The Newtown Youth Wrestling Association retained its Western Connecticut League Championship, hosted by the Danbury Police Athletic League on January 28.

Newtown’s squad earned the team trophy in unprecedented fashion, with all 12 of its selected wrestlers earning first place for a perfect score of 71. Runner-up Danbury finished with 47 and New Milford 45. Participating teams select a dozen wrestlers before the competition — four representing the Elementary School squad, four from the Middle School lineup, and four from either of the two — whose points count toward the team total.

From the individual standpoint, Newtown had 84 competitors, 64 of whom placed (top four) despite strong competition in the eight-person brackets. Newtown dominated with 21 individual champions, 16 runner-up grapplers, 14 to finish third, and 13 more who came in fourth.

Champions: Ben Weintraub, Chase Ibbitsion, Matthew Iacuone, Allen Gaudenzi, Camron Veneziano, Drake Oatis, Benjamin Atkas, Joesph Skura, Keegan Rosenschein, Maddox Wilson, Callum Carl, Dean Macaluso, Gunner Fournier, Hunter Fowler, Joey Bartolic, Dom Smeraglino, Jake Fattibene, Noah Blair, Owen Blair, Rion Lena, and Ryder Symes.

Second: Charlie Langenus, Jacob Kennedy, Wyatt Fournier, Blake Deloge, Nick Morelli, Silas Houston, Alex Carrozza, Eli Metcalf, Matthew Gaudenzi, Tyler San Souci, Christian Olteanu, Colton Girgenti, John Paul Laake, Daniel Candullo, Erich Metzker, and Zach Schwartz.

Third: Alex Jaquez, Jared Freeman, Luca Guagliano, Drew Van Scotter, Evan Emard, Linus Jura, Clark Anderson, Emmie Ibbitson, Joey Guagliano, Lincoln Giannetta, Liam Carl, Luke Piccirillo, and Micah Houston.

Fourth: Evan Huber, Gavin Forde, Karoline Cash, Valentino Montero, Vinny Franzago, Gregory Troiano, Riley White, Athan Arnold, Isla Kiney, Luke Anderson, Oliver Angelovic, Owen Richman, and Jarvis Kriauciunas.

“I am thrilled at the level of skills achieved by our new young wrestlers in such a short time. Combined with our experienced youth wrestlers and the excellent coaching staff, this team peaked at the right time and believed that with hard work, commitment, and trust in our core values, we could bring another championship home to Newtown,” Head Coach Curtis Urbina said.

Getting back to the pinnacle took a lot of hard work in practice followed by tremendous efforts in battles on the mats.

“The competition was tough this year and there is no doubt that we were the team to beat, so our opponents came at us hard this year. The past few weeks we challenged our wrestlers in the practice room and through hard work, sheer determination, and even some tears, they found out that they were not only prepared but ready to rip up to the competition. We are so proud of them and their parents for trusting the process,” Urbina added.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.