48°
“This is the time of year that all of the wrestling club teams come out of the woodwork and start aligning themselves in weight classes to see who will be at what weight, we get a good glimpse of how the brackets will align in a few weeks as everyone in the state tries to qualify for the State Open on March 1,'' program director Randy Haus said.
Koy Price, Doug Cahill, Justin Gierum, Nemo Harris, Ryan Monti, Zavier Hernandez, Sam White and Carlo Tucci won gold medals for the Mad Bulls. Strong performances were also logged in by Sam Nieves, Damari Maxam, Nicky Singer, Jason Singer, Colin Falla, Ryan Schneider, Mike Marini, Jacob Gonzales, Phoenix Gardella, Nick Fatone, Johnny Bova, Drew Falla, Asaih Baez, JT Schneider, Tylor Baez, Nick Augeri, Anthony Marini, Jack Cahill, Aiden Donohue, Mikey Bartush, Noah Fraas, Artie Cocchia and Jeff Cocchia. The girls team consisting of Calli Gilchrist, Marianna Hernandez and Madison Marini all continue to make strong gains in their season progress.
Among the best matches was Mad Bull captain Sam White in one of the final ones of the day. In earlier rounds, White pinned Bristol’s Noah Piazza and Killingly veteran Trevor Johnson. In the final, White rallied from a 4-2 third period deficit to nip defending state champion Hunter Adams, 7-4.
"You could just tell Sam was going to have a great day, he was very sharp and wrestled with confidence all day long,'' Haus said.
“Sam is a great team ambassador, he’s always looking out for the young members on the team; usually Sam is the first one to greet them as they come off the mat weather it’s a huge win or devastating loss, he’s got their backs,” coach Art Schad said. "Sam is one of the original 'core four' Mad Bulls that have been with the program since its inception five years ago along with Jakari Walker, and Jeff and Artie Cocchia all whom have tasted post season success at the state level.”
White, an eighth-grader at Nathan Hale Middle School, spoke of his season as a work in progress.
“My coaches and I had some strategy discussions and they got on me about working on my strength on the off season last year,'' White said. "I was reluctant at first, but I finally bought into the concept that I needed to do some extra work on my strength and conditioning, I have always been training with good technique, but this year things are a little different as I am starting to connect the dots and focus more on a balanced approach to my practice schedule and competition."
Click here to follow Daily Voice Norwalk and receive free news updates.
