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This page was last updated on: December 3, 2017
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Former Middletown wrestler Richard Perry second at U.S. Open
LAS VEGAS, April 29 – Former Middletown High wrestler Richard Perry finished second at the U.S. Open championships Saturday night at South Point Arena and earned an invitation to compete at the upcoming U.S. world championship trials tournament.
The top seven finishers at the U.S. Open qualify for the trials on June 9-10 in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Perry, ranked No. 3 in the country, won his first four matches of the men’s senior freestyle tournament at 86 kg (189 pounds) before losing to No. 2 David Taylor by technical fall, 10-0. Taylor has won 16 straight matches at the senior level and was named the outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Taylor won three matches by technical fall and had a pin in the tournament.
The last time the two men met, Taylor outlasted Perry, 8-5 to win the Paris Grand Prix International tournament in January.
At the U.S. Open, Perry won his first two matches by technical fall, 10-0, in 4:03 and 3:05, respectively. In the quarterfinals, he beat Timothy Dudley, 7-1 and in the semifinals, Perry beat Penn State sophomore and current NCAA champion Bo Nickal, 11-8.
It was Perry’s best-ever finish at the U.S. Open. In 2016, he finished fifth.
At the world team trials in Nebraska, Taylor and Perry will be in the challenge tournament. The winner will face No. 1 J’den Cox for the spot on the U.S. team at world championships.
Cox is a three-time NCAA champion from the University of Missouri who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. Cox has a bye into the best-of-three final against the challenge tournament winner.
Perry graduated from Middletown High in 2008, where he wrestled for two seasons. As a senior, he won the Class L and State Open title at 215 pounds and was second in New England. In 2009, he spent a year at Hyde-Woodstock and finished second in New England (215). He wrestled for four years at Bloomsburg State (2011-14), qualifying for the NCAA Tournament three times and posting a career record of 110-30.
Four state wrestlers earn All-American honors in Fargo
FARGO, North Dakota, July 23 – Four Connecticut wrestlers earned All-American honors at the USA Wrestling Cadet and Junior national championship meet.
Bristol Central’s Chris Trelli finished second at 106 pounds in the Junior Freestyle tournament while Danbury’s Jakob Camacho was third at 126 pounds.
In the women’s competition, Plymouth’s Cara Broadus (132) finished third in the Junior Women’s Freestyle while New Milford’s Joanne Ortiz (106) was seventh in the Junior Women’s Freestyle and eighth in the Cadet Women’s Freestyle tournament.
Wrestlers in the Cadet division are 15 and 16 years old. Wrestlers in the Junior competition will enter grades 9-12 in September.
Trelli won four straight bouts to earn a spot in the championship final at 106. In the quarterfinals, Trelli trailed 6-0 in the second period but had a takedown and two exposures (of the back) in a minute to tie the bout at 6-6.
With seven seconds left, Trelli stepped out of bounds in a scramble giving two points to Justin Cardinal of Illinois. But Trelli got a takedown with two seconds remaining to tie the match at 8-8. And the tiebreaker is the last wrestler to score, allowing Trelli to move to the semifinals.
Trelli beat Colorado’s Brendan Garcia in the semifinals, 7-5, scoring the final seven points of the match. A takedown with 40 seconds left tied the bout and Trelli won it with a takedown with 20 seconds remaining. In the final, Alabama’s Samuel Latona was too strong in a 12-2 victory.
Camacho had a long day on the mat. He won his first two matches, outscoring the opposition by a 21-1 margin. But he dropped a 6-4 decision to Wisconsin’s Aaron Schulist and it was off to the consolation round.
Camacho won six straight bouts including 13-4 decision over Jared Van Vleet of Illinois to finish third and earn All-American honors for the first time at Fargo. His closest bout in the run was a 7-2 win over Alex Thompson of Iowa in the consolation semifinal and a 9-4 win over California’s Chase Rich, scoring four points in the final 1:24 to secure the win.
Broadus earned All-American honors for the third straight year and for the fifth time by taking third in the Junior Women’s freestyle tournament at 132 pounds.
Broadus won her first three matches, outscoring opponents by a 27-3 margin before dropping a 4-0 decision to Kansas’ Breanna Douglas in the semifinals. Broadus won a pair of matches in the consolation by 10-0 shutouts including a win over Jenna Garcia of California to finish third.
Ortiz won four of five consolation round bouts including a 6-1 win over Washington’s Leah Olsen to take seventh in the Junior Women’s Freestyle at 106 pounds. Ortiz went 6-2 in the tournament.
At the Cadet Women’s Freestyle, Ortiz went 4-3 at 106 pounds to earn All-American honors by taking eighth.
Many other Connecticut wrestlers competed in Fargo. In the Junior Greco Roman tournament, Fairfield Warde’s Izaake Zuckerman (152), Fitch-Groton’s Jarod Kosman (106) and New Milford’s Mel Ortiz (132) each went 3-2 in the tournament while Southington’s Shaun Wagner (138) was 2-2.
In the Cadet Greco-Roman tournament, Xavier’s Dylan Sousa (145) went 3-2 while Trumbull’s Matthew Ryan (126) went 5-2 in the tournament with five consecutive consolation round victories after losing his opening match of the tournament.
In the Junior Freestyle tournament, Zuckerman (152) went 3-2 while Ortiz (126) went 4-2, including an 8-7 win over Oklahoma’s Jeff Taylor. Xavier’s Ryan Devivo (160) went 3-2 on the day in the tournament. Wagner was 2-2.
In the Cadet Freestyle competition, New Canaan’s Tyler Sung (132) went 3-2 in the tournament – the best performance by a Connecticut wrestler. Barlow’s Carson Licastri went 2-2 at 152 along with Ryan (126), Trent Thompson (94) and Tolland’s Michael Angers (152).
Top, Bristol's Chris Trelli wins a hard-fought semifinal match at the USA Wrestling nationals in Fargo. Bottom, Plymouth's Cara Broadus wrestles for a third place finish in the women's freestyle.
Danbury's Jakob Camacho finishes third.
Super 32
Camacho, Ortiz capture
Super 32 titles
GREENSBORO, N.C. Oct. 29 – Danbury senior Jakob Camacho won a deep 126-pound weight class Sunday to become just the second Connecticut wrestler to win a Super 32 high school championship with a 6-4 win over Pennsylvania’s Beau Bartlett, ranked No. 9 in the country by FloWrestling.
Camacho, ranked No. 8 by FloWrestling, went 7-0 in the tournament to become the first state wrestler to win since Suffield Academy’s Alex Cournoyer (112) in 2003.
Camacho was one of three Super 32 champions from Connecticut. New Milford’s Joanne Ortiz won the girls division at 108 pounds while Southbury’s William Henckel won the 95 pound weight class in the 11-and-under division.
Nine ranked wrestlers were part of the 126 pound weight class. Camacho won some tight bouts. He beat Phillip Moomey of Nebraska in the fourth round, 12-10 in overtime. Camacho used an 8-3 run (two takedowns and a near fall) in the third period to force OT and then got a takedown with 15 seconds gone in the extra session for the win.
In the quarterfinals, Camacho got a takedown with 11 seconds left in the third period to beat New Jersey’s Joseph Heilmann, 3-1. In the semifinal, he beat regional rival Connor McGonagle of Timberlane, New Hampshire, 4-3. Trailing 3-0 in the second period, Camacho escaped to cut the lead to two. In the third period, he escaped with 1:46 remaining and took the lead with 29 seconds to go with a takedown.
In the finals, Camacho had a takedown and escape in the first and second period to build a 4-2 lead and went onto a 6-2 victory. It was his second Super 32 medal. He was sixth a year ago at 120 pounds.
Ortiz won three bouts at 108 to win her first Super 32 championship with a 12-7 win over Florida’s Lauren Stone.
Plymouth’s Cara Broadus took second at 139 pounds. She won her first three bouts, outscoring her opponents by a 38-5 margin. But in the final, she dropped a 14-5 decision to Emma Bruntil of Pennsylvania.
In the 11-and-under competition, Henckel went 3-0 with a pair of pins including a pin in 2:57 of Evan Wingrove of Pennsylvania in the final. Aiden Squirer (105) finished fourth while Joseph Pellicci (55) was fourth in the 8-and-under division.
There were 19 state competitors in the high school division. New Milford’s Mel Ortiz (132) got the most wins – outside of Camacho – going 5-2 with three wins in the consolation bracket. Southington’s Paul Calo (170), Danbury’s Ryan Jack (113), Foran’s Ryan Luth (152) and New Canaan’s Tyler Sung (138) each went 4-2 in the tournament. Trumbull’s Matthew Ryan (132), Fairfield Warde’s Izaake Zuckerman (152), Xavier’s Ryan Devivo (170) and Bristol Central’s Chris Trelli (113) were each 2-2.
More than 200 wrestlers in the tournament won a state-level title last winter. The field also featured 100 wrestlers ranked by InterMat and more than 50 who were nationally ranked at the end of last season. The event was held at the Greensboro Coliseum.
To participate in the high school division, wrestlers have to finish among the top four in their state championship tournament, be an All-American from a USA Wrestling national tournament in Fargo or qualify through an early entry tournament.
