The Foran wrestling team won their first Class M championship since 2018 on Saturday with a win over Bristol Eastern. (Photo courtesy CIAC)
Always in the hunt, the Foran High wrestling team secured their first Class M championship since 2018 with a 203 ½ to 185 win over Bristol Eastern on Saturday at North Haven High.
Foran has finished in the top three at the Class M tournament 12 times in the last 13 years. (There was no season in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). It’s the third state championship in team history.
It was a balanced effort for the Lions, who had nine wrestlers finish in the top six of their respective weight classes while Bristol Eastern had seven wrestlers finish in the top six.
“We won this tournament like we won all year, with solid wrestling from all 14 guys up and down the lineup,” Foran head coach Dave Esposito said. “Our depth really showed today as we placed nine wrestlers in the top six. Very proud of the effort.”
Foran’s only individual title came from Antonio Aspras (157), who beat Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech’s Lucas Judd, 1-0 with a third period escape.
Joel Barlow’s Scott Romano made history with his fourth straight Class M championship, joining an elite group of wrestlers in state history to win a state title each season they are eligible. Only 11 wrestlers had done this before this season.
Romano had four pins in the tournament including a pin of North Haven’s Jace Iamunno in the final in 5:46.
Naugatuck’s Anthony Shivas, a student at Holy Cross and a member of Derby’s co-op squad, won his third straight Class M title with an 8-3 win over Berlin’s Nicholas Ebrahimi. Shivas, who had three pins in the tournament, built a 7-0 lead through two periods.
Bristol Eastern had a pair of champions with Yussuf Bah (106) and Luke Evins (132) winning titles with pins in the finals.
Portland/Cromwell’s Matthew Gish won his second straight Class M title with a 7-1 win over Branford’s Dylan Warner.
It took a while for New London senior Jose Negron-Ortiz to get on the mat this season. And he is making the most of his time. Negron-Ortiz is 19-0 at 113 pounds after winning his first Class M championship with a win over No. 4 seed Miles Yorio of RHAM in 2:45.
Negron-Ortiz was seeded tenth and he beat No. 7 seed David Linder of Montville/Plainfield in the round of 16 and pinned No. 2 seed Anthony King of Masuk in the quarterfinals in 52 seconds. In the semifinals, he pinned No. 3 seed Sawyer Miller of Foran in 57 seconds.
It took until January to get Negron-Ortiz on the mat this season and he went 15-0. He was ill for the ECC Tournament and had to miss it.
A year ago, he broke his elbow at the ECC Tournament and missed the state tournament. Three years ago as a freshman, he had a knee injury just before the ECC Tournament that kept him out of the postseason.
“He’s had a lot of bad luck, but he loves wrestling and stuck with it,” New London coach Mike Gorton said.
Now, Negron-Ortiz will be heading to the State Open for the first time.
2025 Class M championships
At North Haven
Team results – 1. Foran 203½, 2. Bristol Eastern 185, 3. Berlin 175, 4. Avon 154½, 5. RHAM 145½, 6. North Haven 144½, 7. Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech 132½, 8. Notre Dame-West Haven 122, 9. Guilford 113, 10. Masuk 98, 11. Branford 87, 12. Brookfield/Shepaug 83½, 13. Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross 75, 14. Montville/Plainfield 72½, 15. Jonathan Law 66, 16. Ellis Tech 64½, 17. Rockville 64, 18. Portland/Cromwell 60, 19. East Haven and Joel Barlow 54½, 21. Hand 47, 22. New London 44½, 23. Platt Tech 24, 24. E.O. Smith 23½, 25. Woodstock Academy 20½, 26. Goodwin Tech 4, 27. Lyman Hall 0
Individual results
Finals
106 Yussuf Bah (Bristol Eastern) pin Dominic Smeraglino (Masuk), 1:00
113 Jose Negron-Ortiz (New London) pin Miles Yorio (RHAM), 3:17
120 Matt Bray (Brookfield/Shepaug) dec. Adrian Adames (Montville/Plainfield), 1-0
126 Calvin Sammarco (Lyman Men./WT) pin Dante Bilskis (Guilford), 4:46
132 Luke Viens (Bristol Eastern) pin Brayden Hancock (Jonathan Law), 1:21
138 Elijah Fagin (Avon) dec. Elijah McDermott (Guilford), 12-9
144 Alex Uzzo (Guilford) dec. Hiram Sepulveda (Berlin), 9-3
150 Scott Romano (Joel Barlow) pin Jace Iamunno (North Haven), 5:46
157 Antonios Aspras (Foran) dec. Lucas Judd (Lyman Men./WT), 1-0
165 Matthew Gish (Portland/Cromwell) dec. Dylan Warner (Branford), 7-1
175 Luke Chapman (Montville/Plainfield) pin Domenic p Maturo (Branford), 0:40
190 Johnny Williston (North Haven) pin Thiago Delacruz (RHAM), 5:55
215 Trey Parker (Brookfield/Shepaug) pin Zach Lund (Foran), 0:39
285 Anthony Shivas (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross) dec. Nicholas Ebrahimi (Berlin), 8-3
3rd Place
106 Sean Sevigny (Notre Dame-WH) dec. Caden Bell (RHAM), 10-1
113 Collin Sullivan (Berlin) dec. Sawyer Miller (Foran), 11-5
120 Georgios Sezenias (Ellis Tech) dec. Mason Beecher (Avon), 14-0
126 Bennett Lane (Foran) dec. Soph Um (Bristol Eastern), 7-6
132 Yosuel Santiago (Rockville) pin Aki Bhabad (Avon), 3:31
138 Rowan Bodden (Foran) dec. Adam Dean (Portland/Cromwell), 8-0
144 Trevin Guardarrama (Bristol Eastern) dec. Harley Emmons (RHAM), 7-2
150 Tyler Ciarleglio (Notre Dame-WH) pin Logan Davis (Lyman Men./WT), 2:22
157 Aidan Dejesus (Berlin) pin John Murphy (Avon), 4:14
165 Luke Longo (Masuk) pin Tyquell Lucas (Foran), 1:47
175 Conlan Simard (Berlin) dec. Garrett Mace (Guilford), 9-3
190 Will Smith (Jonathan Law) dec. Connor Chase (Berlin), 2-1
215 Maxwell Janes (Avon) pin Cayden Caplette (RHAM), 3:00
285 Jagger Rees (Foran) dec. John Collins (Ellis Tech), 11-2
5th Place
106 Anthony Purchio (North Haven) dec. Michael Saintil (Lyman Men./WT), 10-5
113 Gabe Sardone (Notre Dame-WH) pin Anthony King (Masuk), 2:42
120 Jason Chadwick (Platt Tech) pin Xavier Rozie (Bristol Eastern), 4:35
126 Ashton Manacchio (North Haven) pin Brandom Santos (East Haven), 1:35
132 Landon Roy (RHAM) dec. Brandon Madera (Notre Dame-WH), 11-3
138 Hayden Minns (North Haven) pin Isaiah Campbell (Rockville), 2:14
144 JP Malafronte (Notre Dame-WH) pin Dylahn Perez (Masuk), 1:48
150 Thomas Mahon (Foran) dec. Charles May (Avon), 15-6
157 Nathan Wolyniec (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross) dec. Andrew King (Daniel Hand), 17-8
165 Kenny Carter (Daniel Hand) tech fall Seth Dunko (RHAM), 23-8 4:51
175 James Hiltz (Lyman Men./WT) tech fall Shane Trevethan (Foran), 15-0 4:01
190 Trent Tracy (Branford) pin Aedan Webster (East Haven), 4:06
215 Ryan Zavecz (Bristol Eastern) pin Evan Deleo (Masuk), 2:27
285 Weston Williams (Bristol Eastern) dec. Joseph Carbone Jr. (North Haven), 8-0
Outstanding wrestler: xx
Class M championships brackets and results (FloArena)
