Four state wrestlers win New England titles, Ponaganset prevails again

Enfield’s Ethan Buonanducci battles New Milford’s Alec Oberc in the New England finals at 126 pounds.

PROVIDENCE, March 9, 2025 –The culture of winning rubs off on others.

Ponaganset High won their third straight New England championship on Sunday at the Providence Career and Technical Center with four individual champions, five finalists and nine wrestlers winning medals.

The Chieftains scored 205 points, only four points shy of the tournament record they set a year ago. But Ponganset won the tournament by a record margin of 112 points over Xavier, 205-93. A year ago, Ponaganset beat the Falcons by 60 points.

Ledyard freshman Lukas Boxley (49-1) was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler after pinning Massachusetts’ Nick Desisto of Tewksbury in the final at 120 pounds. Boxley went 5-0 in the tournament with three pins, including pins in the semifinal and championship matches.

Three other Connecticut wrestlers won New England championships. Enfield’s Ethan Buonanducci (126) became the first wrestler in school history to win a title, Simsbury sophomore Max Konopka (190) won his second consecutive New England title and Lincoln Carlson (215) of East Lyme/Norwich Tech won his first championship.

Five state wrestlers finished second – New Milford’s Alec Oberc (126), East Hartford’s Jaeckez Mendez (144), Newtown’s Antonio Arguello and Marc Maurath (195) and East Lyme’s Brayden Soleau (190). Eight Connecticut wrestlers finished third.

There were two State Open final rematches in the New England finals. For the second straight week, Buonanducci beat Oberc and Konopka beat Soleau.

Ponaganset had three wrestlers win New England champions for the second straight year – Joseph Joyce (144), Cole Lemovitz (113) and David Perez (165). Preston Marchessault (175) won his first title.

“It’s more of a relief right now,” Ponaganset head coach Steve DiNobile said. “You have high expectations throughout the year, but it doesn’t happen until you wrestle. I’m just relieved that we got it done. The kids showed up. Our studs showed up. Our guys that need some work showed up, too. I’m really proud of the team.”

Throughout the season, Ponaganset wrestled the top teams in New England but they also went to several national-caliber tournaments. During the Christmas holidays, the Chieftains were in Oklahoma at the Hall of Fame Dual Meet Classic that featured nationally ranked teams from across country.

In January, Ponaganset wrestled Westport’s Greens Farms Academy, the New England Prep School champions who finished fifth at the Prep School national championships.

“Being around people that have the experience of winning and know what it takes to get to that point – it’s huge for a program,” DiNobile said. “This is something that’s almost normal to them because they’re surrounded by it. They know what it takes to win. They see how hard everybody works.”

Xavier had four medalists led by Zack Dixon, who was third at 106 and Cael Loria, who took fourth at 156. Bradley Ament (113) and Max Morse (175) each finished fifth for the Falcons who finished second for the third time in the last four years.

“I think they did a great job,” Xavier coach Mike Cunningham said. “They wrestled their butts off. Now, we go back to work next year and try to close the gap.”

East Hartford finished third with 79 points for their best-ever showing at the New England tournament.

East Hartford senior Jaeckez Mendez (144) got to the finals for the third straight year but ran into Joyce from Ponaganset, who earned an 8-1 decision. Mendez erased a 6-1 deficit in his semifinal win over Rhode Island’s Kamel Dib to advance with a pin.

Hornet teammates Issac Quiles (132) and Dravyn Roberts (165) each finished third. Both wrestlers rebounded after tough semifinal losses with a pair of wins to take third.

Newtown, who had two finalists, was fourth with 77½ points. Antonio Arguello (150) fell to James Tidsley of Shawsheen Valley in Massachusetts by technical fall. Tidsley finished the season with a record of 62-0 with 51 pins and 11 technical falls.

Marc Maurath (165) finished second after being pinned by Ponaganset’s David Perez in the final. Newtown teammate Kenna Gioffe (120) finished fourth.

Ledyard freshman Lukas Moxley had five wins, three pins, won his first New England championship and named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament.

Boxley (120) was dominant in the tournament with three pins, a technical fall and a major decision. He allowed just six points in five matches and pinned Massachusetts champion Peter Rincan of Billerica in the semifinals.

Boxley is the first freshman from Ledyard to win a New England championship and the first Colonel to win since 2008. He was the first Connecticut wrestler selected to receive the Outstanding Wrestler award since 2019 when Ellis Tech’s Sean Johnson (138) brought it home.

Enfield’s Ethan Buonanducci finished the season undefeated at 48-0 with his 7-4 win over New Milford’s Alex Oberc in a rematch of last week’s State Open final. Leading 1-0, Buonanducci got a takedown with 14 seconds left in the second period for a 4-0 lead over Oberc. A takedown with 1:39 left in the bout extended his lead to 7-1.

Buonanducci beat Rhode Island champion Jared Hood of Ponaganset in the semifinals, 8-4 after grabbing an early 7-0 with a takedown and near fall. Hood was a defending New England champion.

It was more challenging in the quarterfinals against Massachusetts champion Braeden Goes of St. John’s Prep. Goes was called for stalling with three seconds left in regulation forcing overtime. Buonanducci got a takedown 19 seconds into overtime for a 5-2 victory.

“I’m kinda shocked,” Buonanducci said after winning the New England title. “I came here to end the season having fun.”

Enfield coach Jason Flynn, who is retiring after the season, said Buonanducci was ready to dominate.

“Our mindset going into this was to dominate and score points,” Flynn said. “Domination means scoring points and controlling the match. He wrestles at a pace that is hard for kids to maintain. He can go, go, go.”

Konopka (23-0) won his second New England championship with little trouble. He tried a move in his quarterfinal bout with William Martinez of Wells, Maine that resulted in putting Konopka on his back and down 6-0.

But he scored 12 unanswered points before pinning Martinez in the second period.

Konopka beat Massachusetts champion Caden Chase of Central Catholic in Lawrence by technical fall in the semifinals, 16-0 to set up a championship match with East Lyme/Norwich Tech’s Brayden Souleau for the third consecutive week.

As he did at the Class L tournament and State Open tournament, Konopka came away with a victory. Konopka won 7-0 to become the first Simsbury wrestler with multiple New England titles.

“He had a good tournament. He came in here looking to dominate and he pretty much accomplished that,” Simsbury coach T.J. Silva said. “Max had to dig deep a little bit and find ways to win.”

East Lyme/Norwich Tech’s Lincoln Carlson secured his first New England championship with a 16-4 win over Massachusetts champion Matt Harrold of Haverhill, 16-4. In the semifinals, Carlson beat Maine champion Eli Potter of Wells with a 21-6 technical fall in just 2:57.

“This has been a goal of mine for a long time and for me to come out here and do it is an amazing feeling,” Carlson said. “I’ve been working to get to this level for a long time. Now that I am finally here, I can do some damage (and win some tournaments).”

NOTES — Ponaganset is a regional school in Scituate that includes students from the towns of Foster and Gloucester, Rhode Island. … A Enfield wrestler (Jose Navarro) once made the New England finals in 1987 but he was wrestling for cross-town rival Fermi High, which closed several years ago. … Konopka is the first Simsbury wrestler with multiple New England championships. … The Berkshire League had two medalists. Gilbert/Torrington/OWTS’ Evan Schibi finished third at 157 with Nonnewaug’s Durkin Stankevich (144) finishing fourth. The last time two BL wrestlers earned medals in the same year was 2012 when Terryville’s Scott Lamarre (16o) finished fourth and Housatonic’s Steve Wingard (182) was sixth. Stankevich’s medal was the first New England medal for Nonnewaug since 2016 when Kiernan Duggan (152) won a New England title. … The only East Hartford wrestler to win a New England championship was John Knapp, who won at 112 pounds in 1989.

Steve Merlino (with trophy) was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame on Sunday. He stands with other Connecticut inductees into the Hall of Fame. From left, Gerry deSimas, Jr., (2018), John Lawless (2009) and Frank Chaves (2004).

Three men were inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame before the finals – Steve Merilino of Connecticut, Terry Devereau of Cony, Maine, and Ham Munnell of Concord, New Hampshire.

Merlino, a currently a student/teacher supervisor at Eastern Connecticut State University, has helped the growth of the sport in Connecticut.

He co-founded the Windham Wrestling Club in 1988, which was renamed Silverback Wrestling Club in 2004. It is the longest continuously running club in Connecticut.

In 1993, he created the wrestling program at Lyman Memorial in Lebanon. In 2013, he created the wrestling program at Coventry High in Connecticut.

A long-time member of the CIAC Wrestling Committee, he has helped lead the sport into the digital age with broadcasting and scorekeeping use digital tools. He has been an advocate for girls wrestling, helping to lead the committee that created the Connecticut girls state tournament and served on the New England Council wrestling committee to establish a girls New England tournament.

Merlino was a successful high school wrestler at Pequonnock High in New Jersey and went onto wrestle in college. He was the 1976 AAU Eastern Division open champion in freestyle at 57 kilograms.

SImsbury’s Max Konopka became the 20th wrestler in state history to win at least two New England championships on Sunday in Providence.

2025 New England championships
At Providence RI
Team results (top 20) – 1. Ponaganset RI 205, 2. Xavier 93, 3. East Hartford 79, 4. Newtown 77½, 5. Shawsheen Valley Tech MA 75, 6. Central Catholic-Lawrence MA 62½, 7. Fairfield Warde 59½, 8. Milford MA 58, 9.  East Lyme/Norwich Tech 55½. 10. Bridgewater-Raynham MA and St. John’s Preps MA 55, 12. Andover MA 53, 13. Simsbury 39½, 14. Haverhill MA 39, 15. Pinkerton Academy NH and Ridgefield 38, 17. Tewksbury MA 37, 18. East Providence RI 34, 19. Ledyard 32½, 20. Chelmsford MA 32
Individual results
Finals
106 John Woodall Franklin, MA (Franklin) dec. Antoine Jackman MA (Greater Lowell), 5-4
113 Cole Lemovitz RI (Ponaganset) dec. Kylan Berry ME (Marshwood), 5-4
120 Lukas Boxley CT (Ledyard) pin Nick Desisto MA (Tewksbury), 3:11
126 Ethan Buonanducci CT (Enfield) dec. Alex Oberc CT (New Milford), 7-4
132 Yandel Morales MA (Andover) dec. Lance Bordeleau NH (Pinkerton Academy), 11-0
138 Sidney Tildsley MA (Shawsheen) tech fall Charles Phillips RI (East Providence), 23-7 5:59
144 Joseph Joyce RI (Ponaganset) dec. Jaeckez Mendez CT (East Hartford), 8-1
150 James Tildsley MA (Shawsheen) tech fall Antonio Arguello CT (Newtown), 19-4 3:37
157 Michael Boulanger MA (Milford) dec. Carnell Davis RI (Ponaganset), 17-5
165 David Perez RI (Ponaganset) pin Marc Maurath CT (Newtown), 5:41
175 Preston Marchesseault RI (Ponaganset) dec. David Pento jr NH (Londonderry), 4-0
190 Maximus Konopka CT (Simsbury) dec. Brayden Soleau CT (East Lyme/Norwich Tech), 7-0
215 Lincoln Carlson CT (East Lyme/Norwich Tech) dec. Matt Harrold MA (Haverhill), 16-4
285 Thomas Brown MA (Chelmsford) dec. Alex Bajoras MA (Saint John’s Prep), 9-3
3rd Place
106 Zack Dixon CT (Xavier) medcial forfeit over Cole Desiano CT (Ridgefield)
113 William Accorsi CT (Somers) dec. Cole Glynn MA (Central Catholic), 4-3
120 Peter Rincan MA (Billerica) dec. Kenna Gioffre CT (Newtown), 4-2
126 Braedon Goes MA (Saint John’s Prep) dec. Jared Hood RI (Ponaganset), 6-5
132 Isaac Quiles CT (East Hartford) pin Kai Ly MA (Minnechaug), 3:54
138 Jay Chase CT (Sheehan) tech fall Asa Reis VT (Mt. Anthony), 16-1 3:32
144 Kamel Dib Lincoln, RI (Lincoln) dec. Durkin Stankevich CT (Nonnewaug), 16-6
150 Dominick Spadaro CT (Fairfield Warde) dec. Colby Vital RI (Ponaganset), 10-4
157 Evan Schibi CT (Gilbert/Torr) dec. Cael Loria CT (Xavier), 7-2
165 Drayvn Roberts CT (East Hartford) dec. Luke Driscoll MA (Bridgewater-Raynham), 19-5
175 Lucas Alvan MA (Ludlow) medcial forfeit over Vincent Demaio MA (Methuen)
190 Caden Chase MA (Central Catholic) dec. Fletcher Rinke MA (Bridgewater-Raynham), 5-1
215 Trey Parker CT (Brookfield/Shepaug) pin Benjahmin Wilcox RI (Woonsocket), 3:42
285 Kazmeier Morosetti RI (North Kingstown) pin Geza Labancz ME (Fryeburg Academy), 4:31
5th Place
106 Caden Hughes RI (Ponaganset) dec. Logan Costello MA (Ashland), 12-2
113 Bradley Ament CT (Xavier) dec. Jude Grammatico CT (Fairfield Warde), 5-0
120 Dylan Meyers CT (Ridgefield) dec. Evan Kowalsky ME (Mt. Ararat-Brunswick), 9-3
126 Cahota Lafond VT (Colchester) pin Mael Pierre-paul CT (Bunnell), 3:00
132 Cristian Pote CT (Danbury) dec. Isaiah Mcdaniel CT (Middletown), 7-4
138 Caden Bruseo NH (Hollis Brookline) dec. Jason Ballou MA (Andover), 9-8
144 Aidan Baum MA (Milford) FOR Adam St.cyr ME (Lincoln Academy), 0-0
150 Troy Greaney MA (Leominster) medcial forfeit over Brady Ouellette ME (Noble)
157 Hudson Lufkin ME (Dirigo) dec. Jake Maddox CT (Newtown), 5-2
165 Matthew Pappas RI (Bishop Hendricken) medcial forfeit over Joseph Lathwood Arundel, ME (Biddeford/Thornton)
175 Maximus Morse CT (Xavier) pin Sawyer Goodwin NH (Spaulding-NH), 3:34
190 Cole Grenier CT (Fairfield Warde) pin Billy Nicolls NH (Pelham), 2:31
215 Michael Diorio RI (Ponaganset) dec. Eli Potter ME (Wells), 10-7
285 Brady Bekkenhuis MA (Arlington) pin Brian Waller-reitano MA (Central Catholic), 3:28
Outstanding wrestler: Lukas Boxley (120), Ledyard
Most exciting final: 138 pounds: Sidney Tildsley (Shawsheen) vs. Charles Phillips (East Providence)
2025 New England championships brackets and results (FloArena)