Simsbury finishes second to Cougars at Frank Chaves Invitational; Avon takes 4th

Haddam-Killingworth’s David Wyzykowski, left, works hard to get reversal in the final against Simsbury’s Nick Gugliatti at 182 pounds at the Frank Chaves Invitational in Simsbury.

SIMSBURY, Dec. 27 – Simsbury High wrestling coach T.J. Silva is anxiously awaiting the arrival of another three more wrestlers into the starting lineup.

Silva is hoping that seniors Matt Parker (152), Luke Salls (170) and Jasper Stone (275) return from injuries next week. Stone was third at the State Open and the Class LL championships last February. Salls was second at 170 in Class LL.

Still, the Trojans were still able to finish second at their own Frank Chaves Invitational for the third consecutive season. Haddam-Killingworth won a tournament for the second time in school history and beat Simsbury, 180-143.

The visiting Cougars had two individual champions – outstanding wrestler Grayson Adler (160) and Dave Wyzykowski (182) – along with another five wrestlers who finished in the top three of their respective weight classes.

Granby, with Cooper Fleming (145) and Ben Kibby (170) winning individual weight classes, finished third – its best-ever finish in the 30th annual tournament. Fleming won with three pins while Kibby outlasted Avon’s Blake Edwards in the final, 7-1. The Bears beat neighboring Avon by 1½ points, 133½  to 132.

Simsbury (1-2, 0-1 CCC West) opened the season with an exciting come-from-behind win over Avon, 42-39. But the Trojans ran into tough teams, dropping a 58-24 decision to Southington and a 63-15 loss to No. 1 Danbury two days before Christmas.

“Today was an improvement after wrestling Southington and Danbury,” Simsbury coach T.J. Silva said. “We’ve seen a lot of growth and we’re starting to figure out how to wrestle the way we want to them to wrestle. We’re scoring points and we’re getting better every day.”

Josh Kowalski (138) and Jackson King (195) each won titles for Simsbury. Kowalski won by pin in 48 seconds in the final while King was too much for Maloney’s Nick DeBaise in a 15-6 victory. Nick Gugliatti (182) finished second while Aiden Brown (113) finished third.

Haddam Killingworth is thrilled to take home the championship trophy from the Frank Chaves Invitational in Simsbury.

As a team that doesn’t belong to a conference in wrestling, Haddam-Killingworth (1-0) had trouble scheduling dual meet contests. But second-year head coach Nick Adler has every weekend booked for the Cougars at tournaments. The team isn’t afraid to wrestle with the larger schools in the state.

Grayson Adler, Nick’s younger brother, dominated with three pins all under one minute. Wyzykowski earned a 7-3 victory over Gugliatti in the final at 182. Jake Frith (145) and Aiden Korper (152) finished second while Matt Jenkins (132), Zack Wyzykowski (126) and Justin Popp (145) each finished third.

It’s the first tournament win for Haddam Killingworth since winning the Lawless Invitational at Nonnewaug in Woodbury in 2015.

Avon (0-2, 0-1 CCC North) had three finalists – Blake Edwards (170), Alex Rostenberg (113) and Vinny Bonalumi (285) each finished second while Mike Lancaster (220) was third. Jack Coleman (160) and Abi Bhabad (106) each took third place.

Simsbury returns to the mat on Friday with a big meet at Trumbull before hosting New Britain next Wednesday night. On January 7, Simsbury will head to the Fairfield Warde tournament.

Avon hosts Conard, Plainville and Canton on Friday and Glastonbury next Wednesday night. On January 7, the Falcons will go to the Bristol Central Tournament.

Granby will go to the Agawam, Mass., tournament on Friday and then host Canton next Wednesday.

Frank Chaves Invitational
At Simsbury
Team results – 1. Haddam Killingworth 180, 2. Simsbury 143, 3. Granby 133½, 4. Avon 132, 5. Conard 128, 6. Bristol Central 121, 7. Pomperaug 109, 8. New Britain 105, 9. Amity 100½, 10. Newington 65, 11. Suffield and HK B 42, 13. Maloney 41, 14. Chase Collegiate-Watebury 40, 15. Amity B 21, 16. Maloney B 20, 17. Simsbury B 16, 18. Newington B 8, 19. Simsbury C 6, 20. Watertown and Suffield B 3
Individual results
106: Chris Trelli, Bristol Central dec. Christian Chadwick, Amity, 19-6; 3. Jacob Zotti, Newington pin Abi Bhabad, Avon, 4:14
113: Aiden Hebert, Amity dec. Alex Rostenberg, Avon, 16-0; 3. Aiden Brown, Simsbury pin Emilio Cruz, Newington, 4:35
120: Jeffrey Fleming, Granby dec. Jordyn Rowe, New Britain, 17-2; 3. William Bianchi, Chase pin Griffin Reid, Conard, 1:36
126: Tyler Savluk, Newington dec. Steven Muller, Granby, 1-0; 3 (tie) Kevin McDonald, Chase and Zack Wysykowski, Haddam-Killingworth (5-match rule)
132: Demetre Carnot, Maloney pin Kyle Sheehan, Pomperaug, 3:16; 3. Matt Jenkins, Haddam-Killingworth, 6-0
138: Josh Kowalski, Simsbury pin Adrian Ardon, Conard, 0:48; 3. Hunter Ames, Suffield def. Dan Germain, Pomperaug forfeit
145: Cooper Fleming, Granby pin Jake Frith, Haddam-Killingworth B, 1:30; 3. Justin Popp, Haddam-Killingworth dec. Jack Montgomery, Simsbury, 12-1
152: Matt Pangle, Pomperaug pin Aiden Korper, Haddam-Killingworth, 1:35; 3. Antonio Masse, Conard dec. William Hauser, Granby, 4-3
160: Grayson Adler, Haddam-Killingworth pin Tim Cocchiola, Pomperaug, 0:58; 3. Eric Rodonis, Conard dec. Jack Colman, Avon, 5-3
170: Ben Kibby, Granby dec. Blake Edwards, 7-1; 3. Nate Morrisey, Amity dec. Dan DaCuhna, Conard, 6-0
182: David Wyzykowski, Haddam-Killingworth dec. Nick Gugliatti, Simsbury, 7-3; 3. Mike Paloka, Bristol Central pin Isaiah Medina, New Britain, 0:41
195: Jackson King, Simsbury dec. Nick DeBaise, Maloney B, 15-6; 3. Connor Staubley, Bristol Central pin Trevor Hines, Haddam-Killingworth, 0:48
220: Dylan Forstburg, Conard pin Mike Guzman, Bristol Central, 1:03; 3. Mike Lancaster, Avon dec. Antrim Lottick, Amity B, 13-4
285: Kevon Davis, New Britain pin Vinny Bonalumi, Avon, 4:38; 3. Jacob Ryor, Conard pin Justin Griffon, Amity, 2:20
Outstanding wrestler: Grayson Adler, HK (160)
Fast fall: Kevin McDonald, Chase (126) 4 pins in 10:50