Simsbury’s Keith Fernandes gets a two-point takedown in overtime to beat Emmett LiCastri of Immaculate/Joel Barlow and win the State Open title at 145 pounds.
NEW HAVEN, Feb. 28 – The match nearly ended with 11 seconds left in regulation. Tied at 3-3, Simsbury’s Keith Fernandes was near the edge of the mat when Emmet LiCastri of Immaculate/Joel Barlow nearly got a takedown with 11 seconds remaining.
But the two wrestlers rolled out of bounds and a few seconds later, the 145-pound bout for the State Open championship went into overtime.
That’s were Fernandes won a State Open championship. When LiCastri hesitated for a second, Fernandes seized the moment and spun behind LiCastri and tilted his shoulders toward the mat. All Fernandes needed was the two points for the takedown and the celebration began after his 5-3 overtime decision Saturday night at the Floyd Little Athletic Center at Hillhouse High.
“I’ve spent years working on my counter offense,” Fernandes said. “I knew we were both tired. He was going to take a bad shot and all I had to do was use my counter offense.”
Simsbury’s Keith Fernandes won the school’s first State Open title since 2009.
Fernandes was one of four Simsbury wrestlers to earn medals at the State Open as the Trojans finished fourth with 100 points for its best finish ever at the event. Jake Feldman (195) finished second while Sean Penney (170) and Lukas Stone (285) each finished fifth.
All eight of the wrestlers that Simsbury brought to the State Open won at least one match. Ryan Juliano (152) and John Daguerre-Bradford (182) each went 3-2 and were one win shy of taking home a medal for finishing among the top six. James DeMaio (220) and Keith Penney (138) each won a match.
With the top four wrestlers in each weight class advancing to the New England tournament, Fernandes and Feldman will be wrestling this weekend in North Andover, Mass.
Three of the four wrestlers that Fernandes (38-2) beat earned a medal at the State Open. He opened the tournament with a 9-0 win over Windham’s Michael Rivera. In the quarterfinals, Fernandes outlasted Hand’s Ashton Gyenizs, 7-5. Fernandes led 6-0 after one period with a pair of takedowns and a near fall. Gyenizs eventually finished fourth.
In the semifinals. Fernandes scored five points in the third period to beat Fairfield Warde’s Daniel Ebert. Fernandes had two near falls in the third period. Ebert eventually finished third.
In the championship match, LiCastri’s second period takedown gave him a 2-1 lead. Fernandes reversed him with six seconds remaining but LiCastri escaped at the buzzed for a 3-3 tie after two periods. LiCastri, the Class L champion, nearly won it at the end of the third period.
“It was the match of the night,” Simsbury’s first-year coach Peter Vlahakis said. “He showed his heart and soul. He never gave up and kept fighting through to the end. It was an incredible match. He was worked hard for years for this.”
Fernandes is the first State Open champion in Simsbury since Lawton Arnold won a championship at 215 pounds in 2009. He is the 14th Simsbury wrestler to win a State Open title.
Simsbury’s Jake Feldman battles Suffield’s Khamri Thomas in the State Open finals at 195 pounds.
For two periods, Feldman (24-2) looked like he might in position for a huge upset. His opponent in the finals at 195 pounds was two-time State Open champion and defending New England champion Khamri Thomas of the Suffield/Windsor Locks/East Granby co-op team.
Thanks to a takedown with four seconds left in the first period, Feldman led 3-2. In the second period, Feldman extended the lead to two points with an escape. Thomas got a lightning quick takedown with eight seconds remaining to tie the match at 4-4.
But in the third period, Thomas got a quick reversal for a 6-4 lead and simply dominated the final two minutes of the match to become just the 15th man in state history to win three State Open championships with a 6-5 win.
“I really had to grind it out for this one,” Thomas said. “I went for an ankle pick and missed (leading to Feldman’s first period takedown).”
It was the first time that Thomas (37-0) had been taken down this season and the first time he had trailed all season.
Feldman, who won the Class LL a week earlier, wrestled well at the Open. He beat Farmington’s Jeff Fuller in this opening match, 5-1 and pinned Fairfield Warde’s Jordi Proskinitopoulos in 3:23. Feldman prevailed in a tight 6-5 win over Class S champion Adam Patsun of Somers in the semifinals. Tied at 4-4, Feldman got a key takedown in the third period in a 6-5 victory.
Sean Penney (170) had three wins – all by injury default. He was leading in all three matches when he opponents couldn’t continue.
Stone (285) had a tournament of close matches. He won his first two bouts with a 3-2 win over New Haven’s Gabriel Stiles on a third period reversal and a 2-1 win over Farmington’s Vincent Stevens due to a second period takedown.
After a loss to Class M champion Luke Edmondson of Foran in the semifinal and a loss to Notre Dame-Fairfield’s Hakim Fleming, Stone found himself facing Stevens again. For the second time in the tournament, Stone prevailed to finish fifth with a 3-2 win in overtime.
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