WILTON – The road has been long, and it’s once again led to the top for the Xavier wrestling team.
Honed by a regular-season gauntlet that saw them travel as far away as Wisconsin to take on top out-of-state competition, the Falcons brought it all back home on Saturday with another CIAC Class L wrestling championship at Wilton High School.
It was the sixth straight Class L crown for the Falcons, who will look to land their fifth consecutive State Open next weekend at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.
On this Saturday, Xavier was led by individual champions Josh Perez (103 pounds), Treydan Beam (113), Zack Dizon (120) and Braylon Gonzalez (144).
The four cover the full range of experience, underscoring just how solid Xavier has been and just how strong its future appears. Perez and Beam are both freshmen. Dixon, a junior, is a repeat champion. Gonzalez, a senior, made it a Class L grand slam, winning his fourth title.
Gonzalez is the first four-time state champion in Xavier history.
“We have a standard and we have expectations,” said Xavier coach Mike Cunningham. “It’s about the hard work and how we represent ourselves and the program and the school. It all compiles into one thing.”
Heading into the postseason, Class L was considered the toughest of this year’s four classes. An already bruising bracket was buttressed by the arrival of Fairfield Warde, which raised the last two Class LL banners. Newtown, second to Xavier in each of the last two State Opens and Class L tournaments, was also in mix.
But with 256 points, Xavier out-scored both. Warde was second at 181.5, Newtown third at 156.
“We don’t really talk about winning; we just talk about putting in the work in the wrestling room,” Cunningham said. “We have a really hard schedule, so we battle throughout the entire year and try to make all the bricks pile on top of each other so by the time we get to the postseason we’re able to perform.”
In the finals, the Falcons flew out of the gate by taking the first three bouts. Perez (19-3) and Dixon (16-1) both won by technical falls. In between, Beam pocketed a 5-3 decision. Gonzalez, in a neat bit of symmetry, pinned to win 144 in 1:44.
“I always say this: God by my side. That’s the only way I was able to accomplish this, with God and the work that me and my team put in,” Gonzalez said. “Everyone on the team, everyone has a part to play. The coaches are amazing, and amazing teammates that push me.”
Warde’s second-place finish in the team standings was driven Jude Grammatico and Dylan O’Brian. Grammatico, a Class LL champ a year ago, won at 132 via a 17-1 tech fall. O’Brian rang up a 12-7 decision over Xavier’s Chase Catalano at 190.
Newtown also had a pair of champions: Antonio Arguello and Jake Maddox. Arguello pinned in 38 seconds to wrap up the 157-pound division. Maddox got past Xavier’s Vincent Rivera 7-4 at 175.
Conard’s Harry Marino won a second straight Class L title with 19-1 tech fall at 165.
In other championship matches, Mael Pierre-Paul of Bunnell captured 126 with a 15-4 major decision, while Simsbury’s Giuliano Sirianni continued his undefeated season with a 7-1 victory at 138.
Middletown’s Isaiah McDaniel defeated Bristol Central’s Alex Lamarre 10-3 in a spirited 150 final. Lamarre, still only a junior, had one of the most dramatic victories at last year’s Class L tournament.
Augie Furman won one for the home team. The Wilton junior scored an 8-0 shutout at 215 and, in his exuberance, took down a couple of his coaches in the post-match celebration.
East Lyme’s Jacob Palermo posted a pin in 1:54 to win heavyweight to close the show – at least on the mat.
There were still medals to be awarded and a championship team photo to be taken. Xavier knows exactly where to stand for that.
This article originally published at Xavier extends wrestling dynasty with sixth straight CIAC Class L team championship.
