Simsbury’s Max Konopka has Cris Mendenz of Bethel tied up in Saturday’s State Open championships in New Haven.
NEW HAVEN, March 1, 2025 – In the past two weeks, Xavier head coach Mike Cunningham has seen the team he envisioned when he began practice in December with the Falcons.
Injuries and sickness have riddled Xavier throughout the year, making a challenging schedule a bit more difficult.
Still, the Falcons went 17-1 with their lone dual meet loss coming in one of the top-ranked teams in Maryland in January, along with a victory at the Mid-Hudson Classic in New York and the Bill James Meuthen Invitational in Massachusetts.
A week ago, Xavier won their fifth straight Class L championship and on Saturday, the Falcons won their fourth straight State Open championship – just the second team in state history to achieve that feat. Danbury won 10 in a row from 2001-10 and another four straight from 2017-20.
“I’m proud of these guys,” Cunningham said. “East Hartford. Fairfield Warde. Newtown were tough this year. (We) came in and really battled it out. Last week was the first time we’ve had a full lineup. It was good to come together. A lot of kids came through.”
Xavier prevailed with 189½ points and seven wrestlers finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes. Newtown was second with 137 points while East Hartford, with two individual champions, was third with 134 points followed by Fairfield Warde with 127½ points.
Xavier’s Braylon Gonzalez (132) won his second straight Open championship while Max Morse (175) won his first title. Bradley Ament (113) dropped a one-point decision to Somers’ William Accorsi in the finals with Zack Dixon (106) dropping a two-point decision to Ridgefield’s Cole Desiano in the final.
Seamus Hallinan (126) was the No. 11 seed but went 5-1 with two pins and a technical fall to finish third. Teammates Vincent Rivera (150), Carl Loria (157) and Chase Catalano (165) each battled through the consolation bracket and finished fourth.
Gonzalez got a takedown with 18 seconds left in his semifinal with Ridgefield’s John Carrazano to earn a 4-1 win and advance to the finals. In the championship match, Gonzalez got a takedown and three-point near fall to take a 6-1 second-period lead over East Hartford’s Issac Quiles. Gonzalez prevailed, 10-4.
Morse, who had three pins in the tournament, got three takedowns in the championship match to beat Luke Chapman (25-2) of Montville/Plainfield, 9-0.
Dixon rolled through the tournament with two technical falls and a pin before meeting Desiano (36-6) in the final. Desiano got a match-winning reversal with 1:33 remaining to take a 2-0 lead.
At 113 pounds, Accorsi got an escape with 20 seconds remaining in the match to secure a 4-3 win over Ament and remain undefeated at 29-0. Accorsi, the Class S champion, take a takedown in the first period to take a 3-0 lead before Ament cut the lead to one with a reversal with eight seconds left in the first period. A technical violation tied the match at 3-3 in the second period.
Xavier will bring seven wrestlers to next weekend’s New England championships in Providence. The top five wrestlers from each weight class qualify.
Newtown, which was second at the Class L championships behind Xavier, finished second at the State Open for third time and second consecutive year.
Kenna Gioffre (42-4) won a State Open title for the Nighthawks with Antonio Arguello (41-3) and Marc Maurath (42-4) each dropping hard-fought bouts in the finals.
Gioffre (120) took a 2-0 lead over Ledyard freshman Lukas Boxley (37-1) thanks to a second period reversal. Boxley cut the lead to one when Gioffre was penalized for stalling in the final minute but couldn’t get a takedown to take the lead.
Arguello survived a tough semifinal win over East Hartford freshman Riley Storozuk, thanks to three takedowns, 10-5. In the final, he dropped a 5-4 decision to Fairfield Warde’s Dominick Spadaro (37-4).
Spadaro had a 3-0 lead after an early first period takedown and led 4-3 after two periods. An escape gave Spadaro a 5-3 lead and he was able to fend off Arguello for the remainder of the period.
At 165, Maurath faced East Hartford’s Drayvn Roberts, who has won four consecutive Class LL championships but was looking for his first State Open championship. Roberts erased a second-period deficit to prevail, 14-12.
“I just cared more about this tournament than anything in my life,” Roberts said. “I was down and was leaning into me so I had to go big.”
Roberts got the first takedown for a 3-0 lead but Maurath rallied and led 5-3 in the second period before Roberts escaped and got a takedown and a four-point near fall with 13 seconds left in the second period for an 11-5 lead.
In the third period, Maurath had three takedowns but Roberts got three escapes and time ran out for the Nighthawk wrestler.
Gilbert/Torrington/OWTS junior Evan Schibi is in control during his semifinal bout at the State Open on Saturday in New Haven.
East Hartford finished third for the second straight year and scored the most points they ever have scored at the State Open. Roberts won his first Open title in his second finals appearance with teammate Jaeckez Mendez (144) joining an elite group of state wrestlers with three or more State Open championships.
Mendez (42-1) won his third straight State Open title with a 7-2 win over Conard’s Harry Marino, a rematch of the Central Connecticut Conference tournament final. “He definitely brought more of a match than last time,” Mendez said. “I had to keep him down and it was a lot harder.”
Mendez had three pins in the tournament and had a 7-0 lead over Marino in the second period. Only 18 other wrestlers in state history have won three or more State Open titles. The most recent wrestler to join this elite club was Danbury’s Ryan Jack, who won four titles from 2017-20.
“I feel I deserve this. I’ve worked hard to get where I am,” he said. “Everything I’ve done is because of (my work), the support of my teammates, coaches and everyone at my side along this road.”
East Hartford’s other finalist was Yaxier Rivera (38-2), who dropped a 4-2 decision to Gilbert/Torrington/Wolcott Tech junior Evan Schibi, the first wrestler in Gilbert history to win a State Open championship.
Schibi (44-2) is just the second Yellowjacket ever to advance to the State Open final. The first Gilbert wrestler to advance to the Open finals was Devin Matthews in 2020 at 132 pounds.
Matthews is now a senior at Long Island University, where he has been a starter for the Division I Sharks for four years now. When he can, he heads back to Winsted to practice with his old teammates and head coach Darek Schibi – Evan’s father.
“Evan and Devin grew up together (on the mat),” Darek Schibi said. “Even though (Evan) was younger, he was rolling around with these guys through the years.”
Matthews is one of the few wrestlers who can challenge Evan Schibi, his father said.
So, it was a surprise to Evan to have Matthews in his light blue Long Island University wrestling shirt sitting in his corner on the mat for the finals. Matthews even gave Evan a high five and some encouragement when the two wrestlers rolled out of bounds and into the feet of the Yellowjacket coaches.
“I think that really sparked Evan up a big in that finals match,” Darek Schibi said.
Rivera had a 1-0 lead after two periods thanks to an early second period escape. Evan Schibi tied the bout with an escape of his own early in the third period and took the lead with a takedown with 1:02 remaining.
“This feels amazing,” Evan Schibi said. “I’ve been dreaming about this I was a kid and it finally happened.”
At 190 pounds, Simsbury sophomore Max Konopka (19-0) won his second consecutive State Open championship with a 16-2 win over East Lyme/Norwich Tech’s Brayden Souleau in a rematch of the Class L final.
Konopka, who missed about three weeks with a knee injury, looked sharp with four dominating victories and three pins.
“He’s getting better every day,” Simsbury head coach T.J. Silva said. “There has definitely been a change since he came back from his little injury at Eastern States (Classic in January). I think the time away probably helped him realize how much he loved the sport. Not just the winning part of it. Just wrestling. Just wrestling.”
He is the first Simsbury wrestler with multiple State Open titles since Joey Martin won three in a row from 2003-05.
At 126 pounds, Enfield’s Ethan Buonanducci (44-0) won his first State Open title and remained undefeated with a 12-4 win over New Milford’s Alex Oberc. Buonanducci had three takedowns and a near fall in the victory.
Enfield coach Jason Flynn says a pair of one-point losses in last year’s State Open sparked Buonanducci’s senior season. “That lit a fire under him. He has wrestled every day since that day. All summer. All fall.”
At 138 pounds, Sheehan’s Jay Chase (22-3) beat Terryville/Thomason’s Ethan Bochman Rodriguez in a rematch of the Class S final. Chase has trained with Southington during the season for the past four years.
“It feels great. I feel amazing,” Chase said. “But I’m not done yet.”
At 215 pounds, East Lyme/Norwich Tech’s Lincoln Carlson prevailed over Brookfield/Shepaug’s Trey Parker in a battle of unbeaten wrestlers. Carlson (37-0) won by technical fall, 23-5 in 3:18. Parker, the Class M champion, falls to 32-1 on the year.
At 285 pounds in another battle of two undefeated wrestlers, Berlin’s Nicholas Ebrahimi outlasted Anthony Shivas, 8-4, to win his first State Open championship. Leading by two, Ebrahimi (41-0) got a takedown with 55 seconds left in the bout to take a commanding lead. Ebrahimi won his previous three matches by pin and earned the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler award.
Shivas (30-1), the Class S champion, is a Naugatuck resident who attends Holy Cross in Waterbury. Holy Cross is part of the Derby co-op program with Derby and Oxford.
2025 State Open
At New Haven
Team results (top 50) — 1. Xavier 189½, 2. Newtown 137, 3. East Hartford 134, 4. Fairfield Warde 127½, 5. Ridgefield 112, 6. East Lyme/Norwich Tech 96, 7. Simsbury 80½, 8. Danbury 62, 9. Hall 53, 10. Killingly 48½, 11. Enfield 42, 12. Middletown 41½, 13. Stafford 41, 14. Berlin 38, 15. Bristol Eastern 37½, 16. Somers 37, 17. Southington 36, 18. Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech 35, 19. Staples 34½, 20. Conard 33, 21. Ledyard and Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross 32½, 23. Griswold/Wheeler and New Canaan 32, 25. Brookfield/Shepaug and New Milford 31½, 27. Foran, RHAM, Sheehan 30½, 30. Shelton 30, 31. Amity, NFA and Trumbull 29½, 34. Montville/Plainfield and Waterford 29, 36. Gilbert/Torrington/OWTS 28, 37. Bristol Central 27, 38. Avon, Terryville/Thomaston 26½, 40. Bethel 26, 41. Bunnell 24, 42. North Haven 23, 43. New Fairfield and Nonnewaug 22½, 45. Stonington 22, 46. South Windsor and Suffield Windsor Locks 21, 48. Platt 20, 49. Portland/Cromwell 19½,50. Norwalk 18
Individual results
Finals
106 Cole Desiano (Ridgefield) dec. Zack Dixon (Xavier), 2-0
113 William Accorsi (Somers) dec. Bradley Ament (Xavier), 4-3
120 Kenna Gioffre (Newtown) dec. Lukas Boxley (Ledyard), 2-1
126 Ethan Buonanducci (Enfield) dec. Alex Oberc (New Milford), 12-4
132 Braylon Gonzalez (Xavier) dec. Isaac Quiles (East Hartford), 10-2
138 Jay Chase (Sheehan) pin Ethan Bochman Rodriguez (Terryville/Thomaston), 3:36
144 Jaeckez Mendez (East Hartford) dec. Harry Marino (Conard), 7-2
150 Dominick Spadaro (Fairfield Warde) dec. Antonio Arguello (Newtown), 5-4
157 Evan Schibi (Gilbert/Torr) dec. Yaxier Rivera (East Hartford), 4-2
165 Drayvn Roberts (East Hartford) dec. Marc Maurath (Newtown), 14-12
175 Maximus Morse (Xavier) dec. Luke Chapman (Montville/Plainfield), 9-0
190 Maximus Konopka (Simsbury) dec. Brayden Soleau (East Lyme/Norwich Tech), 10-0
215 Lincoln Carlson (East Lyme/Norwich Tech) tech fall Trey Parker (Brookfield/Shepaug), 23-5, 3:18
285 Nicholas Ebrahimi (Berlin) dec. Anthony Shivas (Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross), 8-4
3rd Place
106 Yussuf Bah (Bristol Eastern) dec. Joshua Ramos (Middletown), 16-7
113 Ethan Quinn (Simsbury) forfeit over Carter Lanzilli (Ridgefield)
120 Michael Ortiz (Hall) dec. Dylan Meyers (Ridgefield), 6-2
126 Seamus Hallinan (Xavier) dec. Mael Pierre-paul (Bunnell), 7-2
132 John Carrozza (Ridgefield) dec. Isaiah Mcdaniel (Middletown), 1-0
138 Brady Zadora (Killingly) dec. Edward Lavoie (Norwich Free Academy), 7-5
144 Durkin Stankevich (Nonnewaug) pin Jacob Gordon (South Windsor), 2:36
150 Riley Storozuk (East Hartford) dec. Vincent Rivera (Xavier), 4-2
157 Jake Maddox (Newtown) tech fall Cael Loria (Xavier), 17-1 4:57
165 Matthew Gish (Portland/Cromwell) dec. Chase Catalano (Xavier), 7-0
175 Dylan Mastroianni (New Canaan) dec. Branimir Lah (Amity), 6-3
190 Cole Grenier (Fairfield Warde) pin Cooper Light (Stonington), 4:25
215 Andrew Mikosz (Southington) pin Justin Barker (Danbury), 1:20
285 Luc Abbatemarco (Hall) dec. Jonathan Harms (East Lyme/Norwich Tech), 4-1 SV
5th Place
106 Peter Annis (Suffield/Windsor Locks) forfeit over Christopher Montovani (East Hartford)
113 Jude Grammatico (Fairfield Warde) dec. Jose Negron-Ortiz (New London), 13-2
120 Noah Caisse (East Lyme/Norwich Tech) tech fall Andres Bernal Mendoza (Fairfield Warde), 16-0 4:24
126 Derek Consolini (Stafford) tech fall Seth Christie (Griswold/Wheeler), 19-1 2:25
132 Cristian Pote (Danbury) pin Giuliano Sirianni (Simsbury), 1:35
138 Alex Lamarre (Bristol Central) dec. Coleman Finn (Simsbury), 9-1
144 Leo Moore (Ridgefield) forfeit over Troy Torres-Morey (Windham)
150 Lucas Gannotti (Waterford) dec. Jace Iamunno (North Haven), 11-3
157 Louis Soracco (Fairfield Warde) pin Damian Rousseau (Staples), 1:26
165 Jonathan Wright-Goodison (Hall) dec. Dylan Warner (Branford), 4-1
175 Noah Colon (Manchester) dec. James Hiltz (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 14-5
190 Cris Menendez (Bethel) forfeit over Taiyo Gemme (Old Lyme)
215 Isiah Dominguez (Norwalk) pin Matthew Tarzia (Bethel), 2:30
285 Cooper Myers (Waterford) forfeit over Jagger Rees (Foran
Outstanding wrestler: Nicholas Ebrahimi (Berlin), 285
2025 CIAC State Open championships brackets and results (FloArena)
2025 State Open brackets (printable)
