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Avon wrestlers top Canton as they continue march toward another NCCC title

Avon's Anthony Tripodi control's Farmington's Julian Mashkovich in their match at 106 pounds. Tripodi won by pin.

Avon’s Anthony Tripodi control’s Farmington’s Julian Mashkovich in their match at 106 pounds earlier this season. Tripodi won by pin.

CANTON, Jan. 29 – The long series between the Avon High and Canton High wrestling teams has come to an end. The two teams, who began competing against each other in 1977, wrestled for the final time as league competitors Thursday night. 

Thanks to six forfeits and four pins, Avon rolled to a 60-21 decision. With the victory, the Falcons took another step toward capturing their eighth consecutive and final North Central Connecticut Conference championship. 

Avon improves to 18-2 on the season and 7-0 in the NCCC. The Falcons have two NCCC matches remaining next Thursday at East Windsor and their final league bout on Wednesday, Feb. 11 hosting Enfield at 6 p.m. Teams earn points for each team they beat in the dual meet season and in the league tournament.

The Falcons are heavily favored to beat both East Windsor and Enfield, programs having a tough time filling all 14 weight classes. The NCCC Tournament is on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 10 a.m., at East Windsor High. 

The co-op team from Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby (8-1, 5-1 NCCC) has been the most competitive team for Avon this year in the league. Still, the Falcons prevailed by a 51-24 margin. 

Next season, Avon will be competing in the Central Connecticut Conference. League foes won’t be sad to see the Falcons go. Avon has won 58 straight dual meets against league competition dating back to 2007. 

Canton hasn’t beaten Avon since 2002. Forfeiting six of 14 weight classes didn’t put the Warriors (2-8, 1-5 NCCC) in a good position to compete for a victory. Canton did get three pins from Bryan Barger (132), John Graziano (170) and Dakota Carey (182). 

But Avon was too deep. Not only did they get 36 points with six forfeits but Jack St. Onge (145), Jamie Dlugolecki (160) and Marvyn Escobar (195) had pins for the Falcons. 

Spirited rivalry for a short time

The rivalry between Avon and Canton burned its brightest for an eight-year span from 1994 through 2002. In that time, Canton beat Avon four times. And each year, Canton beat the Falcons, they won the league championship.  

In 1995, Canton finally beat Avon for the first time, 38-30, before about 350 excited fans in Canton. The Falcons led 19-12 after six weight classes but Canton won five of the final seven weight classes. Three of the five victories were pins by David Beck (152), Jon Kramer (189) and Toby Hudson (171). Dana Albrycht (130) also picked up a key pin for Canton. 

Later in the season, Canton beat Avon again at the league tournament for its first NCCC championship. A week later, Avon got the last laugh by spoiling Canton’s hopes to win a Class S state championship. The Falcons led Canton by a 5½ points going into the finals. 

Avon had three wrestlers – David Rodrigues (103), Adam Tolk (119) and Glenn Tousignant (135) that won Class S titles. Tolk won his fourth straight Class S title – the first wrestler in state history to accomplish that feat. 

Canton’s David Cunningham (275) and Mike O’Connor (140) won Class S titles while Jason Asaro (130) finished second, dropping an 8-7 decision to Derby’s Rick Casini. Jon Kramer was second at 189. The Falcons won, 170½ to 161. It is Avon’s most recent state wrestling championship. 

Canton beat the Falcons again in 1996 by a 43-33 margin and won the league title for a second time. In 1997, the Warriors had their most lopsided win over Avon, 66-16, and captured a third straight NCCC championship. 

The final Canton win came in 2002 when the Warriors rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat the Falcons, 39-36. Trailing by five points after one period, Brian Phelps (112) caught Avon’s Brian Hava in a headlock and pinned him. Current Canton coach Josh Kaplan (119) trailed by two early but ended up pinning Reid Time. 

That win propelled Canton, which won a school record 22 matches that season, toward its fourth league championship. 

Avon got some satisfaction with a dramatic victory at the NCCC Tournament. Avon won seven of eight matches in the final, including four head-to-head matches against Canton wrestlers, to win the league tournament. 

Canton led by as many as 21 points in the 2002 tournament and had a 10-point lead before the finals began. With three matches left in the finals, all three bouts (189, 215, 275) featured Avon and Canton wrestlers. Avon’s Eric Goldstein (189), Ryan Walsh (215) and Brian Dubiel (275) each won by pin to complete the comeback as the Falcons won the NCCC Tournament for the second straight year with a 196-184½ win over Canton. 

Avon 60, Canton 21
At Canton
106: Anthony Tripodi (A) forfeit; 113: Peter Oh (A) forfeit; 120: Johnny Oh (A) forfeit; 126: Ryan Farrell (A) pin Hayden DiMaio, 0:22; 132: Bryan Barger (C) pin Alec Wyatt, 3:13; 138: Sam Fusaro (A) forfeit; 145: Jack St. Onge (A) pin Noah Korner, 3:29; 152: Julian Adams (C) dec. Mike Lancaster, 4-1; 160: Jamie Dlugolecki (A) pin Chris Ho, 2:31; 170: John Graziano (C) pin Matt Bourquin, 3:37; 182: Dakota Carey (C) pin Justin Nastri, 3:15; 195: Marvyn Escobar (A) pin Sam Beadle, 1:15; 220: MIke Gutierez (A) forfeit; 285: Gino Bonalumi (A) forfeit
Record: Avon 18-2, 7-0 NCCC: Canton 2-8, 1-5 NCCC

 

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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