MILFORD — Foran High placed second at the Class M wrestling tournament in Guilford on Saturday.
Coach Dave Esposito’s Lions, it was the second consecutive season they were M runners-up, and the eighth straight season they have placed in the top three.
Suffield/Windsor Locks (187) won its first state title. Foran (181.5), without a finalist, had eight wrestling back to place in the top six. RHAM (166) third and Branford (163) fourth. Coach Matt Schumaker’s Law team placed 21st with 29 team points.
“The most gratifying thing for me is to see our guys go out there and let it loose. It is such a mental grind,” Esposito said. “The experience of the last seven years (2 titles, 4 seconds, 1 third) comes into the mix today. They know that every (team) point counts, a pin, a major decision. We had a lot of guys overachieve.”
Tanish Joshi (126 pounds), Kyle Pokornowski (132 pounds) and Pat Rescanski (heavyweight) placed third.
Antonio Madero (113 pounds), Michael Vanchot (138 pounds) and Ethan Edmondson (152 pounds) were fourth.
Sam Poffenberger (170 pounds) and Jacob Madarang (220 pounds) placed sixth.
Jonathan Law’s Dylan Benedetti was sixth in the 126-pound weight class.
SWL’s Josh Nieroda (113), Zachary Johns (126) and Dylan Washburn (145) won finals.
With the title vacated when Killingly dropped to Class S, it was a wide-open battle for first, in the team score and in individual weight classes. Only two champions returned — Joel Barlow’s Carson LiCastro and Avon’s Christopher Gen. Each added another title.
How They Got There
Tanish Joshi, a senior and No. 6 seed, pinned RHAM’s No. 4 seed Jeremy Devine in the 126-pound consolation finals to place third. He won 11-2 and then lost 11-7 to No. 2 seed and class runner-up Matt DiVito from East Haven in the semis. Joshi defeated Law’s Dylan Benedetti, 7-4, to advance to the consi-finals.
Kyle Pokornowski was the No. 2 seed at 132 pounds. He pinned in 49 seconds and in 2:49 to get to the semifinals, where he lost to No. 3 seed and eventual champion Alec DiVito 7-3. He wrestled back to take third with a 6-2 victory over No. 4 seed Ghassen Saleh from SWL.
Patrick Rescanski was the No. 3 seed in the heavyweight division. A senior, Rescanski pinned in 1:42 and 2:53 to reach the semifinals where he dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 2 seed and class runner-up Minsok Lee from Branford. In wrestle backs, Rescanski pinned New London’s No. 6 seed Keeano Javon Gonzalez in 1:26 to earn third place.
Foran freshman and No. 2 seed Antonio Madero pinned in 1:41 before losing to No. 3 and runner-up Jonah Weber in the 113-pound semifinals. He wrestled back with a 25-second pin, then lost to No. 1 seed Matt Carrozza from Brookfield in the consolation finals to take fourth.
Michael Vanchot, a senior, was the No. 11 seed and placed fourth. He won by fall in 2:25, and then lost to No. 3 seed Logan Kanaitis from RHAM. Vanchot scored a pin in 2:16 and a 12-2 major decision before losing again to Kanaitis, in 2:03, to finish fourth.
Ethan Edmondson was the No. 4 seed at 152 pounds and the senior co-captain placed fourth. He pinned in 33 seconds, then lost a 12-5 decision to SWL’s No. 5 seed and third-place finisher Matt Raine. Edmondson advanced to the consolation final with wins by 4:19 fall and 12-6 decision.
Sam Poffenberger, a senior, was seeded 12th at 170 pounds and placed sixth. He pinned in 2:42 and then lost to No. 4 seed and third-place finisher Cristian Calero from Platt. Poffenberger advanced in wrestle backs with pins in 4:50 and 1:18, before he lost in 3:36 to fourth-place finisher and No. 2 seed Genaro Anselmo from RHAM.
Jacob Madarang, a sophomore, was the No. 12 seed and took sixth at 220 pounds. He won by 4:53 fall then lost in 50 seconds to No. 4 seed and fourth-place finisher Austin Pompa from Masuk. Madarang posted two more wins by fall, before losing in 3:30 to fourth-place finisher and No. 7 seed Will Robb from SWL. Law junior Sam Bergami was seeded 13th. He lost by 26-second fall to Pompa and was pinned in the consolation round in 1:22 by Weston’s No. 5 seed Daniel McGuire.
Rounding Things Out
At 106 pounds, Foran junior Orlando Velez was seeded No. 8 and won two of four matches, with a 7-3 decision and a 17-1 technical fall. He lost to unbeaten champion and No. 1 seed Josh Brault from Barlow and sixth-place finisher and No. 5 seed Jerry Hill from Bethel. Law freshman Braedon McCourt was the No. 11 seed. He won 14-11 then lost to No. 3 seed and runner-up Daniel Taggart from SWL.
At 113 pounds, Law sophomore and No. 13 seed Colin Myers lost No. 4 seed and class champion Josh Nieroda from SWV. In wrestle backs, he was winning 2-1 when Waterford’s Ethan Rowe couldn’t continue and was awarded the victory.
In the heavyweight division, Law freshman and No. 10 seed Louis Sabo lost by a third period fall to No. 7 seed Aiden Cote from Berlin in his first bout. Sabo shut out Ellis Tech’s Carmine Santiago, and then was edged out 2-1 by sixth-place finisher and No. 8 seed Zach Ralsky from Barlow.
At 120 pounds, Foran freshman Craig Mager was the No. 11 seed. After losing to No. 6 seed Ben Listro from Ellis Tech, Mager split his consolation bouts, winning by 2:03 fall and losing to fifth-place finisher and No. 4 seed Jace Korab from Branford in 3:21.
At 126 pounds, Law sophomore and the No. 8 seed Dylan Benedetti pinned in 1:42, and then lost by 2:25 fall to top seed and eventual champion Zachary Johns (40-1) from SWL. He advanced in wrestle backs with a pin in 4:11 before losing to Foran’s third-place finisher Tanish Joshi 7-4.
At 138 pounds, Law junior and the No. 9 seed Cody Malin lost to No. 1 seed and eventual class champion Tanner DiVito (40-3) from East Haven and was then ousted by fifth-place finisher and No. 7 seed Tyler Barber from Berlin 13-2.
At 145 pounds, Foran senior Ryan Jordan was the No. 6 seed. He won a 5-1 decision then lost to Avon’s No. 3 seed and third-place finisher Jared Butler, 12-0. He split in wrestle backs, winning a 13-1 major decision and losing 10-4 to No. 7 seed and fifth-place finisher Noah Boozer from New London. Law senior co-captain Alex DeLoria was the No. 11 seed. He tried to, put couldn’t wrestle through an ankle injury.
At 152 pounds, Law freshman and No. 20 seed Matt Hagerty lost by 1:20 fall to No. 13 seed Sam Schumann from Stratford.
At 160 pounds, Foran senior co-captain and No. 5 seed Reilly Barry won a 12-0 major decision in his first bout. No. 4 seed and third-place finisher Andrew Robinson from Branford sent Barry to wrestle backs with a fall in 3:08. Barry pinned in 1:21, but then lost 16-4 to No. 1 seed and fourth-place finisher Gavin White from Ellis Tech. Law freshman Kyle Chy was seeded No. 22 and lost by 1:32 fall to No. 11 seed Nico Velme from Bethel.
At 170 pounds, Law senior co-captain Antonio Rosado was seeded No. 5. He lost by 2:42 fall in his first bout, and then advanced with a 14-2 major decision in the consolation round. Rosado then lost 9-1 to No. 6 seed and sixth-place finisher Aidan O’Connor from Berlin.
At 182 pounds, Law sophomore Luke Iaffaldano was the No. 11 seed. He lost by fall in 1:45 and 55 seconds. Foran senior Teddy Mauro was the No. 12 seed. He lost in 3:13 and then split consolation-round matches. Mauro won by 3-minute fall and then lost a 3-2 decision to Guilford’s No. 6 seeded Aiden Ghiroli.
At 195 pounds, Foran senior Phillip Boyles was the No. 6 seed. He won a 10-0 major decision, then lost 8-2 to No. 3 seed and class runner-up Jadian Mackenzie (17-1) from New London. In wrestle backs, Boyles pinned in 2:17 and then lost an 8-6 overtime decision to Masuk’s No. 7 seeded Colton Deleo, who placed third. Law sophomore Gary Schulte was the No. 15 seed. He won his first match by 3:59 fall and then lost to No. 2 seed and unbeaten Cody McHenry (41-0). Schulte then lost a 12-5 decision to No. 10 seed Noah Chambers from Platt.
william.bloxsom@hearstmediact.com Twitter: @blox354
