With four champions, Canton wins second straight NCCC championship

Canton won their second consecutive NCCC championship on Saturday in Stafford. It was their first back-to-back league titles since winning three in a row from 1995-97.

The Canton High wrestling team is a group not afraid of working hard during the season and in the offseason.

“I don’t have a single wrestler that began wrestling before eighth grade,” Warrior head coach Josh Bristol said on Saturday.

It hasn’t stopped Canton from winning consecutive North Central Connecticut Conference (NCCC) championships. The Warriors had four individual champions and eight finalists as they won the NCCC championship tournament on Saturday in Stafford for the first time since 2019 and captured their second straight league title.

Canton (17-6, 7-0 NCCC) ran the table in the league including a six-point win over Stafford on opening day and outlasted Suffield/Windsor Locks by 25 points for the tournament title.

Two wrestlers won their fourth consecutive league titles – Suffield/Windsor Locks’ Peter Annis (113) and Somers’ Harrison Accorsi (120) while Somers’ William Accorsi (120) won his third straight NCCC championship.

Only six wrestlers in league history have won four consecutive titles and the most recent athlete to do that was Somers’ Jeffrey Suschana in 2018.

Canton’s George Redford (144) won his second straight NCCC title and secured his 100th career victory while teammates Kai-Quintana-Wright (126), Kian Murphy (165) and Thomas Johnson (215) also brought home NCCC championships.

“I’m excited. It’s always great with a long range plan pays off,” Bristol said. Three years ago, he told his freshman that they had potential to be good if they wanted to do the work.

“All of them work in the offseason and they work really hard to be leaders on the team,” Bristol said “They recruit and bring in other kids and that has been a success. We have kids who are enthusiastic and excited about the program and it draws other kids back into the program.”

Hugh Eck (106), Aiden Catalan (132), Grant Chambers (175) and Joaquin Vasquez (190) each finished second while Grant Inlow (150) finished third. Drew Leadbetter (120), Zach Redford (138), Marcos Silva (157) and Lucas Pham (175) each finished fourth.

Catalan dropped a 5-3 decision in triple overtime to Portland/Cromwell’s Adam Dean, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler. The two wrestlers were tied 1-1 after regulation and through the first two OT sessions. In the third and final OT session, both wrestlers were rolling around scoring points.

Murphy had a thrilling win in the finals at 165 with his 13-10 win over Suffield/WL’s Matthew Kielansinski, who had a takedown and put Murphy to his back in the first period to grab a quick 7-0 lead. But Murphy rallied to tie the match at 9-9 after two periods.

“I’ve been really proud of these guys especially in the last half of the season,” Bristol said. “I like how tough they wrestled and how much just keep coming no matter what happens.  They’re down and they just keep working to try and get those points back on the board.”

Canton’s George Redford, center, earned his 100th career victory at Saturday’s NCCC championship tournament in Stafford. Head coach Josh Bristol is on the right.

It was the first time that Canton has won consecutive NCCC championships since they won three in a row from 1995-97. It was the seventh NCCC title for the Warriors, which is No. 2 in league history behind Avon, who won 21 before they left for the CCC following the 2015 campaign.

The Warriors now set their eyes on the upcoming Class S tournament on Friday and Saturday at Killingly. Canton doesn’t likely have a lineup with multiple state champions but the ability to win consolation bracket matches will be key if the Warriors want to contend in the tournament.

“We’re as ready as we will ever be,” Bristol said.

A recent example of this team effort came in last week’s Central Connecticut Conference tournament when New Britain beat Bristol Eastern by a half point for the tournament title. New Britain didn’t have a finalist but they had nine wrestlers wrestling for third and fifth place and five won.

Canton hopes to have senior Jose Rivera back in the lineup. He had to sitout the NCCC tournament with an injury.

2026 North Central Connecticut Conference championships
At Stafford
Team results: 1. Canton 199,2. Suffield/Windsor Locks 174, 3. Stafford 131½, 4. Portland/Cromwell 119½, 5. Rockville 116½, 6. Somers 90½, 7. Granby/East Granby 72, 8. Coventry 8
Individual results
Finals
106 John Bean (Stafford) pin Hugo Eck (Canton), 0:45
113 Peter Annis (Suffield/WL) pin Rohai Alwood (Portland/Cromwell), 1:04
120 William Accorsi (Somers) pin Charles Pospiech (Suffield/WL), 0:53
126 Kai Quintana-Wright (Canton) dec. Nathan Kodzis (Stafford), 11-1
132 Adam Dean (Portland/Cromwell) dec. Aiden Catalan (Canton), 5-3, 3 OT
138 Harrison Accorsi (Somers) pin Deron Daley (Granby/EG), 3:37
144 George Redford (Canton) dec. Benjamin Barlow (Granby/EG), 16-5
150 Demir Sanford-Tolentino (Rockville) pin Seth Ives (Stafford), 2:30
157 Randall Sherman (Rockville) dec. Sullivan Moore (Suffield/WL), 8-6
165 Kian Murphy (Canton) dec. Matthew Kielasinski (Suffield/WL), 13-10
175 Landon Tuttle (Suffield/WL) pin Grant Chambers (Canton), 2:55
190 Cayleb James (Portland/Cromwell) pin Joaquin Vasquez (Canton), 1:27
215 Thomas Johnson (Canton) pin Landon Langlois (Stafford), 2:31
285 Yasin Afrailov (Suffield/WL) pin Samuel Wilcox (Suffield/WL), 3:21
3rd Place
106 Yootha Amponsah-Tei (Rockville) dec. Jasmine Barnaby (Somers), 2-1
113 Ayden Guerra (Somers) pin Blake Palazzesi (Somers), 0:35
120 Dawson Kelleher (Portland/Cromwell) pin Drew Leadbetter (Canton), 0:26
126 Cedrick Hardy (Suffield/WL) pin Jackson Burnham (Somers), 3:41
132 Dominick Sanchez Valle (Rockville) pin Mehmet Caglar (Granby/EG), 2:19
138 Isiah Fleeting (Rockville) dec. Zachary Redford (Canton), 16-13 OT
144 Kaiden Bobskill (Stafford) pin Josh Rosado (Portland/Cromwell), 2:54
150 Grant Inlow (Canton) dec. Timothy Schmutz (Granby/EG), 9-5
157 Laso Kelleh Granby, CT (Granby/EG) pin Marcos Silva (Canton), 2:59
165 Dominic Curnan (Stafford) tech fall Hale Eastman (Somers), 21-5 3:01
175 Ryan McGrew (Portland/Cromwell) pin Lucas Pham (Canton), 1:21
190 Sebastien Fonrose (Rockville) tech fall Cal Thompson (Suffield/WL), 18-0 5:00
215 Nathan Nash (Suffield/WL) pin Ashton Lefebvre (Rockville), 7:21
Outstanding wrestler: Adam Dean (Portland/Cromwell) 132
2026 NCCC championship brackets and results (FloArena)