Wrestling

The East Haven wrestling competed in the Class M State Championship at Guilford High School on Feb. 17 and 18 and took ninth place with 99.5 points. Five different competitors placed in their respective weight classes for the Yellowjackets. Antonio Lieto and Joe Milano both took fourth, Victor Garcia and Damien Benway finished fifth, and Tanner Divito placed sixth.

In the 106-pound weight class, Victor Garcia was the 3rd seed and won two straight decisions by pin before losing a 6-1 decision to Killingly’s Danny Charron in the semifinal. After losing 8-6 to Gavin Rickaby of Ellis Tech in the consolation semis, Garcia topped Foran’s Michael Giordano 6-3 in the fifth-place match.

At 113, Lieto won his first bout by a 15-0 technical fall and his second via pin. He was pinned in the semifinals by eventual champion Sean Johnson of Ellis Tech before winning by a 13-2 major decision over Law’s Troy Anderson. In the third-place match, Lieto lost to Mike Charron of Killingly, 8-4.

Tanner Divito started the 120 division as the No. 18 seed and battled his way to a place in the top six. He won his first matchup by pin in the opening round and was pinned by Branford’s Noah Pantani in the next bout, sending him to the consolation bracket. There, Divito won via pin, earned a 12-11 decision, and won a 6-2 decision before facing Pantani again and losing by pin in the consolation semis. In the fifth-place match, Jeremy Polanco-Castro of Platt defeated Divito 6-0.

At 126, Joe Milano started action with a pin and 3-0 decision before losing 6-2 to Law’s Shayne Mccourt. In the consolation round, Milano won by pin, gained a 10-6 decision, and then a 5-1 decision to reach the third-place battle, where he lost by pin to Lyman Memorial’s Jared Swett.

For the 132 weight class, Alex Tapia won his first matchup by pin before taking a 4-3 loss to Waterford’s Xavier Powell. Tapia won a 10-0 decision and a 4-2 decision in the first two rounds of consolation before losing to Law’s Aisaiah Rodriguez by pin.

At 138, Nick DeMorro won his first matchup by pin. He was defeated in his next bout and lost his first consolation match by forfeit.

At 145, Vin Franco lost his first match via a major decision, 12-4. Joncarlo Alberino was pinned in the first round of his only bout in the 152-pound weight class.

For the 170 bracket, Damien Benway won a 16-8 major decision before losing a 7-5 battle versus Guilford’s AJ Moscato. In the consolation round, Benway won a pair of matches by pin and then lost to Foran’s Umer Khan, 16-5. Benway came away with a win in the fifth-place matchup as he defeated Rham’s Noah Silk by an 18-5 major decision.

At 195, Josh Rao won his first match by pin before taking a 12-5 loss to Bunnell’s Jason Milfort. He then lost his first consolation matchup by a 3-2 decision.

Girls’ Basketball

The Yellowjackets went into the SCC Tournament on a high note after defeating Branford 61-50 on Senior Night on Feb. 13 to finish the regular season at 16-4. Prior to the tip-off, seniors Megan Lendroth, Ciara Mortimer, and Haley Capozzo were honored as part of the Senior Night festivities.

The game was close throughout, but East Haven pulled away for the win. Kylie Schlottman recorded double-double with 28 points and 18 rebounds, while Marley Herard scored nine to contribute to the win.

East Haven entered the SCC Tournament as the No. 4 seed and defeated West Haven 51-43 in a first round matchup on Feb. 16. Schlottman scored 28 and grabbed 13 rebounds, plus Isabella Ragaini scored 10 and added five assists.

In quarterfinals on Feb. 18, East Haven took a 69-48 loss to Hamden. Schlottman scored a game-high 31 points as East Haven dropped to 17-5 overall entering the Class M State Tournament.

Boys’ Ice Hockey

East Haven lost its lone matchup this week at home against New Fairfield-Immaculate on Feb. 18, dropping to 13-3 this season.

The Yellowjackets took a 4-1 defeat as the opposition’s goalie, Shane Conciatore, stood on his head to make 32 saves. The Easties couldn’t solve Conciatore until the third period, when Joe Aloi found the back of the cage on assists from Jake Aloi and Nick Capone. The goal marked career point No. 100 for Aloi. Nick Twarowski made 18 saves in net for the Yellowjackets.

Boys’ Indoor Track

East Haven competed in the Class M State Championship at Floyd Little Athletic Center on Feb. 13 and finished in 20th place with six points.

The Yellowjackets’ points came courtesy of Niam Coward, who finished third in the shot put with a throw of 46 feet-2.5 inches. Other individual competitors at the meet included McClay Marshall, who ran a pair of events, and Reinaldo Martinez. Marshall placed 25th in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.16 seconds and was 13th in the 300 at 39.20. Martinez’s time of 8.86 was good for a 15th-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles. East Haven’s 4x200 relay of Evan Damian, Coward, Marshall, and Dominic Manna placed 14th overall with a time of 1:41.71.

Girls’ Indoor Track

The Yellowjackets took part in the Class M State Championship last week.

Individual competitors for the Easties included Paige Maffeo in the 55-meter dash (30th place, 8.01 seconds) and the 300 (28th, 46.70); Sydney Marquardt in the 55 (38th, 8.21) and the long jump (13th, 15 feet-3.5 inches); and Katie Maffeo in the 600-meter run (16th, 1:47.14).