Hawk Wrestlers Battle In State Championships

By Andy Hutchison

SHELTON — Newtown High School’s wrestling team placed 18th among 26 schools competing in the Class LL State Championships at Shelton High School on February 19 and 20. Danbury won the championship with 209.5 points.

Although the Nighthawks would have preferred to do better, there were some shining moments at the competition.

Nick Crudo earned fifth place in the 103-pound weight class and Joe Pieretti placed sixth in the 140 division.

Ian McEvoy, the seventh seed in the 130-pound weight class, avenged a regular-season loss to Greenwich High’s Victor Ceiro, the tenth seed, for a 5-0 win in the first round of 16. “He was able to hold off [Ceiro’s]  attempts to turn Ian,” Newtown Coach Alan Potter said.

It has also been a bit of a rough end to the campaign for Newtown. Will Northrup left the state championships with a head injury. Potter said it was the official’s discretion but called the level of physical nature of Northrup’s opponent questionable. The week before, in the South-West Conference Championships, Brian Kuruc was injured and sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament, torn lateral and collateral ligaments, and torn biceps tendon. Kuruc was in attendance at the state finals, cheering his teammates on from the edges of the mats.

“It’s a very physical sport, so you have to be ready for it,” Potter said. “Sometimes you’re on the receiving end and sometimes you’re on the delivering end.”

Potter said, the disappointment of the late-season injuries aside, this season was a tremendous success. Newtown had more than 20 wins in the regular campaign.

“I think we exceeded our expectations,” Potter said.