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01/26/2020 11:00 PMThe Morgan wrestling team has made some serious strides with a pretty young club this winter. In their first full season as a member of the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC), the Huskies are currently in first place in the Division 2 standings with their record of 3-0 divisional meets. Last week, Head Coach Darren Hicks’s squad competed at the Shoreline Scuffle at Branford High Schools and came away with a seventh-place finish among 16 squads.
Coach Hicks felt pleased with the Huskies’ result at the Shoreline Scuffle after they improved upon their finish from the previous season. With only a few experienced wrestlers on his roster, Hicks knows that it’s important for Morgan’s younger wrestlers to continue improving.
“As a team we were middle of the pack. We are placing higher as a team, than last year. I wouldn’t say we necessarily had a goal as of placing,” said Hicks, whose team is 3-2 overall. “We just want to progress ahead of last year. We have kids with more years of experience behind them now. Most tournaments we placed higher this year than last year. That’s showing us that we’re progressing.”
The Huskies were bolstered by a first-place finish from junior captain Louis Bradley in the 138-pound division. Bradley has been a major player in Morgan’s success on the mat and at practice.
“Louis has been wrestling since he was a kid. He is ultra-aggressive and in your face. That’s definitely his strength. It intimidates his opponents at times. He’s in great shape. When he’s doing his moves, he can hold them with his strength,” Hicks said. “He’s a vocal guy. He’s a great supporter of the kids and he’s great at tournaments like the Scuffle. He’s also like that in the practice room working with kids.”
Bradley earned first place starting with a first-round bye. In the quarterfinal round, Bradley grabbed a win by pin at the 2:55 mark, and then he won via pinfall again in the semifinal after 2:45. In the first-place bout, Bradley defeated Michael Minevich of Ellington by pin at the 2:21 mark.
Fellow junior Kyle Carse secured a second-place finish to earn the Huskies some points on the day. Carse wrestles in the 106-pound class, and his path to second included a win by pin in the first round at the 0:42 mark, a win by 8-3 decision in the quarters, and another win by pin in the semis at the 3:58 mark. Carse ultimately lost by a 16-2 major decision in the first-place bout to take second. Carse vhas had an impact with his skills this season.
“Kyle’s one of the juniors and he’s been wrestling since he was a freshman. He’s progressed well, and he’s a good, strong, mentally tough kid,” Hicks said. “He keeps himself close, and he’s always in matches. He goes after it. He’s right behind Louis in terms of how aggressive he is. He’s a quiet laid back kid, once he attacks though, he’s very strong.”
One of the younger wrestlers making some great progress for Morgan this season has been Jordan Armstrong, who claimed a second-place finish in the 182-pound division at the Scuffle. Armstrong’s journey started with a bye in the quarterfinal, and he reached the first-place bout with a pin at the 5:29 mark in the semifinal. Armstrong lost by pin in the final round at the 2:26 mark for the second-place finish. Hicks has been very impressed with Armstrong’s improvement over last season.
“Jordan has definitely progressed from last year. He’s a consistent placer in all the tournaments. He’s gotten much better. He struggled a bit last year, and he’s made a huge jump in his abilities,” said Hicks. “He had been out due to illness for a couple weeks, and he only had three practices before the Scuffle. So for him to come in second was great. He’s patient on the mat, and then he’ll attack. He’s more of a defensive wrestler, and he waits his opponents.”
Senior captain Josh Fragola has also been an important voice this season for the Morgan squad. At the tournament, Fragola earned a victory via pinfall at the 2:42 mark in the first round, but then lost in the quarterfinal. Fragola would pick up another win by pin at the 2:01 mark in the consolation bracket, but was ultimately eliminated in the consolation semis.
“Josh is more of a defensive guy, but he balances his offense and his defense,” Hicks said. “He’s not super aggressive. He’s patient and when he sees a window open, he’ll go and attack. He’s a true senior with four years of wrestling under his belt.”
Several other wrestlers also have been pulling in points for the Huskies this season including junior Ryan Hromadka . Hromadka picked up a win by pin at the 2:46 mark in the first round of the 160 division at the Scuffle. Between Hromadka, his fellow juniors with experience, and some competitive sophomores, Morgan is piecing together enough points to get some positive results this year.
“Ryan’s progressed along. He’s been a good kid getting some wins for us,” said Hicks. “We have five juniors that are three year guys that consistently get us points, and we have some sophomores that are digging in and doing that too.”
For the rest of the season, Coach Hicks hope that his team will continue to get better as his grapplers keep gaining more experience. As for the end of the year, Hicks believes that the Huskies can put together a strong showing at the Class S State Tournament.
“There are a lot good Class S Schools. States I’m hoping we can be top ten. There are about 20-plus Class S Schools. That’s our goal for when we walk out of there,” said Hisks. “We don’t see a lot of S schools with our schedule. We’re hoping our kids are hardened from going against M, L, and LL schools. If we can get six kids into the opens with top-6 finishes, then we’ll be pretty happy.”
From the Sidelines
The Morgan wrestling team’s roster includes senior captain Josh Fragola; junior captain Louis Bradley; juniors Evan Baptista, Kyle Carse, Dave Fortuna, Luke Furches, Ryan Hromadka, and Rexford Smith; sophomores Jordan Armstrong, Jacob Bardinelli, Dan Bautista-Gonzalez, Declan Hayes, Kevin Hicks, Ethan Reemsnyder, and Alfredo Supik; and freshmen Chris Carmona, Anderson Darr, Louis Heser, Abel Rodriguez, and Nicholas Spaziano. The team’s managers are seniors Sage Follo and Jenna Scanlon, as well as, freshmen Aurora Smith and Alyssa Supik.
Head Coach Darren Hicks is in his second season leading the Huskies. His assistant coach is John Wolfer.
The Huskies still have home dual meets to come against Jonathan Law and New Haven. Morgan will also do battle on the road with Fairfield Prep, Granby Memorial, Canton, Derby, and Griswold.