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01/19/2019 11:00 PMWrestling
The East Haven wrestling team improved to 15-3 by notching a victory against Fairfield Prep on Jan. 15, after which the Yellowjackets turned in a dominating performance to take first place at the Griswold Tournament on Jan. 19. East Haven scored 197 points to top the 17-team field and saw 10 wrestlers finish in the top four of their respective weight classes in the tournament at Griswold High School.
On Jan. 15, the Easties hosted Fairfield Prep and prevailed by a 59-21 final, winning 10 of the 14 matches on the night. Winning via pin for East Haven sophomore Dominic Milano in the 106-pound weight class at the 0:21 mark, along with junior Alec DiVito (132, 1:30), senior Albert Doheny (145, 2:37), senior Danny Jarrin (170, 1:32), junior Vincenzo Bunce (182, 1:04), senior captain Josh Rao (220, 0:57), and senior captain Armando Castaneda (285, 0:46).
Sophomore Matt DiVito won on a 17-4 decision in the 120-pound division, while senior Victor Garcia (113) and junior Tanner DiVito (138) won via forfeit. At the same match, East Haven welcomed the two-man team from West Haven to compete. Tanner DiVito earned an 8-3 decision against one of West Haven’s wrestlers in the 132-pound weight class.
At the Griswold Tournament, Garcia (113), Matt DiVito (120), sophomore Eric Araujo (145), and Rao (195) all grabbed the gold by claiming first place in their respective weight classes. Garcia won a pair of matches by pin, before winning a 12-2 decision against Jake Aldi of Bristol Central in the final. Matt DiVito won his first match by pin and then won via a major decision to reach the final, where he defeated Bristol Central’s Adam Ward by a 7-3 decision.
Araujo won three bouts by pin to advance to the final, where he pinned Nick Maggi of Suffield Academy at the 2:59 mark to take the title. Rao won his first match by pin and then made the final due to an injury forfeit from his opponent in the semis. In the final, Rao won a 13-9 decision over Lucas Wilson-Wuestefeld of Barrington, Rhode Island in what East Haven Head Coach Mark Tolla described as the most exciting championship match of the tourney.
Also for East Haven, Tanner DiVito finished second in the 138-pound weight class, Milano (106) and Alec DiVito (132) took third place, and junior Fabricio Bugatti (152), senior Nick Harrold (160), and Castaneda (285) each posted fourth-place finishes.
Boys’ Basketball
The Yellowjackets split a pair of games by losing to Hand and defeating Branford last week. East Haven, which has a record of 4-6, completed a season sweep of Branford with their win over the Hornets.
East Haven took a 66-44 road loss against Hand on Jan. 15. The Tigers outscored East Haven 18-7 in the second quarter to take a 31-18 lead into halftime on their way to the victory. Sophomore Alias Ford had 18 points for East Haven, while sophomore Ian Reynolds scored 12 points.
The Yellowjackets returned home on Jan. 18 and defeated Branford 54-35. The game was tied at 22 going into the half, but the Easties’ offense exploded during the second half to help them emerge victorious. East Haven held the Hornets to just 13 points in the second half, while scoring 16 points in both the third and fourth quarters. Senior Nate Furino netted 17 points for the Yellowjackets, who saw Ford, senior Jason Gieparda, and junior Shane Franklin contribute eight points apiece.
Boys’ Ice Hockey
The East Haven co-op ice hockey squad lost a pair of games last week to move to 5-6-1 on the season. On Jan. 16, East Haven dropped a 4-3 overtime decision against Newtown in a non-conference game at Danbury Ice Arena. Three days later, the Yellowjackets took a 5-1 defeat against Guilford in a Southern Connecticut Conference/South-West Conference Division II matchup at DiLungo Rink.
Against Newtown, Old Lyme junior Alec Speirs recorded a hat trick by scoring three goals for East Haven. Old Saybrook sophomore Cory Benni, East Haven senior Chris Giglietti, Valley Regional senior Ricky Persico, and East Haven sophomore Dave Amatruda each had one assist in the defeat.
In the Guilford game, Amatruda scored the first goal of the day to put the Yellowjackets up 1-0, but the Indians came back with five unanswered goals to walk away with the win.
Girls’ Indoor Track
Sophomore Kisha Francois scored points in both the 55-meter dash and the long jump to help the Yellowjackets finish in 16th place with 13 points scored at the SCC Coaches Invitational, which was held at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on Jan. 19.
In the 55, Francois qualified for the finals by placing second in the preliminary heat with a time of 7.52 seconds. Francois bettered her time to a 7.41 in the final, finishing second and scoring eight points for East Haven. Later at the meet, Francois placed fourth in the long jump with a distance of 17 feet-1.75 inches, scoring five points,
Freshman Emily Mazzucco placed 12th in the 300-meter dash with a time of 45.83 seconds at the meet. Sophomore Samantha Franceschi finished 20th in the 55 by timing in with a mark of 8.05 seconds.
Boys’ Outdoor Track
East Haven sent some athletes to compete at the SCC Coaches Invitational last week.
Senior Steve Johnson finished ninth in the long jump with a leap of 19 feet-7 inches for the Yellowjackets. Johnson also competed in the 300, where he placed 27th with a time of 39.33 seconds. Junior Nathan Santos finished 13th in the long jump (19-1.5). Senior Evan Damian placed 13th (8.57) in the 55-meter hurdles, and junior Ian Loehmann finished 23rd in the event at 8.98.