By Michael Letendre

WILTON -The Class L field in scholastic wrestling is always a loaded one and over Friday and Saturday, both the programs from Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern did well at the annual championship event.

Wrestling was shelved last year due to the pandemic and the locals were eager in hitting the mats at the Class L championships from Wilton high school.

Xavier of Middletown won the title, scoring 318.5 points while runner-up Simsbury chimed in with 234.5.

Both squads are usual state powers in wrestling and the program from Middletown ramped up five first place wins and four second place finishes.

The Trojans had two champs, a single victor for second and third and captured four fourth place finishes.

Eastern finished in ninth place overall with 91 points while Central took 11th, collecting 72 points.

The Lancers tallied one second and two fifth place finishes while the Rams earned a second and a sixth over a busy day of action.

A couple local grapplers were in the finals as Central’s Will Hamilton (120 pounds) and Eastern’s Alex Marshall (160) just missed out on individual state titles.

Hamilton battled Xavier’s Jackson Heslin through three periods, dropping a tough 8-5 decision and then at 160, Edward Barlage (Guilford) just upended Marshall via a 3-2 decision.

The Lancers earned two fifth place titles as Gabe White (126) earned a pin-fall win over Jack Wiesbrock from Daniel Hand in 2:20 while Dylan Piazza (182) pinned Joseph Della Ripa of South Windsor in 1:44.

And then for the Rams, Umar Malick (152) fell to Daniel Hand’s Cameron Chieppo in the fifth place bout – pinned at 3:55 of the second period.

CIAC Class L WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS

at Wilton high school

Team Scores: 1. Xavier 318.5; 2. Simsbury 234.5; 3. Newtown 173.5; 4. New Milford 159; 5. Guilford 142; 6. Stratford 139; 7. Farmington 106; 8. Pomperaug 102.5; 9. Bristol Eastern 91; 10. Daniel Hand 84; 11. Bristol Central 72; 12. South Windsor 66.5; 13. New Canaan 64; 14. Fitch 59; 14. Shelton 59; 16. Maloney 58; 17. Wethersfield 44; 18. Middletown 39; 19. Windsor 38; 20. Wilton 37; 21. Newington 31; 22. Darien 24.5; 23. Harding 23; 24. Cheshire 15

Individual Results

120 pounds

Finals: Jackson Heslin Middletown, CT (Xavier) DEC William Hamilton Bristol, CT (Bristol Central), 8-5

126 pounds

Fifth: Gabe White Bristol, CT (Bristol Eastern) F Jack Wiesbrock Madison, CT (Daniel Hand), 2:20

152 pounds

Fifth: Cameron Chieppo Madison, CT (Daniel Hand) F Umar Malick Bristol, CT (Bristol Central), 3:55

160 Pounds

Finals: Edward Barlage Guilford, CT (Guilford) DEC AlexMarshall Bristol, CT (Bristol Eastern), 3-2

182 Pounds

Fifth: Dylan Piazza Bristol, CT (Bristol Eastern) F Joseph Della ripa South Windsor, CT (South Windsor), 1:44