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Wrestlers go toe-to-toe with Stafford; indoor track prepares for NCCCs

CANTON, Jan. 18 — Just four days after dropping a 27-point decision to Stafford in a non-league match, Canton went toe-to-toe with the Bulldogs last week in a NCCC match. Each team forfeited two weight classes leaving 10 weight classes to decide the match. Both teams won five matches each, four by pin.

The difference in Stafford’s 40-39 victory was the Bulldogs earning four points with a nine-point decision at 145 pounds while Canton earned just three with a six-point victory at 140 pounds. Matt White (119), Steve Carpenter (125), Matt Grisevich (130) and Greg Cole (160) had pins for the Warriors.

On Saturday, Canton (6-13, 1-2 NCCC) was undermanned with eight wrestlers out of the lineup. Three were sick or injured, two were at a family funeral and three had religious commitments. Canton fielded a team of just eight wrestlers, giving up six forfeits (30 points) in each match. The Warriors fell to Seymour (45-15), Derby (54-24) and Gilbert (46-24).

Steve Carpenter (125) went 3-0 with two pins to remain undefeated at 19-0. He has 12 pins on the season. Junior Nate Getler (135) also won a pair of matches to remain undefeated (17-0).
Junior Matt White (119) lost his first match of the season, dropping a 6-4 decision to Seymour’s Carlos Vidal, giving up a two-point reversal in the final five seconds. White (13-1) finished the day with another two pins.
Senior Rich Jones (160) lost his first match of the season in a 9-4 loss to Ansonia’s Nick O’Connor. Jones got behind 4-1 in the first period and couldn’t catch up. Jones (22-1, 18 pins) had two more pins to finish the afternoon.

INDOOR TRACK: The Warriors continue to prepare for the NCCC championship meet next Wednesday, Jan. 27, at Hillhouse High in New Haven.

For the first time, Canton competed at the Yale Interscholastic Track and Field Classic at Coxe Cage on the Yale campus. Teams from throughout the Northeast, New York and New Jersey participated in the 28th annual event.

Canton senior Ryan Gallagher finished 14th in a field of 127 competitors in the 300 meters with a time of 37.40, the third-best time in team history. Senior James Solomon ran a time of 40.44, good enough for 80th place.

Mike LeDuc took 17th place in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:04.03. Kevin Kurnat was 61st in the field of 274 runners with a time of 9:26.53.

Gallagher also finished 25th in the 400 meters with a time of 52.81. David Kucia finished 51st in the 55 hurdles with a time of 8.83, his second-best effort of the season.

On the girls side, Tyisha Alexander was 53rd in the 55 hurdles with a time of 10.21. She also finished 53rd in the 55 meter hurdles in 10.21 while teammate Katie Talbot was 73rd in a field of 191 runners in the 55 meter dash (8.05 seconds). Alessandra Summa was close behind Talbot in 79th place with a time of 8.1 seconds.

Summa ran her fastest time of the year in the 300 (47.55 seconds) and finished 62nd.

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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