With five champions, Xavier rolls to fifth straight Open championship

NEW HAVEN, Feb. 28, 2026 – You don’t join the Xavier High wrestling team if you are looking to avoid miles on the road and travel.

This season, the Falcons traveled to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Maryland and Massachusetts for tournaments.

They won the Tony Iasiello Memorial Christmas tournament in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the Bill James Invitational in Methuen, Massachusetts, went 2-4 at The Clash or National High School Wrestling Duals in Wisconsin and were fourth on the War on the Shore in Maryland.

When it comes to the State Open, No. 1 Xavier is well prepared.

The Falcons put seven wrestlers in the finals, had a school-record five wrestlers capture State Open titles and won their fifth straight Open championship on Saturday with a 218½ to 146 victory over No. 2 Ridgefield, the Class LL champions.

Xavier (11-4) becomes just the fourth team in state history with five or more champions at the State Open. Danbury had six champions in 2017 with Greenwich (1965) and Conard (1968) with five champions each.

Xavier’s Braylon Gonzalez (144) won his third State Open championship with an overtime victory with juniors Chase Catalano (190), Vincent Rivera (175), Zach Dixon (120) and freshman Josh Perez (106) also winning individual championships.

Catalano won in overtime while junior teammate Zaphry Mushorn (132) lost his championship bout in double overtime and freshman Alexander Depratti (126) lost his match by a point.

For the second consecutive year, Xavier will bring eight wrestlers to next weekend’s New England championships in Providence. The top five wrestlers in each weight class qualify.

“The schedule we wrestle is pretty tough and the kids work (hard) in the room and it has pair off so far,” Hall of Fame coach Mike Cunningham said.

What do the Falcons get from the competition they see outside of Connecticut? At the Clash, Xavier wrestled teams from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Ohio. There were plenty of teams from New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania at the War on the Shore.

“How to wrestle. How to get up,” Cunningham said. “Every match is six minutes, every match is (decided by) one point, two points. Well, a lot of them are. They learn how to grind it out.”

When Gonzalez went to overtime against Ridgefield’s John Carrozza in the finals at 144, he wasn’t fazed.

“I don’t look at it as overtime,” said Gonzalez, who is from Newington. “I just keep going. You go whistle to whistle. You don’t stop. Just go.”

It was tied 1-1 after three periods. In the first overtime, Carrozza got in deep on a takedown attempt but couldn’t finish it.

In the second OT, Carrozza rode out Gonzalez for 30 seconds. When it was Gonzalez turn to ride out Carrozza, he wrapped his arms tightly around Carrozza’s waist and turned his to his back for a two-point near fall and the victory.

“He’s strong. He’s fast and he knows his positions,” Gonzalez said of Carrozza. “With a kid like that, you can’t slow down.”

Gonzalez becomes just the 20th wrestler in state history to win three or more State Open championships and just the second wrestler to achieve this since 2020.

“You can’t do anything without hard work,” Gonzalez said. “That is the key. Hard work.”

Tough competition doesn’t hurt either, Gonzalez admitted. “It helps you find different ways (to win). We need to learn.”

Catalano got a takedown with 1:18 left in regulation to beat undefeated Noah Colon of Manchester in the semifinals, 7-4. Catalano needed overtime to beat Fairfield Warde’s Dylan O’Brian, 2-1.

Tied at 1-1 after three periods, Catalano thought he got a match-winning takedown with 34 seconds left in OT but after a discussion, the referees waved it off. With four seconds left in OT, O’Brian was penalized one point for an illegal head scissor move as the two wrestlers worked for a takedown and the match was over.

Perez (106) won his first State Open title with a 17-2 win by technical fall, handing Stafford senior Josh Bean (37-1) his first loss of the season. Perez had three tech falls and a pin in the tournament, only allowing seven points.

Dixon (120) handed Somers’ William Accorsi (32-1) his first loss of the season with a 12-0 win in the finals. Dixon had three pins in the tournament.

Rivera (175) outlasted Fairfield Prep senior Jack Killy, 14-10 thanks to three takedowns and a three-point near fall.

At 132, Fairfield Warde senior Jude Grammatico got an escape with 23 seconds left in the second OT and held off Musshorn to win his first Open championship.

At 126, Windham senior Delmazio Despard got a takedown with 55 seconds remaining to snap a 1-1 tie and secure a 4-3 win over Depratti.

Ridgefield had their best-ever finish at the State Open by taking second with five wrestlers finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes and securing spots at the New England tournament.

Ridgefield sophomore Cole Desiano (113) won his second straight Open championship with a pin in 3:46 over Suffield/Windsor Locks’ wrestler Peter Annis in 3:46. Desiano (37-2) had three pins and gave up five points in the tournament. Annis, who is from Windsor Locks, is now 41-3.

Leo Moore (150) and Carter Lanzilli (120) finished third for the Tigers, who had a school-record 146 points.

With four wrestlers finishing in the top five of their weight classes, Staples finished third with 76 points – their highest finish at the State Open since 1971 when the Wreckers were second. There was no team scoring at the Open from 1976 through 2000.

Staples sophomore Julian Rousseau (215) advanced to the final but was pinned in 1:37 by Taiyo Gemme of the Lyme-Old Lyme/Westbrook co-op. Gemme, the Class S champion who improves to 28-0, had three pins in the tournament and didn’t give up a single point.

Staples also had three wrestlers finish fifth.

Gilbert/Torrington/Wolcott Tech senior Evan Schibi (165) won his second straight State Open championship with a 2-0 win over Conard’s Harry Marino. Schibi (41-1) got a reversal with four seconds left in regulation to secure the win.

It was scoreless after one period and Schibi rode out Marino for two minutes in the second period keeping the score 0-0 after two.

“It was tough and it was a battle but I love being in a battle,” Schibi said. “I love it when kids come out and wrestle. It’s really fun.

“I knew I needed to get one (point) and there is like 20 seconds left so I needed to move quickly. I found a leg and got my reversal in time,” he said.

When the referee awarded Schibi those two points, Marino slammed his fist to the mat in frustration as the final seconds rolled off the clock.

Schibi becomes the second wrestler in Berkshire League history to win multiple State Open titles. Nonnewaug’s Tyler Tilbe won two in 2010 and 2011.

At 138 pounds, Ledyard sophomore Lukas Boxley (43-0) won his first State Open title by pinning Terryville/Thomaston’s Ethan Bochman Rodriguez in 34 seconds. Boxley had two pins and two technical falls in the tournament and didn’t allow a single point. He was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.

Bristol Central’s Alex Lamarre (150) secured the Rams’ first State Open title since 2006 with a 1-0 win over Middletown rival Isaiah McDaniel.

It was the third time in the last four weeks that the two wrestlers had met in a championship final. McDaniel (51-3) beat Lamarre, 7-5 with a takedown with 1:19 remaining to win the Central Connecticut Conference tournament. At last week’s Class L championship, McDaniel had three takedowns in a 10-4 decision.

On Saturday, the match was scoreless after two periods and Lamarre (42-4) got an intentional escape to begin the third period to take a 1-0 lead. The goal was for McDaniel to get a takedown to take the lead and control the match.

But Lamarre couldn’t be taken down in the final two minutes to become the first Central wrestler since Chris Lombardi to win an Open championship.

Newtown junior Antonio Arguello, a two-time Class L champion, won his first State Open championship with an 8-4 win over Notre Dame-West Haven sophomore Riley Storozuk at 157 pounds. Arguello (49-3) had a 4-1 lead after two periods but Storozuk (45-2) tied the match with a takedown with 1:37 remaining.

Knowing that Arguello could win with an escape late in the third period, Storozuk let Arguello up with an intentional escape for a 5-4 lead with 1:37 to go. Storozuk planned on getting a three-point takedown to take the lead.

But Arguello was able to defend two Storozuk takedown attempts and got a takedown of his own two seconds left to extend the lead to 8-4.

In the final match of the evening, Shelton senior Chase Galke (45-0) remained undefeated with a 3-0 win over Jacob Palermo of East Lyme/Norwich Tech to win his first Open title.

A takedown with 10 seconds left in the first period was the difference in the win. Galke, the Class LL champion, had two pins on the day. Palermo, the Class L champion, slipped to 53-4 on the year.

2026 State Open championships
At New Haven
Team results – 1. Xavier 218½, 2. Ridgefield 146, 3. Staples 76, 4. Fairfield Warde 72, 5. Ledyard 66½, 6. Newtown 64½, 7. East Lyme/Norwich Tech 59, 8. Danbury 56½, 9. Lyman Memorial/Windham Tech and Notre Dame-WH 56, 11. Bristol Central 54½, 12. Trumbull 53, 13. New Britain 52, 14. Killingly 51½, 15. Middletown 47½, 16. Plainville 47, 17. Bristol Eastern 46½, 18. Conard 42½, 19. Shelton 42, 20. Somers 41½, 21. Suffield/Windsor Locks 40, 22. Wilton and Windham 39½, 24. Amity 37½. 25. Stamford 36 and Platt, 27. Weston 33½, 28. Stafford 32½, 29. Gilbert/Torrington/Wolcott Tech 32, 30. Cheshire and Glastonbury 31½, 32. Lyme-Old Lyme/Westbrook co-op 31, 33. Bunnell and Greenwich 30, 35. Foran 28½, 36. Manchester 27½, 37. Guilford and Maloney 27, 39. Ellis Tech 25½, 40. Southington 24, 41. Terryville 23, 42. Avon and Fairfield Prep 22½, 44. Canton 22, 45. Pomperaug/Watertown/Naugatuck 21, 46. New Milford 20, 47. Brookfield/Shepaug and Simsbury 19, 49. Branford and New Fairfield 18, 51. Griswold/Wheeler 17, 52. Waterford 15, 53. Jonathan Law 14½, 54. Bloomfield/Weaver/East Windsor 14, 55. Masuk and St. Joseph 13, 57. NFA 11½, 58. Bacon Academy, Berlin and RHAM 11, 61. New London10, 62. North Haven 9½, 63. Bethel, Fairfield Ludlowe and Derby/Oxford/Holy Cross 9, 66. Hand, East Haven and Westhill 7, 69. Enfield, Hall and Sheehan 6, 72. Farmington and Lewis Mills 5, 74. Joel Barlow, New haven, Norwalk and Rockville 4, 78. Portland/Cromwell, Putnam 3, 80. New Canaan, Nonnewaug and Woodland 2, 83. Fitch/Stonington/Grasso Tech, Granby/East Granby 1, 85. Bridgeport co-op, Coventry, East Hampton, Goodwin Tech, Montville, Morgan, O’Brien Tech, Platt Tech, South Windsor, St. Paul and West Haven 0
Finals
106 Josh Perez (Xavier) tech fall John Bean (Stafford), 17-2 3:06
113 Cole Desiano (Ridgefield) pin Peter Annis (Suffield/Windsor Locks), 3:46
120 Zack Dixon (Xavier) dec. William Accorsi (Somers), 12-0
126 Delmazio Despard (Windham) dec. Alexander Depratti (Xavier), 4-3
132 Jude Grammatico (Fairfield Warde) dec. Zaphyr Musshorn (Xavier), 2-1, 3 OT
138 Lukas Boxley (Ledyard) pin Ethan Bochman rodriguez (Terryville), 0:34
144 Braylon Gonzalez (Xavier) dec. John Carrozza (Ridgefield), 3-1, 3 OT
150 Alex Lamarre (Bristol Central) dec. Isaiah Mcdaniel (Middletown), 1-0
157 Antonio Arguello (Newtown) dec. Riley Storozuk (Notre Dame-West Haven), 8-4
165 Evan Schibi (Gilbert/Torr/Wolc) dec. Harry Marino (Conard), 2-0
175 Vincent Rivera (Xavier) dec. Jack Lilly (Fairfield Prep), 14-10
190 Chase Catalano (Xavier) dec. Dylan O’brian (Fairfield Warde), 2-1 OT
215 Taiyo Gemme (Lyme-Old Lyme/WB) pin Julian Rousseau (Staples), 1:37
285 Chase Galke (Shelton) dec. Jacob Palermo (East Lyme/Norwich Tech), 3-0
3rd Place
106 Daniel Candullo (Pomperaug co-op) dec. Sean Sevigny (Notre Dame-West Haven), 17-10
113 George Jolley (Ledyard) dec. Treydan Beam (Xavier), 9-0
120 Carter Lanzilli (Ridgefield) pin Joshua Ramos (Middletown), 0:26
126 Mael Pierre-Paul (Bunnell) dec. Mason Beecher (Avon), 8-1
132 Matt Bray (Brookfield/Shepaug) dec. Dylan Meyers (Ridgefield), 1-0
138 Alex Uzzo (Guilford) dec. Trevin Guardarrama (Bristol Eastern), 4-2
144 Robert Perez (Cheshire) dec. Calvin Sammarco (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 14-7
150 Leo Moore (Ridgefield) dec. Midgerson Gelin (Stamford), 10-3
157 Em’rick Henry (Danbury) tech fall Gavin Lefebvre (Foran), 17-2 3:26
165 Hubert Szymko (Trumbull) dec. Evan Christianson (Wilton), 4-1
175 Harrison Muller (Danbury) dec. Cooper Theriault-dinielli (Plainville), 7-2
190 Noah Colon (Manchester) dec. Lucas Judd (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 3-0 OT
215 Nicholas Jandrucko (Weston) tech fall Thomas Johnson (Canton), 17-2 3:44
285 Michael Smith (Platt) dec. Nicholas Esparo (Amity), 4-2
5th Place
106 Gavin Jonasch (Killingly) dec. Kody Dragon (Bristol Central), 5-0
113 Edward Fioletov (Glastonbury) dec. Owen Blair (Newtown), 7-2
120 Gavin Donaldson (Staples) dec. Jameson Grant (Bacon Academy), 6-1
126 Seamus Brannigan (Staples) dec. Simon Rodriguez (Ridgefield), 22-8
132 Andrew Kuljancic (Ellis Tech) tech fall Ryan Mcveigh (New Fairfield), 17-0 4:17
138 Mark Zolotarevsky (Greenwich) dec. Giuliano Sirianni (Simsbury), 9-4
144 Aiden Lucero (Stamford) pin Andrew Jackson (Amity), 4:46
150 Troy Torres-Morey (Windham) dec. Robert Kammerman (St Joseph), 8-5 OT
157 Shane Ryan (Trumbull) dec. Logan Davis (Lyman Mem/Windham Tech), 9-2
165 Exael Padilla (Killingly) dec. Tyquell Lucas (Foran), 13-2
175Damian Rousseau (Staples) forfeit over Jake Maddox (Newtown)
190 Michael Capalbo (Griswold/Wheeler) dec. Rocco Paolino (Bristol Central), 10-1
215 Cameron Gronholm (East Lyme/Norwich Tech) dec. Aidyn Davies (Bristol Eastern), 6-1
285 Yasin Afrailov (Suffield/Windsor Locks) pin Abdalla Abdalla (New Britain), 2:00
Outstanding wrestler: Lucas Boxley, Ledyard (138)
2026 State Open brackets and results (FloArena)
Printable brackets 2026 State Open