With six champions, No. 4 East Hartford wins CCC championship

Simsbury’s Ethan Quinn (top) battles Southington’s Joseph Garofalo in Saturday’s CCC Tournament final at 113 pounds. Quinn won the match. More photos

PLAINVILLE, Feb. 8, 2025 – In two weeks, No. 4 East Hartford will try and capture their second Class LL championship in the last four years. The Hornets earned a share of the state title in 2022, finished 3½ points behind Trumbull in 2023 and were third behind Fairfield Warde and Danbury a year ago.

On Saturday, East Hartford looked ready to rock.

The Hornets put six wrestlers in the championship finals and all six won as East Hartford captured their second Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) championship in the last three years with a 213 to 166½ win over No. 10 Southington. Conard was third with 149 points, their best finish since the CCC began hosting one league championship tournament.

“It’s very exciting,” East Hartford coach Todd Alberts said. “Coming in first, six wrestlers in the finals and all six winning in the finals. It was a dream. It’s pretty huge.”

East Hartford senior Jaeckez Mendez (144) won his third consecutive CCC title with an 8-1 decision over Conard’s Harry Marino while Hornet teammates Issac Quiles (132), Yaxiver Rivera (157) and Drayvn Roberts won their second CCC titles.

Freshman Riley Storozuk (150) won a CCC championship along with sophomore Chris Montovani (106), who erased a six-point deficit to win his first CCC title.

Alberts is optimistic about where his Hornets are as they seek to challenge two-time defending state champion No. 2 Fairfield Warde in Class LL along with No. 3 Ridgefield, No. 6 Danbury and No. 7 Trumbull.

“The competition here is phenomenal,” he said. “(Our) guys are all healthy. We’re in a good spot. I am really excited on what we did this weekend going into the LL meet. We will see what happens.”

Mendez (37-1) looked outstanding in becoming the first CCC wrestler with three individual titles since the league went to a one-tournament format in 2021. He went 4-0 with two pins and just seven points and one takedown allowed. He was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

“I’ve been trying to find myself as a wrestler again and bring myself back,” he said. “I found that today in this tournament. I feel that I am back but I am a new wrestler.”

East Hartford’s Chris Montovani keeps the pressure on Middletown’s Joshua Ramos in Saturday’s 106 pound final at the CCC championships. More photos

Quiles (35-0) got two takedowns, including one with 57 seconds left in the match to beat defending State Open champion Isaiah McDaniel of Middletown in the finals at 132 pounds. Quiles’ previous CCC title came in 2023.

At 150, Storozuk, a freshman, built a 7-2 lead and held off Southington junior Jake Rivera (32-5) with a 7-5 decision in the finals.

Yaxier Rivera (34-1) overwhelmed Berlin’s Aidan DeJesus in the final at 157 pounds with a 13-2 decision. Rivera had a pin and three major decisions in the tournament. Rivera’s previous CCC title also came in 2023.

Roberts (165) won his first CCC title since 2023 by pinning Bristol Central’s Lincoln Archibald (34-5) in 47 seconds. Roberts (30-1) finished with three pins and a major decision in the tournament.

At 106, East Hartford sophomore Chris Montovani (34-4) trailed Middletown’s Joshua Ramos (32-5) by six points, 7-1 in the second period. A reversal with 57 seconds left cut the lead to 7-3 after two periods.

After an escape, Montovani tied the match at 7-7 with a takedown with 54 seconds left. A four-point near fall with eight seconds remaining gave him an 11-7 lead and his first CCC title.

“We’ve been working a lot on conditioning so I knew I was ready to go in the third period,” Montovani said. “I kinda felt he was slowing down a bit so I was trying to speed it up and get some points on the board.”

East Hartford won the CCC Tournament for the second time in three years on Saturday.

Simsbury junior Ethan Quinn (113) won his first CCC title after pinning Southington’s Joseph Garofalo in 2:47. “You have to stick to the basics,” Quinn said. “Don’t get cocky and use things that might not work. A good wrestling move is one that works and works for you.”

Quinn was the lone champion for a Simsbury team has been banged up in recent weeks with injuries. His victory helped the Trojans finish fourth.

Defending State Open champion Max Konopka (190) didn’t compete in the tournament but is expected to compete in the Class L tournament in two weeks according to Trojan head coach T.J. Silva.

Hall’s Michael Ortiz (22-4) beat Bristol Central’s Kaden Dragon, 9-3 to win the championship at 120 while Enfield senior Ethan Buonanducci remained undefeated at 40-0 with his pin of South Windsor’s Gaganseep Parasa in 3:03 in the final at 126 pounds.

Buonanducci, who won his second straight CCC title, outlasted Lewis Mills’ Jack Gedney in the semifinals, 6-5, thanks to a three-point takedown with 46 seconds remaining. The two wrestlers train together at Fisheye during the offseason.

At 138 pounds, Avon’s Elijah Fagin erased a 4-0 deficit to beat Platt’s Joel Yaport, 7-5 in the finals and win his second straight CCC championship.

Manchester’s Noah Colon (175) won his second consecutive CCC title with his pin of Berlin’s Conlan Simard in the final while Enfield’s Jacob Beiler (190) pinned previously undefeated Jayshaun Barrett (30-1) in 3:23 to win a CCC title.

Plainville’s Jacob Boucher (38-1), who had four pins in the tournament including three in the first period, won at 215 pounds with a pin of Southington’s Andrew Mikosz in 3:24. Berlin’s Nicolas Ebrahimi (275) pinned Windsor’s Jaxon Yang to win a CCC title to remain undefeated on the season at 36-0.

2025 Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) championship tournament
At Plainville
Team results – East Hartford 213, 2. Southington 166½, 3. Conard 149, 4. Berlin 145, 5. Simsbury 138, 6. Avon 123½, 7. Platt 119½, 8. Enfield 118, 9. Middletown 114½, 10. Bristol Central 110, 11. Plainville 106, 12. South Windsor 99½, 13. Hall 95½, 14. Bristol Eastern 90½, 15. Glastonbury and Maloney 84½, 17. New Britain 74, 18. Manchester 71, 19. RHAM 67, 20. Windsor 57½. 21. Rocky Hill 56½, 22. Farmington 35, 23. Wethersfield 27, 24. Newington 25½, 25. E.O. Smith 18, 26. Lewis Mills 14½, 27. Bloomfield/Weaver/East Catholic 10, 28. East Catholic 0
Championship finals
106 Christopher Montovani (East Hartford) dec. Joshua Ramos (Middletown), 11-7
113 Ethan Quinn (Simsbury) pin Joseph Garofalo (Southington), 2:47
120 Michael Ortiz (Hall) dec. Kaden Dragon (Bristol Central), 9-3
126 Ethan Buonanducci (Enfield) pin Gagandeep Parasa (South Windsor), 3:03
132 Isaac Quiles (East Hartford) dec. Isaiah McDaniel (Middletown), 7-2
138 Elijah Fagin (Avon) dec. Joel Yaport (Platt), 7-5
144 Jaeckez Mendez (East Hartford) dec. Harry Marino (Conard), 8-1
150 Riley Storozuk (East Hartford) dec. Jake Rivera (Southington), 7-5
157 Yaxier Rivera (East Hartford) dec. Aidan Dejesus (Berlin), 13-2
165 Drayvn Roberts (East Hartford) pin Lincoln Archibald (Bristol Central), 0:47
175 Noah Colon (Manchester) pin Conlan Simard (Berlin), 2:24
190 Jacob Beiler (Enfield) pin Jayshaun Barrett (South Windsor), 3:24
215 Jacob Boucher (Plainville) pin Andrew Mikosz (Southington), 3:24
285 Nicholas Ebrahimi (Berlin) pin Jaxon Yang (Windsor), 0:38
Consolation final (third place)
106 Jeremiah Hernandez (Southington) dec. Santiago Garcia (Conard), 14-2
113 Jessus Gomez Hernandez (Platt) dec. Ares Bourque (Enfield), 6-1
120 Xavier Rozie (Bristol Eastern) dec. Armen Arakelian (Conard), 7-1
126 Emiliano Kasma (Rocky Hill) pin Mick Granger (Simsbury), 1:40
132 Giuliano Sirianni (Simsbury) dec. Mohammed Ramlek M (Maloney), 13-8
138 Coleman Finn (Simsbury) M FOR Anthony Fusco (New Britain)
144 Trevin Guardarrama (Bristol Eastern) dec. Hiram Sepulveda (Berlin), 7-2
150 Ezequiel Acevedo (Maloney) pin Brayden Rathbun (Enfield), 1:40
157 John Murphy (Avon) dec. Kyle Amirault (Glastonbury), 8-6
165 Cooper Theriault-Dinielli (Plainville) dec. Dante Casdia (Glastonbury), 14-1
175 Brooks McMahon (Conard) pin Alex Araujo (Farmington), 3:47
190 Braydon Sohn (Conard) dec. Rocco Paolino (Bristol Central), 3-2, 3 OT
215 Paul Cristalli (Rocky Hill) dec. Owen Holmes (Conard), 8-2, 2 OT
285 Luc Abbatemarco (Hall) dec. Michael Smith (Platt), 12-6
5th Place
106 Moses Olea-Sulivan (Simsbury) dec. Kody Dragon (Bristol Central), 6-0
113 Miles Yorio (RHAM) dec. Collin Sullivan (Berlin), 12-7
120 Mason Beecher (Avon) pin Brendan Tummillo (Glastonbury), 4:47
126 Julian Colon (Bristol Central) medical forfeit over Jack Gedney (Lewis Mills)
132 Landon Roy (RHAM) pin Noah Benson (South Windsor), 5:58
138 Jed Dubuc (Berlin) pin Elijah Ragin (Southington), 4:31
144 Derek McMahon (Middletown) FOR Jacob Gordon (South Windsor)
150 Anthony Lara (Platt) dec. Sean Mccall (Middletown), 15-3
157 Chiemeka Ogbuagu (Southington) tech fall Benjamin Carlson (Hall), 17-1 1:41
165 Jeremiah Ribeiro (Middletown) forfeit over Jonathan Wright-Goodison (Hall)
175 Bartlomiej Powala (Plainville) pin Samir Martin (Hall), 1:26
190 Christian Corchado (New Britain) dec. Isaiah Smith (Platt), 2-1, 2 OT
215 Maxwell Janes (Avon) FOR Heath Weeden (Newington)
285 Weston Williams (Bristol Eastern) pin A’marii Dudley (Glastonbury), 4:25
Outstanding wrestler: Jaeckez Mendez, East Hartford, 144
Fast fall: Jacob Boucher, Plainville, 215, Four pins in 6:29
2025 CCC Championships brackets and results (FloArena)
2025 CCC finals streaming