Junior Dakota Carden continued his historic season with the Branford wrestling squad by capturing first place in the 182-pound weight class at the SCC Championship at Amity High School in Woodbridge on Feb. 14.

Carden took home the gold by earning three pinfall victories that were all achieved in short order—including a pin of Xavier’s Spencer McManus in just 1:43 in the title bout. Carden had previously pinned Patrick Grasso of Fairfield Prep at the 1:15 mark of their quarterfinal duel, followed by a semifinal triumph versus Hand’s Rex Pardales that lasted just 2:33.

This marks the first postseason title for Carden, who was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler and increased his school record win streak to 64 consecutive victories that includes a mark of 37-0 this season. Carden will now go for his first state crown at the Class M Championship that takes place at Law in Milford on Friday, Feb. 20  and Saturday, Feb. 21.

Branford scored 85 points a team for its best all-time finish at the SCC meet. The Hornets had previously completed their regular season at 19-13 following a 43-21 home win against Shelton and a 44-30 loss at home to Foran earlier in the week. Carden prevailed by pin in both of those matches prior to his SCC surge.

“Dakota went to Xavier his freshman year had wrestled his [championship match] opponent in practice many times and so both wrestlers were familiar with each other. Everyone knows to avoid tying up with Dakota and Spencer came in with that game-plan to start the match, but nevertheless, Dakota applied the head lock, which is a tie-up move, for the pin,” said Coach Chris Bonagiuso of Carden, who is Branford’s first SCC champ in his 10-year tenure. “We’ve gone over everything with Dakota technique-wise so, at this point, we’re just kind of sitting back and enjoying watching him on the mat.”

Coach Bonagiuso also enjoyed watching two of his grapplers post runner-up finishes at the SCC Championship as senior captain Bijaya Jaisi took second place for the 106 class with sophomore Hun Jin Lim doing so at 220. Jaisi won decisions of 9-1 and 7-5 to make the final, where he was pinned in 4:51 by Foran’s Gino Esposito. He is now 28-7 for the season. Meanwhile, Lim won a 17-14 contest against a competitor he had recently lost to in Shelton’s Malike Malcom before prevailing via pin at 2:54, after which he lost by pin at 1:15 to Xavier’s Paul Martorelli in the final. Lim now has 15 victories on the campaign.

“Bijaya has a rock for us all year and been one of our most consistent and reliable wrestlers,” said Bonagiuso. “I was really impressed with how Hun Jin came out and wrestled against someone who had beaten him. He wasn’t intimidated or worried about anything.”

The Hornets also saw a third-place finish at 145 from senior captain Nick Temple, who ran his record to 32-7. Temple won his first duel by pin at 19 seconds and then dropped an 8-5 decision, but rebounded in the consolation bracket with a pin at 3:57 and then a 9-2 decision victory against Oscar Carmona of Guilford in the 3-4 match to collect a medal.

Freshman teammate Dalton Carden placed fourth at 138 by splitting his four bouts on the day. Carden lost his initial contest and then won his first two consolation matches (pin at 44 seconds and 11-6 decision) before taking a 4-1 loss against Cheshire’s Matt Robideaux in their 3-4 duel. Carden is 16-7 for the season.

“We all felt Nick should have been in the finals. He lost a heartbreaking decision and we kind of did not agree with the officiating in that match, but sometimes those things happen and he showed great character by bouncing back to take third,” Bonagiuso said. “For Dalton, it’s always great to get some points out of a freshman in a tournament and, when they place, that’s even better. I’m really proud of Dalton’s effort and look forward to great things from him in the future.”

Additionally at the SCC Championship, junior Tikee Whitfield won by pin at 5:04 in his 170-pound opener and then lost his next two. Sophomore Noah Pantani won by a 14-4 decision at 113 before dropping his subsequent two matches, yet still boasts a robust record of 24-9. Freshman Zach Cash stands at 20-15 after winning one by pin in 28 seconds and then taking a defeat in the 132 class. In 195 action, senior Alex Rasmus took a loss and then was illegally slammed in his consolation match. Rasmus would have won by disqualification, but was injured as a result of the slam and it was questionable whether he could have competed in the next round. Coach Bonagiuso thus elected to forfeit the match due to injury default and Rasmus’s opponent advanced.

Also competing for the Hornets were senior captain Cameron O’Neill (17 wins for the season) at 152, as well as DJ Caron at 120 and fellow freshman Stella Kelly at 126.