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02/09/2019 11:00 PMThe East Haven wrestling team had a busy week that was filled to the brim with achievements. The Yellowjackets finished in second place at the Jonathan Law Invitational, beat Guilford in their regular season finale, and then crowned two victors at the Southern Connecticut Conference Championship. With its win against Guilford, Head Coach Mark Tolla’s squad finished the regular season with a record of 20-5, marking the most wins for the program since 2000.
After defeating the Indians, East Haven competed in the SCC Championship that took place at Jonathan Law High School on Feb. 9. Senior Victor Garcia took the conference title in the 113-pound weight class, while sophomore Matt DiVito finished first in the 120-pound division for the Easties. Garcia earned a 19-4 major decision victory against Ed Barlage of Guilford in his championship match. DiVito won an 8-5 decision against Kyle Davern from Hand to claim the crown.
East Haven also saw junior Tanner DiVito earn a second-place finish in the 138-pound weight class at the SCC meet. Sophomore Dominic Milano took third place in the 106-pound division, and junior Alec DiVito finished fourth in the 132-pound bracket for the Yellowjackets.
As a team, East Haven came in third place among 13 clubs by scoring 101 points at the SCC Championship. Xavier finished first with 199.5 points, while Foran came in second place with 138.5 points.
Garcia won three matches on his way to capturing the SCC title in the 113-pound division. After receiving a first-round bye, Garcia defeated Tanish Joshi of Foran by pin at the 44-second mark of their quarterfinal matchup. Garcia went on to pin Notre Dame-West Haven’s Jeff Bracale at 1:57 in the semifinals, before beating Barlage by a 19-4 score in the title bout.
Matt DiVito also won three matches on his way to capturing his SCC title in the 120-pound bracket. DiVito earned a first-round bye and then defeated PJ Rogers of Fairfield Prep by a technical fall score of 18-2 in the quarterfinals. In the semis, he won by technical fall again, beating Jace Korab of Branford by a 17-2 tally. DiVito secured his title with 8-5 decision victory versus Davern in the final.
Tanner DiVito wrestled in first round of the 138-pound tournament, earning a 23-5 win by technical fall versus Morgan’s Rex Smith to advance to the quarterfinal round, where he defeated Peyton Tracy from Branford on a pin at 1:48. Tanner DiVito beat Tyler Stanko of Foran via a 15-9 decision in the semis, after which he lost by pin to Xavier’s Quinn Moynihan at the 1:50 mark of the final.
Milano received a bye into the quarterfinals of the 106-pound bracket and notched a pinfall victory versus Foran’s Anthony DiPietro in 3:42. He then lost a 10-3 decision in the semifinals. Milano went to the consolation bracket, where he started off by winning by pin at 3:22 versus Aidan McEnaney of Morgan. Milano went up against Colin Bouffard of Amity in the consolation final and won a 9-2 decision to claim third place.
Alec DiVito earned a bye into the quarterfinals of the 132-pound weight class. He won a 10-2 major decision against Branford’s Brendan Shamas to advance to the semis and then lost a 13-2 major decision. In the consolation bracket, DiVito won a 7-0 decision against Amity’s Cole Johnson, before losing the third-place bout by pin at 1:51 mark against Grant Barber of Xavier, resulting in a fourth-place finish.
The Yellowjackets saw several competitors win one match at the SCC Championship. Junior Fabricio Bugatti earned a 9-8 win on a decision in the 152-pound weight class, senior Danny Jarrin won a 3-2 decision in the 160-pound weight class, junior Jesse Borchert earned a victory by pin at 1:03 in the 170-pound weight class, and junior Vincenzo Bunce won by pin at 2:43 in the 182-pound division. Additionally, senior captain Josh Rao earned a victory by pin at 0:44 in the 195-pound weight class, sophomore Gunner Horton prevailed by pin at 2:02 in the 220-pound weight class, and senior captain Armando Castaneda pinned his opponent at the 3:34 mark in the 285-pound division. East Haven also saw sophomore Eric Araujo compete in the 145-pound division at the meet.
Prior to the SCC Championship, East Haven completed its regular season by defeating Guilford 40-31 on Feb. 6. Garcia (113), Matt DiVito (120), Alec DiVito (138), Jarrin (170), Bunce (182), Rao (195), Horton (220), and Castaneda (285) all earned victories to push the Yellowjackets past the Indians and cap off a 20-win campaign.
On Feb. 2, the Yellowjackets earned second place at the Jonathan Law Invitational by scoring 178.5 points. East Haven was right behind winner Joel Barlow, which scored 181 points in the tournament. Garcia (113) and Alec DiVito (132) earned first place for East Haven, while Araujo (138) and Borchert (170) claimed second place in their respective weight classes. Matt DiVito (120) and Horton (220) finished in third place with Milano (106) and Castaneda (285) posting fourth-place finishes.