GFA’s Max Konopka of Simsbury won his third NHSCA national championship this weekend.
Several Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors at the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) national wrestling tournaments this past weekend in Virginia Beach, Va.
Greens Farms Academy’s Max Konopka from Simsbury became the first Connecticut wrestler to win three NHSCA national championships with his triple OT victory at 220 pounds in the Junior national tournament.
Ledyard’s Lukas Boxley finished second in the Sophomore tournament at 132 pounds while Trumbull’s Hubert Szymko (170) finished third in the Freshman tournament.
Greens Farms Academy’s Jaxson Sgruletta of Ridgefield (126) finished sixth in the Freshman tournament while GFA’s Tyler Neiva of Trumbull (182) and Gilbert’s Evan Schibi (160) each took seventh in the Senior tournament with Xavier’s Zack Dixon of South Windsor (120) finishing seventh in the Junior tournament.
In the girls national tournament, which includes all four grades, Platt’s Kayli Morris (185) finished fourth while Norwalk’s Jeily Euceda (235) finished seventh. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class earned NHSCA All-American honors.
Konopka went 6-0 over the weekend to win his third national championship with five pins. He allowed just eight points in the tournament and gave up just one takedown in six bouts. Prior to the finals, none of his five matches lasted longer than 3:12.
He pinned Georgia’s John Gill in the semifinal in 55 seconds.
It took much longer to beat Missouri state champion Carter Brown in the championship bout. The bout was tied at 1-1 after regulation. There was no scoring in the first one minute OT period. In the second OT, each wrestler escaped leaving the bout tied at 2-2.
In the third OT or ultimate tiebreaker, Konopka chose down with Brown on top. If Brown could ride Konopka out for 30 seconds, he would win. Konopka tried to escape and Brown was called for locking hands with 18 seconds left, giving Konopka the 3-2 win and the national championship.
Konopka, who won titles at 195 pounds wrestling for Simsbury in 2024 and 2025, is the fourth Connecticut wrestler with multiple NHSCA national titles. Konopka has verbally committed to wrestle at Virginia Tech in college.
Calli Gilchrist (Choate/Norwalk), Raekwon Shabazz (Xavier/Middletown) and Anthony Falbo (Newtown) each won two NHSCA titles.
Ledyard sophomore Lukas Boxley finished second at the NHSCA’s Sophomore Nationals at Virginia Beach.
Boxley (53-1) came within one point of an undefeated season and a national championship, dropping a 3-2 decision to Xavier Mance of Atlanta, Georgia in the finals at 132 pounds.
Mance took a 3-0 lead with a takedown with five seconds left in the second period. Boxley escaped with 1:01 left in the match to cut the lead to 3-1 and picked up another point due to a stalling call on Mance.
Boxley had a single leg with 11 seconds to go but couldn’t secure the takedown in time.
Boxley, who won the State Open and New England titles, went 6-1 in the tournament with two pins. He got an escape with 1:39 left in the first period and prevailed with a 1-0 decision over Chance Berry of Texas in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Boxley got a two-point reversal with 28 seconds left in the match to beat River Hibler of New Jersey, 7-6 to advance to the final.
Trumbull freshman Hubert Szymko won his first match of the tournament at 170 pounds with a pin but lost his next bout to Reid Joyce of Kansas, who scored four points in the last 35 seconds to earn a 7-6 victory.
Szymko ran off eight consecutive wins in the consolation bracket with four pins to finish third. He pinned New Jersey’s Ryder Bernholz in the consolation final in 2:00. Szymko went 9-1 in the tournament.
Sgrulletta (126) went 7-3 in the tournament and finished sixth. After a win in his opening match and a loss to New York’s Edward Stavos, Sgrulletta had six consecutive wins, with three pins, to earn All-American honors. Sgrulletta beat New Hampshire’s Francisco Junvera,6-2 to secure a top eight finish.
In the fifth place bout, Sgrulletta faced Stavos for the second time in the tournament, losing 6-3 after being pinned on Friday.
Gilbert co-op wrestler Evan Schibi (top) became his school’s first NHSCA All-American wrestler this weekend.
Schibi became the first Gilbert wrestler to earn All-American honors with his seventh place finish. He won his first four bouts of the tournament, with two wins by technical fall, before dropping a 4-0 decision to Utah’s Tucker Roybal in the quarterfinals.
Schibi earned All-American honors with his 4-1 win over Pennsylvania’s Evan Olsen. Schibi tied the bout with 1:24 left on an escape and won it with a takedown with 37 seconds left in OT. Schibi (6-2 in the tournament) pinned California’s Issac Padilla in 3:32 to finish seventh.
Neiva, the GFA wrestler from Trumbull, won his first three matches to advance to the quarterfinals where he dropped a 7-5 decision to California’s Gabriel Barragan. Down by one, Barragan got a takedown with 1:21 left to take the lead for good.
Neiva (5-2) won two of his final three matches to finish seventh.
Dixon (7-2) took the long way to the podium. The South Windsor junior lost his first match of the tournament, 18-2 but then won six straight matches with three pins and two technical falls to earn All-American honors.
A takedown with 39 seconds left in the match helped Dixon secure All-American honors with a 5-0 win over Maine’s Kylan Berry. Dixon lost a 2-1 decision to Ohio’s Devion Williams but outlasted Arizona’s Cannon Farrar, 11-10 to finish seventh.
Farrar got a takedown with 40 seconds left to take a 10-9 lead but Dixon got a two-point reversal with 19 seconds remaining to take the 11-10 lead.
Morris (6-2) earned All-American honors for the second straight year with her fourth place finish at 185 pounds. Morris had three pins in her first three matches before meeting New Jersey’s Jade Hahn in the quarterfinals and losing in overtime, 11-8.
A reversal by Hahn gave her an 8-7 lead with 1:09 left in regulation but Morris sent the match into OT with an escape with four seconds left. Hahn got a takedown with nine seconds left in the second OT to secure the win.
Morris won her next three bouts but faced Hahn again in the consolation final and lost for a second time by pin in 1:45.
Euceda went 4-2 in the tournament with three pins, including a pin of North Carolina’s Ella Taylor in 2:53 to finish seventh.
Eleven state wrestlers earned All-American medals in the middle school division, led by Trumbull’s Ryder Zychek, who finished first at 142 pounds. He went 5-0 with one pin and four major decisions.
Danbury’s Charlie Atkinson (95) and Darien’s Christian Snell (180) each finished second. Atkinson had four pins and a technical fall while Snell was 3-1 with two pins.
2026 NHSCA national championship tournaments brackets and results (FloArena)
Connecticut All-Americans
| The following Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors by finishing in the top eight of their respective weight class at the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) tournaments in Virginia Beach, Va. | ||
| Senior Tournament | Wt. | Place |
| Evan Schibi, Gilbert School | 160 | Seventh |
| Tyler Neiva, GFA/Trumbull | 182 | Seventh |
| Junior Tournament | Wt. | Place |
| Max Konopka, GFA/Simsbury | 220 | First |
| Zack Dixon, Xavier/South Windsor | 120 | Seventh |
| Sophomore Tournament | Wt. | Place |
| Lukas Boxley, Ledyard | 132 | Second |
| Freshman Tournament | Wt. | Place |
| Hubert Szymko, Trumbull | 170 | Third |
| Jaxson Sgrulletta, GFA/Ridgefield | 126 | Sixth |
| Girls Tournament (grades 9-12) | Wt. | Place |
| Kayli Morris, Platt | 185 | Fourth |
| Jeily Euceda, Norwalk | 235 | Seventh |
| Middle School (thur grade 8) | Wt. | Place |
| Ryder Zychek, Trumbull | 142 | First |
| Charlie Atkinson, Danbury | 95 | Second |
| Christian Snell, Darien | 180 | Second |
| Chase Reynolds, New Milford | 85 | Third |
| Lincoln Snell, Darien | 230 | Third |
| Kasjan Wauk, Orange | 230 | Fifth |
| Carmen Veneziano, Newtown | 100 | Sixth |
| Tate O’Dell, New Milford | 75 | Seventh |
| Joey Cotler, Newtown | 95 | Seventh |
| Carter Bowling, Danbury | 80 | Eighth |
| Mason Catalano, Old Lyme | 154 | Eighth |
