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Avon’s Bonalumi takes 3rd at State Open, earns berth to New England tournament

Avon's Gino Bonalumi tries to escape from Farmington's Vinny Stevens at the State Open.

Avon’s Gino Bonalumi tries to escape from Farmington’s Vinny Stevens at the State Open.

NEW HAVEN, Feb. 28 – Avon senior wrestler Gino Bonalumi doesn’t score a lot of points on the mat. It hasn’t hindered success this season.

Bonalumi finished third at Saturday’s State Open wrestling championships with a one-point victory in the quarterfinals and a pair of triple overtime decisions in the consolation bracket.

“He doesn’t score a lot of points,” Avon coach John McLaughlin said. “That’s his style. He waits for his opponents, gets his escape or holds them down. He’s very effective at it.”

Bonalumi earned an invitation to this weekend’s New England wrestling championships in North Andover, Mass., as the Falcons finished tied for 35th at the Open. Junior Jack St. Onge (145) went 2-2 at the State Open while junior Anthony Tripodi (106) went 1-2. Johnny Oh (120) qualified to wrestle at the State Open but was unable to participate after suffering a concussion in practice during the week.

“At this level, it’s tough,” McLaughlin said. “There are a lot of good kids. It’s great experience for next year. They’ll realize how much they need to work and lift in the off-season.”

Bonalumi (41-4) won his opening bout with a 3-1 win over Conard’s Joshua Henry. The difference was a first period takedown that put Bonalumi in control. In his next bout, Bonalumi beat Class S champion Hamkim Fleming of Notre Dame-Fairfield, 2-1 on a third period stalling call.

In the semifinals, eventual State Open champion Chidiebere Broderick pinned Bonalumi in 3:27. The score was 0-0 at the time but Bonalumi turned the wrong back and got put to his back.

His next bout was against Farmington’s Vinny Stevens, who had beaten Bonalumi twice this season by one point at the Bristol Central Invitational and in a dual meet. One more loss and the season would be over.

Bonalumi took a 1-0 lead with a second period escape. Stevens tied the match midway through the third period. Neither scored in the first overtime session. In the second OT session, Bonalumi took a 2-1 lead when he escaped with eight seconds left in the first 30 seconds of the second OT. But Stevens tied it at 2-2 with an escape of his own with nine seconds left.

In the third overtime period, Bonalumi chose down and escaped with nine seconds left to earn the win and advance.

In the consolation final, Bonalumi faced Fleming for the second time. The bout was tied 3-3 after regulation. In the second OT, Bonalumi escaped to take a 4-3 lead but Fleming got a takedown with nine seconds left to take a 5-4 lead. But Bonalumi escaped with one second remaining to tie the match at 5-5.

In the third OT, Bonalumi rode out Fleming to earn the 6-5 decision.

“I just relax and I decide to just wrestle,” Bonalumi said describing overtime battles and tight decisions. “It just happens. Most of the time, I can control the match. A lot of it is wanting to win. When you go six minutes, you’ll get tired. You have to want it enough.”

Bonalumi thanked McLaughlin and assistant coach Doug Fink and his coaches at Fisheye for all of their assistance in helping prepare him for the season. Fisheye Wrestling is an off-season wrestling club in Simsbury.

St. Onge (37-12) opened the tournament with a dominant 10-0 win over Derby’s Ben Slowik before dropping a 8-4 decision to Newtown’s Alexander Stavola in the second round. St. Onge pinned Portland’s Austin Rambarose in 3:19 but was eliminated by New Milford’s Zach Arnold in 1:44.

Tripodi (37-8) beat Morgan’s Sharone Foster, 11-6 but dropped decisions to Glastonbury’s Joshua Jones, 8-3 and Wilton’s Nicholas Rende, 7-6.

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 30 years.

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