With two wins at Open, Getler finishes 38-3
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 26 – Nate Getler, Canton’s most recent state wrestling champion, finished his career with a 2-2 record at the 2011 State Open championships at the New Haven Athletic Center. Getler (38-3) had two pins and a pair of close defeats at 130 pounds.
Getler opened the tournament by pinning Newington’s Braden McManus in 1:08 but he lost 2-1 to Bacon Academy’s Sean McAllister in the quarterfinals. McAllister made a first period takedown stand up.
In the first round of the consolation round, Getler pinned Thomaston’s Jeff Desaultels in 54 seconds. But in the consolation semifinals, New Milford’s Andrew Golden outlasted Getler, 3-1 in overtime to eliminate the Canton wrestler.
Golden took a 1-0 lead with a second period escape but Getler tied it with 1:08 left in the match with an escape of his own. Getler tried to secure a takedown and came close with 18 seconds remaining but the two wrestlers were ruled out of bounds. In overtime, Getler tried a throw but Golden was able to slip out of it and behind Getler to get the takedown and the victory.
Matt White (125) was scheduled to wrestle but he was overweight on Friday and could not participate. Bryan Fitzpatrick (135), who finished fifth at the Class S tournament, was an alternate and grabbed an available spot in the tournament. Fitzpatrick (25-12) lost a pair of matches to eventual runnerup Forest Dolby of Cheney Tech by pin (25 seconds) and to Fairfield Warde’s James Namontis by a 9-2 score.