After a dominating NCCC Tournament, Avon sets eyes on a Class M state title

Avon’s Jack St. Onge was one of five Avon wrestlers to win a NCCC championship on Saturday. He is seeded third at 145 pounds at the Class M championships that begin Friday.

It’s been a while since the Avon High wrestling team had a legitimate shot to contend for a state championship. In 2006, the Falcons brought home their most recent CIAC championship trophy when they finished second in Class S. 

Since then, Avon has had some good teams. They won the last eight North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC) championships and the last six NCCC Tournaments. But they haven’t been deep enough or strong enough to battle among the top teams in Class M. 

This could be the year. Avon (20-2, 9-0 NCCC) will be in Milford on Friday and Saturday to compete in the Class M championship meet. 

Three-time defending Class M champion Ledyard is the favorite but they aren’t as deep or as intimidating as they have been in previous seasons. Foran of Milford has been outstanding this season with 27 wins and Waterford has been strong along with New Fairfield, who had to deal with Newtown and New Milford this season in the Southwest Conference. 

“There is no clear runaway team in the tournament,” Avon High coach John McLaughlin said. “I think there are seven teams in the mix and we’re one of those teams.” 

Avon has 10 wrestlers seeded in the top nine of their respective weight classes. Senior Gino Bonalumi (285) is the No. 2 seed with a 32-2 record. Senior Johnny Oh (32-4) is a No. 3 seed at 120, junior Jack St. Onge (145) is a No. 3 seed at 145 and senior Kurt Ollestad (30-6) is a No. 3 seed at 220 pounds. 

Juniors Anthony Tripodi (106) and Marvyn Escobar (195) are seeded fourth in their respective weight classes. 

“We have a shot if we can pick up some extra points with pins and major decisions,” McLaughlin said. “And then we have to be mentally tough to keep wrestling in the consolation brackets. We will have to be better than everyone in the consolation brackets.” 

The wrestlers that get to the finals usually get the lion’s share of attention in a state tournament. But frequently, a state title is won on the hot, dusty mats on Saturday afternoon in the consolation round. Those can be crucial points that can propel a team forward. Many wrestlers lose focus and intensity once their dream of a state title disappears in the double-elimination tournament. 

“It’s been a great year for us,” McLaughlin said. “We had a lot of kids do off-season work and that has made a world of difference. And these kids are fierce competitors. They just don’t want to lose.” 

Avon closed out the year with 11 consecutive victories and capped off its final season in the NCCC with a dominating performance in the league tournament Saturday in East Windsor. Avon will be moving to the Central Connecticut Conference beginning in September. 

The Falcons won the NCCC Tournament in dominating fashion with nine finalists and five individual champions. Tripodi (106), Johnny Oh (120), St. Onge (145), Ollestad (220) and Bonalumi (285) each brought home titles. 

Junior Ryan Farrell (128), sophomore Peter Oh (113), junior Sam Fusaro and senior Jamie Dlugolecki (152) each finished second in their respective weight classes. 

Avon won the tournament with 236 points with a 105-point bulge over second place Granby, the fourth largest winning margin in tournament history. 

“It was probably the best we’ve wrestled all year,” McLaughlin said. “Hopefully, we can continue it for one more week. Four kids beat kids who beat them earlier in the year. I think we’re peaking at the right time.” 

The Avon High wrestling team won the NCCC Tournament Saturday in East Windsor.

Tripodi won at 106 with at 12-6 decision over East Windsor’s Jack Palley. Tripodi’s teammate Kaely Quijano took third with three pins in the consolation bracket after dropping a 9-0 dcision to Palley in the quarterfinals. 

At 113, Peter Oh had two first period pins but dropped a 4-2 decision to Suffield’s John Nieroda in the championship match. At 120, Johnny Oh had two pins including a 2:17 pin of Granby’s Steven Muller in the final. 

Avon’s Ryan Farrell (126) had a 12 second pin in the semifinals but lost in the final to Granby’s Cooper Flemming, getting pinned in 3:07. Sam Fusaro beat No. 2 seed Frankie Falco of Bolton in the semifinals at 132 pounds before losing in the final to Somers’ Jeff Suschana, 2-0. Fusaro will wrestle at 138 this weekend at the Class M meet. 

At 145, St. Onge had three pins including a pin of top-seeded Samson Weiner of Enfield in 5:07. At 160, Dlugolecki outdueled No. 2 seed Bruce D’AGara of Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby with a 7-4 semifinal victory. But Dlugolecki lost a 10-1 decision to Somers’ Jason Berry-Parker, the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler. 

Junior Marvyn Escobar took third at 195 pounds. At 220, Ollestad was seeded second but he had three pins under 30 seconds to win the title. Ollestad pinned top-seeded Justin Lengvarsky of Granby in 49 seconds in the championship bout, avenging a loss on opening day. Ollestad also had a nine second pin of Canton’s Sam Beadle in the semifinal round. 

At 285 pounds, Bonalumi outlasted Enfield’s Enrique Mejia in a 9-1 decision to win a NCCC title. 

NOTES: Avon finishes with 21 NCCC championships. … The Falcons also closed out their NCCC career with a school record 60 consecutive NCCC dual meet victories dating back to 2007. … Two years ago in 2013, Avon, Foran and New Fairfield were within 11 points of each other in the Class M championship meet. The Falcons finished fourth – its best finish since 2006. But that year, Ledyard was dominant, beating second place Foran by nearly 100 points. … Suffield was the last team to beat Avon at the NCCC Tournament in 2007. The last two NCCC Tournaments in 2014 and 2013 were cancelled due to snow and poor weather. 

NCCC Championships
At East Windsor
Team results – 1. Avon 236, 2. Granby 131, 3. Somers 99, 4. SMSA 90, 5. Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby 81, 6. Enfield 78, 7. East Windsor 76, 8. Canton 69, 9. Coventry 62, 10. Stafford 31, 11. Avon B 29, 12. Bolton and Coventry B 18
Individual results
106: Final — Anthony Tripodi, Avon, dec. Jack Palley, East Windsor, 12-6; 3. Kiely Quijano, Avon B, Pin Tanner Lancaster, Stafford, 0:33
113: Final — John Nieroda, Suffield, dec. Peter Oh, Avon, 4-2; 3. Joe Fleming, Enfield, dec. Jacob McGee, SMSA, 18-5
120: Final — Johnny Oh, Avon, pin Steven Muller, Granby, 2:17; 3. Patrick Sutherland, East Windsor, dec. Giovani Storniolo, SMSA, 9-6
126: Final — Cooper Flemming, Granby pin Ryan Farrell, Avon, 3:07; 3. Colin Beahm, East Windsor, pin Cade Cannon, SMSA, 3:18
132: Final — Jeff Suschana, Somers, dec. Sam Fusaro, Avon, 2-0; 3. Frankie Falco, Bolton pin Trey VandeBogart, Canton, 0:44
138: Final — Brandyn Bass, Enfield dec. Owen White, Granby, 15-12; 3. Dom Tardif, Somers, pin Alec Wyatt, Avon, 4:44
145: Final — Jack St.Onge, Avon, pin Samson Weiner, Enfield, 5:07; 3. Noah Korner, Canton, dec. Avery Putman, Coventry, 10-7
152: Final — Romeo Valentine, SMSA, dec. Jose Hernandez, Coventry, 7-4; 3. Treavon Fort, Enfield, dec. Mike Lancaster, Avon, 5-2
160: Final — Jacob Berry-Parker, Somers, dec. Jamie Dlugolecki, Avon, 10-1; 3. Carlos Raveria, SMSA, dec. Connor Matson, Coventry B, 8-5
170: Final — Steffan Janser, Granby, dec. Kadehm Hunter, East Windsor, 7-4; 3. John Graziano, Canton, Pin Blake Edwards, Avon, 2:07
182: Final — Steve Sobota, Suffield, dec. Owen Kibby, Granby, 9-0; 3. Kevin Matozo, SMSA, dec. Dakota Carey, Canton, 9-4
195: Final — Khamri Thomas, Suffield, dec. Adam Patsun, Somers, 3-0; 3. Marvyn Escobar, Avon, dec. Ivan Semyanko, Granby, 10-4
220: Final — Kurt Ollestad, Avon, pin Justin Lengvarsky, Granby, 0:49; 3. Jackson Rheault, Somers, pin Brandon Breuer, Coventry, 5:23
285: Final — Gino Bonalumi, Avon, dec. Kyree Dolson-Hooks, SMSA, 9-1; 3. Enrique Mejia, Enfield, Pin Malachi Emond, Coventry, 0:21
Outstanding wrestler: Jacob Berry-Parker, Somers (160)