Bobcat Wrestlers Take 6th at SWC Tournament

The Southwest Conference Wrestling tournament was held at Brookfield High School (BHS) on Friday and Saturday.  The New Milford Green Wave, the top ranked wrestling team in the state, finished first with 250.50 points.  New Milford had eight No. 1 seeds in the tournament and had 11 wrestlers make it to the semi-final round.  The Brookfield Bobcats wrestling team took sixth place at the tournament with 99.50 points. 

The Bobcats had a successful regular season finishing with an 8-4 record, which was good for fourth overall in the SWC.  They finished second place in the Patriot Division behind Oxford.

Brookfield was led by Mike Delvalle and Jack McKeever, who both were the champions of their respective weight classes.  The Bobcats were in third place entering the final day of the tournament. 

“A lot of the first day matches went the way we figured they would go,” according to Brookfield coach Brian Hayes. “Our newer guys: they lost in the first rounds because they had the hardest matches.  Most of our guys who have been wrestling for awhile were able to advance as they were supposed to.” 

Delvalle took the 135 pound championship with a 8-4 decision over Ian Curtis of New Milford.  Paul Chavez of Oxford took third by pinning Masuk’s Tony Pluchino at 2:01.

McKeever continued the winning for the Bobcats in the 140 pound class with a 7-0 decision over New Milford’s Kameron Bradshaw.  Steve Persson of Oxford scored a 15-3 major decision against Masuk’s Ray Laudato of Masuk, which earned him third place.

At the 103 pound class, favorite Conor Kirkegard of New Milford pinned Eddie Krtyanskiy of Pomperaug in 1:14.  Adam Polverari of Masuk won the consolation round against Michael Aleman of Bunnell to take third place by pinning him in 1:23.

In the 112 weight class, Alex Thalassinos of New Milford was the champion, and defeated Newtown’s Nick Crudo by a 10-2 major decision.  Dimitri Hatzi of Bethel placed third with a 14-2 major decision over Masuk’s Mike Burgos.

In the 119 pound class, Tyler Monroe of New Milford defeated Kevin Murat of Stratford with a 3-2 decision.  Gibrian Martinez won the third place battle with a 18-7 major decision over Eric Gadski of Pomperaug. 

In the 125 pound class, New Milford’s Nick Amorando pinned Ryan Ing of Bunnell at 3:00.  Sam Weiner of Newtown defeated A.J. Klein of Bethel with a 3-1 decision. 

At 130 pounds, Tim Brown of Masuk was the first to take the top spot from a New Milford wrestler, when he defeated Andrew Golden with a 9-4 decision. Aedan Kennedy of Oxford won a close 1-0 decision against Pomperaug’s Ryan Ahearn to take third place.

Will Bonagura of Bethel defeated Anthony Terlizzi of New Milford with a pin at the 1:40 mark to win the 145 pound division.  Bonagura was named Most Outstanding wrestler of the tournament for his efforts throughout.  Will Sheehy of Pomperaug took third with a pin of Newtown’s Joe Pieretti in 3:42.

New Fairfield’s Mickey Amorando earned their only win of the tournament in the 152 pound division.  He scored a 12-6 decision over Mark Mason of Masuk.  Evan Renner of New Milford defeated Christopher Deisenroth of Immaculate with a 7-5 decision to place third.

Brian Santiago of Stratford took first in the 160 pound class with a 12-7 decision over Will Northrup of Newtown.  Keenan Owens of New Milford placed third with a 3-1 decision over Macuk’s Zack Pirulli.

New Milford got back to their winning ways with the 171 pound class.  Karl Bradshaw got a narrow win over Newtown’s Cory Fisher in a 11-10 decision.  Brookfield’s Shea McGorty fought hard, but was pinned by Alex Cieply of Pomperaug at 4:18 to take fourth place.

Weston’s only top finisher of the tournament was Carmine Magnoli at 189 pounds.  He took first with a 5-2 decision over Aaron Nezvesky of Newtown.  Brookfield’s Joel Wamser took third place with a 5-0 decision over Masuk’s Kyle Hoskins.

Pomperaug’s top finisher was Ian Jones in the 215 pound division.  He scored a 3-1 overtime decision over Masuk’s Erick Tucker.  John Burns of New Milford needed two matches to finally defeat Alex Van Hoof of Brookfield. Burns won with a 5-0 decision to take third place.  Van Hoof had defeated Burns in the preliminary rounds with a pin at 2:57.

Bethel’s Chris Valenti, who recently signed his NLI to play football at Harvard in the fall was the top finisher in the 285 pound division.  He pinned Immaculate’s Justin Waltzer in 1:24.  Joey Amorando of New Fairfield took third with a pin of Will Morlock of Newtown at 3:10.

Full Team Results:

SWC Championships 2010-2011
Brookfield High School
February 11 - 12, 2011

1. New Milford  250.50
2. Masuk  135.00
3. (tie) Newtown  135.00
4. Pomperaug  125.00
5. Bethel  102.00
6. Brookfield   99.50
7. Oxford   74.0
8. Stratford   73.00
9. New Fairfield   65.00
10. Immaculate   62.00
11.  11.  Bunnell   55.00
12.  12.  Weston   31.00

Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament  Will Bonagura, 145 lbs, Bethel

SWC Career Wrestler  Nick Amorando, 119 lbs, New Milford