Updated 11 p.m.: Ryan Jack of Danbury won a New England championship this weekend, going 4-0 in the 120-pound weight class and defeating Jack Darling of Masconomet High School of Mass. 3-1 in the final on Saturday evening.
Jack, who had a technical fall, major decision, and two decisions in his four matches, was trailing 1-0 after two periods, but tied the score with an escape early in the third. He then scored a late, two-point takedown to bring home the crown.
Justin Mastroianni of New Canaan finished second in the 138-pound weight class, winning his first four matches before falling 12-10 to New Milford’s Mel Ortiz in the final. Mastroianni trailed 4-2 after one period, and 7-4 after two, but rallied to close the gap in the third. He went 4-1 with two pins and two decisions at the tournament.
As a league, the FCIAC had nine wrestlers place in the top six at the New Englands, with the Danbury Hatters finishing third in the team standings. Ponaganset, R.I., won the team title with 83, followed by Mt. Anthony, Vt., with 80 points, and Danbury with 75.
New Canaan scored 38 points and was 12th; Warde scored 36 and was 13th; and Westhill scored 25.5 and was 24th.
Here’s the complete list of FCIAC wrestlers who placed.
120: 1 -Ryan Jack, Danbury; and 4 – Chase Parrott, Westhill
126: 2 – Justin Mastroianni, New Canaan
138: 4 – Tyler Sung, New Canaan; and 6 – Matt Ryan, Trumbull
145: 3 – AJ Kovacs, Danbury
160: 5 – Izaake Zuckerman, Warde
170: 4 – Gino Baratta, Danbury
195: 5 – Joe Gjinaj, Warde
Updated, 3 p.m.: Ryan Jack of Danbury and Justin Mastroianni of New Canaan have reached the finals of the New England Wrestling Tournament, which is being held this weekend at the Providence Career and Technical Center in Rhode Island.
Jack will wrestle in the 120-pound final against Jack Darling of Mascomet High School of Mass., while Mastroianni will face Mel Ortiz of New Milford in the 126-pound final.
Jack had an opening-round bye and then won three straight matches to advance to the final. His wins include a 19-9 major decision in the second round, and a 18-1 technical fall in the quarterfinals. In the semis, he edged Christopher Trelli of Bristol Central, 5-3.
Mastroianni is a 4-0 with two pinfalls and two decisions. He won his opening round match 8-3, before scoring pins in 1:50 and 5:30 in the next two rounds. In the semis, Mastroianni defeated Sean Johnson of Ellis Tech, 12-5.
Danbury, the defending team champion, is currently in fifth place with 54 points, while New Canaan is 11th with 33 points, and Warde is 13th with 28 points.
The FCIAC had seven wrestlers reach the New England semifinals. In addition to Jack and Mastroianni, the semifinalists included AJ Kovacs (145) of Danbury, Tyler Sung (138) of New Canaan, Joe Gjinaj (195) of Warde, Chase Parrott (120) of Westhill, and Matt Ryan (138) of Trumbull.
Original Story: The FCIAC has put 10 wrestlers into the championship quarterfinals of the New England Tournament, which is being held this weekend at the Providence Career and Technical Center in Rhode Island.
The quarterfinalists include three wrestlers for the Danbury Hatters, who are bidding for a second straight New England championship. After Friday night’s wrestling, the Hatters have 21.5 points and are in fourth place, 12.5 behind Timberlane, N.H.
The Warde Mustangs are eighth with 16 points; the Westhill Vikings are 13th with 14.5 points; and the New Canaan Rams are 27th with 10 points. All three teams have put two wrestlers apiece in the quarterfinals.
Overall, the FCIAC had 16 wrestlers qualify for the New England tournaments, with 10 still unbeaten, and six losing once on Friday and moving into the consolation bracket.
Danbury’s quarterfinalists include Ryan Jack (120 pounds), who had a first-round bye and then won a major decision in his only match on Friday.
AJ Kovacs (145) and Gino Baratta (170) are also in the quarterfinals, with Kovacs receiving a first-round bye before scoring a pinfall; and Baratta going 2-0 with two decisions.
For Warde, Izaake Zuckerman (160) had an opening-round bye before getting a pinfall victory, and Joe Gjinaj (195) also had a bye and then a pinfall to advance.
Westhill’s Chase Parrott (120) and Thomas Mazur (126) are both 2-0. Parrott won by technical fall and pinfall, while Mazur had a pin and a major decision.
New Canaan’s Justin Mastroianni (126) is 2-0 with a decision and a pin, and Tyler Sung had a bye before winning his next match by decision.
Matt Ryan (138) of Trumbull is also in the quarterfinals, as he went 2-0 with two decisions on Friday.
Wrestling in the consolation bracket are Wilton’s Travis Longo at 106 pounds; Danbury’s Kyle Fields and Warde’s Alex Steele at 132; Ridgefield’s Simon Preston at 160; Trumbull’s Brett Nutter at 195; and Staples’ George Harrington at 285.
