By Michael Letendre
MIDDLETOWN – The Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern wrestling squads were involved in the competitive Colter Abeley Tournament on Saturday – battling some of the state’s toughest programs while also seeing teams from Rhode Island and Massachusetts – getting an extra dose of competition.
The Lancers led the locals with 63 points – placing 12th overall – while the Rams ended up 15th behind a thirty-two-point showing.
Xavier (234½ points) won its own event, getting by runner-up Simsbury (212½).
Bishop Hendricken (205) from Rhode Island nabbed third place, Guilford (146) took fourth while Trumbull (124) earned fifth.
The Lancers were involved with one championship bout at 160 pounds as Alex Marshall made it to the finals.
In that first-place showdown, Ridgefield’s Andrey Kogygin tallied just one point as Marshall fell in the end via a 1-0 decision.
It was another tremendous showing by the football standout, but he wasn’t the only Eastern grappler that made it to the medal round.
Eastern’s Dylan Piazza battled to the consolation round of 182 pounds but Marcus Tucci of Burlington, Massachusetts ended up taking the match via forfeit.
Finally, in the third-place bout at 138, Central’s Landon Dionne fell to Dylan Levesque of Xavier by a 13-5 decision.
After all the weekend festivities, both Central and Eastern have a busy week coming up.
The Rams hit the road to battle Platt in Meriden on Wednesday at 6 p.m. while on the flip side, Eastern squares off against Berlin from the Thomas M. Monahan Gymnasium in Bristol at 6:30 p.m.
Or, according to a scheduling quirk on the CIAC website, Berlin will compete against Eastern from the Fisher Meadow Softball Fields – in Avon at 6 p.m.
If that’s the case, and the Lancers and Redcoats travel to Avon, bring your coats, hats, mittens, and your flashlights for an outdoor wrestling extravaganza (go to Bristol Eastern that night please…).
Colter Abeley Tournament
At Mercy (Middletown)
Team results – 1. Xavier 234½, 2. Simsbury 212½, 3. Bishop Hendricken, RI 205, 4. Guilford 146, 5. Trumbull 124, 6. Ridgefield 122, 7. Pomperaug 106, 8. Xaverian Brothers-Westwood MA 97½, 9. Fitch 91, 10. Hall 74, 11. Burlington MA 66, 12. Bristol Eastern 63, 13. East Lyme/Norwich Tech 42, 14. Scituate RI 34½, 15. Bristol Central 32, 16. Woodland Regional 12½, 17. Joel Barlow 2, 18. Stonington and Watertown 0
Individual results
138 pounds: 3. Dylan Levesque (Xavier) dec. Landon Dionne (Bristol Central), 13-5
160 pound final: Andrey Kogygin (Ridgefield) dec. Alex Marshall (Bristol Eastern), 1-0.
182 pounds: 3. Marcus Tucci (Burlington) win by forfeit over Dylan Piazza (Bristol Eastern)
