By JASON sHAUGHNESSEY
In a highly anticipated FCIAC match with state level implications the Fairfield Warde wrestling team outpointed the Trumbull Eagles 37-33. Each team won five matches but Warde’s five pins proved to be the difference.
The bout started at 215 where an overmatched Ben Philpott held off as long as he could before giving up the fall to highly ranked Bryan Barnash. At HWT it was an evenly matched bout which could have went either way. Mike Money found himself in a throw position but the strong Zach Voytek won the battle, completing the throw and pinning Mike at 3:24. Another swing match pitted two less experienced wrestlers. In a back and forth match tied 7-7 in the third Trumbull’s Dylan Haviland outlasted and pinned Chris Pecora. At 112 Warde’s freshman Dylan fought hard against Brandon Liscinsky but he proved to be too much. Brandon pinned Dylan at the 2:17 mark. Warde was on the ropes and needed to turn the tide.
Sophomore Danny Almeida did just that. In a battle Danny scored late in the third to push the match to OT. Danny got a takedown late in OT to get the win and give the Mustangs some hope. At 125 Trumbull sent out 3rd ranked David Barber against 6th ranked Pharoh Eaton. Pharoh looked strong dominating the bout and getting the fall closing the gap to 24-9. Senior standout Evan Fraser stepped out against a game David Briganti. Evan controlled the pace of the match putting points on the board and just before finishing a TF Evan secured a needed fall to close the gap to 24-15. Senior James Neamonitis came out again looking for the fall and getting it to bring the match to 24-21. At 140 Casey Stopa found himself in a brawl. The match was back and forth until Casey’s superior conditioning brought the match out of reach. Casey was able to secure late back points to get the major and give Warde their first lead at 25-24. The lead was short lived with Trumbull’s solid 145 Brett Deluca getting the decision and pushing it to 27-25. In another swing match Trumbull outlasted Warde to gain a 5-3 decision moving the score to 30-25. There were 3 bouts left and Warde was the favorite in the next two. If senior Mike Sullivan and Alex Delaney could get the fall the match would be over.
Undefeated Mike Sullivan did his job getting a first period fall. Senior Alex Delaney found himself in a war. Trailing 1-0 in the third it ended fast with Alex turning and tossing his opponent for the fall securing the victory. James Heinzman finished the bout losing a close 6-4 decision ending the match 37-33. The match secured Warde’s 10th in the state ranking beating a strong Trumbull squad (21-3).
Fairfield Warde 37, Trumbull 33
At Fairfield
215: Bryan Barnash (T) pin Ben Philpott 2:33; 285: Zach Voytek (T) pin Mike Money 3:24; 103: Dylan Haviland (T) pin Chris Pecora 4:38; 112: Brandon Liscinsky (T) pin Dylan Bender 2:17; 119: Danny Almeida (FW) dec Joey Aloi 4-2 OT; 125: Pharoah Eaton (FW) pin David Barbar 4:55; 130: Evan Fraser (FW) pin David Briganti 4:45; 135: James Neamontis (FW) pin Tim Douthit 1:44; 140: Casey Stopa (FW) dec Jeff Sam 16-8; 145: Brett Deluca (T) dec Kevin Kollar 8-4; 152: Jimmy Lindine (T) dec Joe Muratori 6-3; 160: Mike Sullivan (FW) pin Stephen Penney 1:40; 171: Alex Delaney (FW) pin Diego Carrillo 4:05; 189: Andrew Marino (T) dec James Heinzman 7-4
Records: Trumbull 21-4, 6-2 FCIAC; Fairfield Warde 14-5
Daily Commentary: A quick bit of scattershooting for a humid day
By ROB SULLIVAN
Just a few peppershots to get things going out here on the Bridgeport Banner website…The state lost a tremendous sports columnist Saturday night when Dave Solomon of the New Haven Register was killed in a one-car crash after his car skidded off I-91 and into a tree. He was returning home from a UConn football practice when the crash occurred. Dave was a joy in the press box and a great writer. His columns were essential reading for Connecticut sports enthusiasts. There is little I can to add to the outpouring of tributes that have been written by some of our state’s finest sportswriters. I’ve tried to read all of them. My sincerest condolences to Dave’s wife Judy and his daughters Abby and Lisa…In the don’t believe everything you read department let’s turn to the Fairfield County Independent and columnist Michael Dunham and his annual rant against the Gathering of the Vibes. Here’s a disclosure for you: I’m the Associate Editor at the Independent and Michael is a friend of fine, but that’s not going to stop me from making a few corrections. Michael asserts that Seaside Park was closed to Bridgeport residents during the four day festival. That’s not true; the beach and picnic areas were open and welcoming park City denizens. Michael says that the extra police and city services were paid for by Bridgeport taxpayers. That’s not true either. That tab was picked up by the Vibes. Michael also claims that the lineup was all white and designed to attract out of state white people and keep minorities away. Well, the opening act of the festival was BRIDGEPORT musician Darian Cumming and he is African American, so what does that tell you? Hey, it’s fine if you don’t like the Vibes Michael, you’re a great musician and I’d love to see you on stage there some day. Just don’t mislead the readers…With John Gomes out of the race now and things getting nastier, shouldn’t we have the WWE sponsor a debate between mayor Bill Finch and Mary-Jane Foster?...The thrilling win the Bluefish pulled off Monday at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard was the best game I have ever seen there. Yet another reason locals should support this team: Good baseball.
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