High School

With three champions, Ridgefield wins first state championship

by
Gerry deSimas, Jr. , Connecticut Wrestling Online
February 22, 2026

Ridgefield coach Joe Regan and his wrestlers gaze at the Class LL championship trophy on Saturday as the Tigers won their first state history in wrestling.

TRUMBULL, Feb. 21, 2026 – Before the season began in December, the Ridgefield High wrestling knew they had the potential to put together a special season. And they had some big goals.

“We set our sights on winning everything,” Ridgefield coach Joe Regan. The Tigers went 13-2, captured the Greater Hartford Open and won the FCIAC’s Eastern Division with a 7-0 record.

They finished second at last week’s FCIAC championship tournament to Fairfield Warde, just 7½ points behind the Mustangs.

But it just added a little fuel to the fire for Saturday’s Class LL championships at Trumbull. Ridgefield put six wrestlers in the finals, brought home three individual titles and won their first-ever state championship in wrestling with a 33-point win over Danbury.

Cole Desiano (113) won his second straight Class LL title while teammate Dylan Meyers (132) and John Carrozza (144) each won their first state titles. Carter Lanzilli (120), Leo Moore (150) and Wyatt Podielsky (190) each finished second with Lanzillli and Moore both falling in overtime.

Gilbert co-op senior Evan Schibi (165) won his third consecutive CIAC championship while Staples finished eighth with three individual champions.

“I think we always knew that we got to this point of the season that our class would show and that is what happened today,” Regan said. “They’ve been wrestling great.”

Regan said the Tigers wrestled the best they could at the FCIAC championships. But he admitted they were unfulfilled. “We were onto the next week and turned the page very quickly from the FCIACs,” he said.

Deisano (33-2) won his second straight Class LL title with a pin of Glastonbury freshman Edward Fioletov in 1:04 while Meyers (31-4) beat Enfield’s Ares Bourque, 14-2. Carrozza (32-2) won his championship by pinning Stamford’s Aiden Lucero in 1:51.

Lanzilli and Moore were locked in thrilling bouts. Lanzilli used a pair of takedowns and a four-point near fall to build a 12-3 lead after two periods over Staples junior Gavin Donaldson, who he beat in the FCIAC final a week earlier with a pin in 52 seconds.

“As long as he is pushing the pace, he is a good spot,” Staples head coach Will Switzer said. OK. Being down 10 with two minutes left isn’t the best spot but what can you do? Keep pushing.

With 1:01 left in the bout, Donaldson got a takedown and two-point near fall to cut the lead to 12-8. After Lanzilli escaped, Donaldson got another takedown with 32 seconds left to cut the lead to 13-11. Lanzilli’s lead swelled to 14-11 when Donaldson let him go with 18 seconds remaining.

Donaldson scrambled and got a takedown with four seconds left in regulation to tie the bout at 14-14. He won it with a takedown with 32 seconds left in OT.

“I know I put a lot of stress on my coaches and teammates but I just go after it,” Donaldson said. “Carter is an amazing athlete. He has beaten me every time. I was a little salty after that FCIAC loss so I wanted to go get him.”

Moore’s final match at 150 with Stamford’s Midgerson Gelin (26-3) was tied 4-4 after one period. It was 5-5 after regulation as both wrestlers jockeyed for position for a takedown. In OT, Gelin was able to get the takedown and victory.

In the past two years, Schibi (36-1) won a pair of Class L championships. This year, the Yellowjackets moved up to Class LL. No problem. Schibi, who had three pins including an eight-second pin in the first round, beat Trumbull freshman Hubert Szymko (41-4), 14-7 to secure another state championship.

Shelton senior Chase Galke remained undefeated at 41-0 with a pin of Greenwich senior Colin Falla in the finals at 285 pounds. With four pins, all in the first period, he was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler.

Staples had three individual champions – Donaldson at 120, Julian Rousseau (215) and Seamus Brannigan (126). Rousseau beat Greenwich’s Benedetto Graziosi, 22-12 while Brannigan beat Southington’s Derek Rodriguez by tech fall, 18-3.

“I am excited for the team,” Switzer said. “Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going through the State Open and the New Englands.”

Danbury returned to the top three with their second place finish, edging Southington by three points, 176-173. Harrison Muller (175) secured a 10-0 win over Staples Damion Rousseau to win his first state championship. The Hatters had three finalists and five medalists.

“This is the hardest working team I’ve ever coached,” fourth year head coach Mike Silvestri said. “Some things went well. Some things didn’t go well. But they gave 100 percent, everything they had. It’s a fun group.”

Manchester’s Noah Colon controls Ridgefield’s Wyatt Podielsky in the Class LL finals at 190 pounds. Colon won 17-2.

Greenwich’s Mark Zolotarevesky (138) beat Danbury senior Victor Velez in OT, 8-6 while Southington senior Jake Rivera (36-0) remained undefeated with his 6-0 win over Danbury’s Em’rick Henry in the finals at 157 pounds.

Pomperaug co-op’s Daniel Candullo (103) beat Glastonbury freshman Skylar Napolitano, 3-1 to win his first state title.

Manchester’s Noah Colon (34-0) won the first state title for the Red Hawks since 2019 with his 17-2 win at 190 pounds by technical fall over Ridgefield’s Wyatt Podielsky. Colon began the year at 175 but moved up to 190 because he was more comfortable there, Manchester High coach Gerry Navarra said.

In four years, Colon finished fourth, third, second and now, first, at the Class LL meet, Navarra said.

South Windsor’s Sophia Gordon placed at 106 pounds, finishing sixth. She went 3-3 with three pins. She is the fourth girl to win a medal at the Class LL meet and first since 2023. Even though she qualified for the boys State Open by placing in the top six of her weight class, she will compete in the girls State Open next weekend.

When it was over, Ridgefield wrestlers surrounded Regan and looked at their championship trophy.

“It really hasn’t set in,” Regan said immediately afterward. “It hasn’t been done before at RHS. We were holding the plaque, and everyone felt the enormity of that (championship) and how big a deal this is. They’ll finally be a banner up at RHS in the big gym.”