryan Barretta (Killingly) pin Steven Rudnick (Canton), 2:08
215 Kaleb Arcouette (Stafford) dec. Jacob Boucher (Plainville), 6-4
285 Aidan Schlimgen (Ledyard) dec. Thomas Johnson (Canton), 5-3 SV
5TH PLACE
106 Brian Nguyen (Haddam-Killingworth) dec. Jonathan Hernandez (Windham), 10-4
113 Liam Kirkpatrick (Granby) dec. Adrian Adames (Montville), 7-2
120 Ian Cathell (Killingly) dec. Jacob Olson (Putnam), 12-6
126 Nick Leadbetter (Canton) dec. Hayden Lewandoski (Terryville/Thomaston), 3-1 SV
132 Andraysen Peiffer (Weston) pin Delmazio Despard (Windham), 2:23
138 Kieran Failla (New Fairfield) FOR Taiyo Gemme (Old Lyme)
144 Aiden Mantia (Killingly) dec. Rowan Hovey (Old Lyme), 7-1
150 David Bean (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech) dec. John Maroney (St Joseph), 8-6
157 Gabriel Mahon (Bacon Academy) pin Bartlomiej Powala (Plainville), 1:55
165 Devon Powers (Waterford) pin James Hiltz (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 2:42
175 Peyton Krah (Stafford) dec. Mathias Schweitzer (Haddam-Killingworth), 5-3
190 Christian Martorelli (Stafford) pin Nicholas Jandrucko (Weston), 1:35
215 Braeden Sollima (Waterford) FOR Ryan Gruetzner (New Fairfield)
285 Timothy Breault (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech) pin Christopher Wright (Plainville), 2:52
Outstanding wrestler: Joe Mahoney, New Fairfield
2024 Class S brackets and results (FloArena)
Printable brackets
