Avon’s Jack St. Onge turns Simsbury’s Matthew Parker to his back in Thursday night’s CCC match in Avon. The Falcons won, 48-30.
AVON, Dec. 17 – After the ear-piercing decibel level and cheering had stopped, Avon High coach John McLaughlin took a second to catch his breath. His Falcons made their debut in the Central Connecticut Conference Thursday night after spending more than 30 years in the North Central Connecticut Conference.
Avon faced long-time rival Simsbury and built a 21-point lead after six matches only to see the Trojans win four straight bouts to take a three-point lead. But Avon won the final four matches, including two tight decisions, to beat No. 10 Simsbury for the first time since 2010 with a 45-30 decision.
After three straight pins – all under 45 seconds, Simsbury had its first lead of the night at 30-27. But senior Jack St. Onge, who is scheduled for surgery in two weeks to repair a meniscus tear in his knee, picked up a key win by pin at 170 pounds to put Avon back in front, 33-30.
At 182 pounds, Avon’s Blake Edwards trailed Simsbury’s Luke Sals for the entire match. However, trailing by two points in the third period, Edwards put Sals on his back with about 40 seconds remaining. He picked up three near fall points at the buzzer for a 5-4 decision to extend the Avon lead to 36-30.
Avon senior Justin Nastri clinched the match for Avon with a 6-4 win over Nicholas Gugliotti at 195 pounds. Trailing by one after two periods, Nastri got a one-point escape early in the third period and got a two-point takedown to secure the win.
St. Onge, Edwards, Nastri and Michael Gutierrez (220) were each wrestling up a weight class, giving up as much as 10 pounds to their opponent. “It takes a lot of guts to wrestle someone 10 pound heavier that you and we didn’t quit,” Avon coach John McLaughlin said.
Simsbury’s Keith Penney keeps the pressure on Avon’s Alex Wyatt in their match at 160 pounds. Penney won by pin.
McLaughlin was thrilled with his team’s performance. The Falcons were missing two starters from the lineup – Marvyn Esobar (195) and Sam Fusaro (138). “Seriously, I didn’t expect this (win),” he said. “I haven’t more proud of a team in a long time. They just scrapped tonight. Whether we are a better team than Simsbury, I don’t know. But we were here to wrestle tonight. My guys didn’t quit.”
Simsbury was missing Sean Penney, who won a medal at last year’s Class LL championships due to an injury. “We’re a young team,” first-year coach T.J. Silva said. “We have a few guys who will make some noise at the end of the year. But we’re starting out again. We made some rookie mistakes. Guys aren’t in their right weight classes yet. We have a lot of work to do.”
The gym was rocking and the noise was piercing at times.
“That was a lot of fun,” McLaughlin said. “It was a great atmosphere. A lot of people were in the gym and it was loud. This is the kind of match that gets people excited about wrestling. That’s the kind of thing we need in our sport.”
Simsbury took a 6-0 lead when Jasper Stone pinned Avon’s Dean Zacchio but at 106 pounds, Avon’s Alex Rostenberg prevailed in a battle of two freshmen, pinning Alden Brown in 2:30. A pin by Avon’s Anthony Tripodi (120) and a pair of forfeits gave Avon a 24-6 lead. Ryan Farrell’s 8-4 decision at 132 pounds over Simsbury’s Xavier Jimenez extended the lead to 21 points, 27-6.
After an Avon forfeit, Simsbury’s Joshua Kowalski (145) won by pin in 15 seconds, State Open champion Keith Fernandes (152) won by pin in 45 seconds and Keith Penney (160) won with a 37-second pin. That gave Simsbury a 30-27 advantage.
NOTES: While this is Avon’s first year in the CCC, they are long-time rivals with Simsbury. The Trojans had won the last three matches of the series from 2011-13. Since 1996, Simsbury holds a 13-4 edge in the series. … St. Onge’s doctor gave him permission to wrestle saying he couldn’t do any additional damage to his injured knee. … Simsbury wrestles in the CCC West while Avon is the CCC North division.
Avon 45, Simsbury 30
At Avon
285: Jasper Stone (S) pin Dean Zacchio, 1:54; 106: Alex Rostenberg (A) pin Alden Brown, 2:30; 113: Abhi Bhabad (A) forfeit; 120: Anthony Tripodi (A) pin Logan Burnette, 0:47; 126: Justin Meador (A) forfeit; 132: Ryan Farrell (A) dec. Xavier Jimenez, 8-4; 138: Elijah Eckert (S) forfeit; 145: Joshua Kowalski (S) pin Andrew Sides, 0:15; 152: Keith Fernandes (S) pin Jack Coleman, 0:45; 160: Keith Penney (S) pin Alex Wyatt, 0:37; 170: Jack St. Onge (A) pin Matthew Parker, 2:05; 182: Blake Edwards (A) dec. Luke Sals, 5-4; 195: Justin Nastri (A) dec. Nicholas Gugliotti, 6-4; 220: Michael Gutierrez (A) pin Colin Vincent, 1:47
Records: Avon 1-0, Simsbury 0-1
You must be logged in to post a comment Login