East Haven Wrestling Finishes First at the Hand Duals
The East Haven wrestling team kept its momentum going by having a big week that saw the Yellowjackets claim five victories, including four wins during their first-place finish at the Hand Duals. The Easties now stand with an overall record of 14-4 on the season.
Head Coach Mark Tolla feels thrilled about how far East Haven has come these past few years. Tolla, who was previously an assistant coach, is in his first year at the helm of the Yellowjackets after trading places with former Head Coach Lou Rivellini, who is now an assistant.
“Our first practice our years ago, we had eight kids. We look this year, and we had 37 kids our first day,” said Tolla. “This is awesome. This is what we envisioned when we took over.”
On Jan. 8, East Haven hosted non-conference opponent Northwestern and prevailed 52-28. The Yellowjackets won nine of the 14 bouts at the meet to get the victory. Winning via pin for the Easties were senior Victor Garcia in the 113-pound weight class at the 1:00 mark; along with junior Fabricio Bugatti (152, 1:12), senior Danny Jarrin (170, 0:15), junior Vincenzo Bunce (182, 1:38), and sophomore Gunner Horton (220, 2:26). Junior Alec DiVito won a 14-3 decision in the 132-pound division, while sophomore Dominic Milano (106), sophomore Matt DiVito (120), and senior Albert Doheny (145) each won by forfeit.
Four days later, the Yellowjackets traveled to Daniel Hand High School in Madison to compete at the Hand Duals. East Haven won all four of its matches to take first place on a day that saw Garcia earn the 100th victory of his high school career. Coach Tolla was impressed that the Yellowjackets took the title in a tournament that featured a plethora of great wrestlers from around the state.
“As a coach, I love the dual tournaments because...there are so many little things behind the scenes with strategy, who you put out, and the coin flip. It’s us doing our homework and putting our guys in a good situation to win,” Tolla said. “Our lineup allows us the flexibility of moving guys around, so we can compete with top-10 teams and be successful. As a coach, I love that part the most. I love studying the other team and putting our kids in the best position to be successful. Sure, it comes down to the kids on the mat producing, and our kids have done an amazing job.”
The format for the Hand Duals featured a pair of four-team round-robin tournaments that culminated with the two winners squaring off in the final. East Haven swept its first three matches by topping (Wilton 81-0), Maloney (63-18), and Hand (36-31) to advance to the championship, where the Yellowjackets posted a 38-30 victory versus Wethersfield to win it.
Coach Tolla felt proud of his squad for beating Hand the second time this season. East Haven had previously earned a 41-24 victory over the Tigers on Dec. 12, but Tolla said that this win was bigger.
“From my standpoint, Hand was the strongest team there. People were telling me we haven’t beaten Hand in 10 or 15 years,” said Tolla. “To me, [the win at the Hand Duals] was more important [than the first one] because, when you can beat a quality program like Hand twice in one season, once can be an accident, but the second time means we’re doing quality things in our room.”
Hand stormed out to an early lead against East Haven, but the Yellowjackets displayed their grit by battling back to get the victory.
“The way the match started, we were down 25-7. We had to face adversity to win,” Coach Tolla said. “A few years ago, we couldn’t dig deep like that. I think the belief now is that we’re pretty good. If we work hard, we can compete with most programs in the state.”
In the final, East Haven’s biggest highlight came in the 220-pound bout, where Horton earned a 7-3 victory via decision to score the necessary points to put the match out of reach.
“Unlike the Hand match, we jumped out early and held on, as they had a fierce comeback. We knew the 220 match would be key, and Gunner did a good job,” Tolla said. “He controlled the match, and we felt confident throughout that he’d win.”
Garcia went 4-0 on the day, winning three matches by pin and the fourth on a decision. Garcia notched career victory No. 100 by pinning his opponent from Maloney, then picked up two more wins in the tournament.
“Victor was very workmanlike. He went out and dominated,” said Coach Tolla said. “He had a tremendous day. Nobody is going to say he wrestled the top kids in the state, but he stepped up in the moment, and closed out his matches for the team.”
Also recording four victories for East Haven at the Hand Duals were Milano (106), Alec DiVito (132 and 138), Bugatti (152 and 160), Jarrin (160 and 170), and senior captain Josh Rao (195 and 220).
“Josh Rao bumped up a weight class against Hand and defeated their 220 by technical fall,” Tolla said. “Wrestling through an injury, he’s a tough kid. That’s what a captain and senior leader does. Danny Jarrin is another senior who was fantastic and won matches back-to-back against Hand and Wethersfield.”
Earning three wins for the Easties at the meet were junior Matt DiVito, Horton, and senior captain Armando Castaneda (285).