Printer Friendly Version - Nighthawks’ Wrestling Exploding Off the Mats After Only Two Seasons

Pictured are the captains of the North Haven wrestling team in Nate Ruggiero, Mike Moran, and Tyler DiMauro, after the Nighthawks finished 12th at the SCC Championship on Feb. 10 in only the program’s second season. Photo courtesy of Peter Tseperkas

Jace Iamunno was one of several competitors for the Nighthawks’ wrestling squad to garner victories in their bracket at the SCC Championship on Feb. 10 at East Haven High School, and he was fourth for his weight class at the Class M State Championship. Photo courtesy of Peter Tseperkas

In only its second campaign as a program within the Southern Connecticut Conference, the North Haven wrestling team saw marked improvements in terms of its stature within the division. The conference summit additionally saw the culmination of the Nighthawks’ meteoric rise and prodigious progression.

Fresh off a 15-11 regular season, at the SCC Championships on Feb. 10 at East Haven High School, the Nighthawks placed 12th as a group with 39 points. It caps off a remarkable second season within the SCC for the program, which finished last in the team standings for its rookie run in 2023.

Head Coach Peter Tseperkas explained that the 12th-place showing started from within by looking to accomplish the daily goal of self-improvement, down to the smallest detail. They also made their mark on the mats by being a closer and more cohesive unit.

“Our team goal from day one has always been to be a little bit better each day, whether it's in wrestling technique, being a good teammate, performing in school, our conditioning, etc,” said Tseperkas. “We pride ourselves on being a family, and we end almost every practice with that call, family. While the coaches never made it a point to have a winning record, it became something that the team wanted once they knew it was in their grasp around mid-January. I think most of the athletes found that as a motivating factor, to be able to say, ‘I was on the first ever winning wrestling team in North Haven history,’ and it really helped improve the energy at our practices the last few weeks. Competing well in SCCs was a goal as well, and I feel we did that based on our team performance.”

At 106 pounds, sophomore Anthony Purchio first won by pinfall at 1:41 over Fairfield Prep’s Finn Mara, and then was pinned by Sawyer MiIler of Foran in 65 seconds. In consolation action, he won by a 7-5 decision over Abby Pallotto of Amity, and then fell by pin to Hayden Darr of Morgan in 4:24.

“Anthony is a first-year wrestler who is very athletic and has used his grappling skills well in wrestling,” said Tseperkas.

Moving to 126 pounds, junior Mason Mansur took a pinfall loss to Law’s Henry Smith in 73 seconds. Mansur then took a consolation defeat to Guilford’s Trin Sukduang by pin fall at a minute and 14 seconds.

Sophomore Hayden Minns (132 pounds) achieved a third-place showing. He lost in the second round to James Cavallo of Prep (8-3 decision) after a first-round bye. But then in the consolation rounds, he bested Cheshire’s Chase Keegan by pin at 1:25 and East Haven’s Tin Trinh (pin at 49 seconds) before taking the third-place spot by a close 10-9 decision against Cavallo in the rematch.

“Hayden has gotten better each week of the season,” said Tseperkas. “He is a tough competitor, and works hard each day of practice.”

Junior Ty Ellis (in the 138-pound bout) took a pinfall defeat to JP Malafronte of Notre Dame-West Haven (ND-WH) in 30 seconds. He later started off consolation fights by pinning Guilford’s Hyde Jacobson at the 1:50 juncture, prior to a pin loss vs. Christina Borges of Prep (at 2:47).

For 144 pounds, junior Luke Asbury lost by pinfall at 3:25 to Peter Swanson of ND-WH, and then suffered a 9-1 decision loss against Charles Grzywacz of Amity in the consolation round after a forfeit victory.

Junior Jace Iamunno (150-pound competitor) pinned Matt Smith of Cheshire at 4:36, prior to a pin loss at 3:55 against Shelton’s Ryan Kinick. He then reached the consolation semifinals after winning 13-4 over Dominic Bilskis of Guilford, and by a 9-2 margin versus Prep’s Franco Arduino. Iammuno then bowed out in a pin at 55 seconds by Antonio Jennings of Foran.

For 157 pounds, senior Matt Kahul prevailed 15-7 against Cheshire’s Michael Shweky, and then lost (pin at 3:15) to Jack Lilly of Prep. He then lost by pin at 2:30 to Dylan Gasner of Xavier in the consolation round.

“Matt has been a solid performer for us all year. He made great strides from last year, which was his first season ever wrestling,” said Tseperkas. “Jace has been one of our top performers all season long. He has made incredible gains in just a very short time in wrestling, and has really helped many of our newer wrestlers with technique.”

Junior Elijah Ellis made the semifinals of the 175-pound bracket. He first pinned Anthony Watrous of Morgan in an even minute, and then scored a fall at 3:46 over Aldo Jani of Amity. Next, Ellis took a loss at 1:29 via pin to Xavier’s Maximus Morse. He also lost a consolation match to Jean-Paul Meguerditchian of Guilford (pin at 4:51).

“Hayden had an incredible tournament, avenging an earlier loss in the third-place match,” said Tseperkas. “Eli Ellis also had a great day, becoming only our second wrestler to ever advance to the semifinals. Several of our wrestlers had multiple wins on the day, which was a big step up from last season.”

At 190 pounds, senior Tyler DiMauro scored a pin at 1:33 over Luke Rodriguez of Morgan, which was followed by a 9-8 decision loss to Paul Cristalli of Xavier. He then was pinned in 40 seconds of his opening consolation match against ND-WH’s Jesse Buonocore. DiMauro joined a terrific triumvirate of captains this year, with classmate Nate Ruggiero and junior Mike Moran.

“Nate is our first ever two-time captain, and he is a positive and kind influence to everyone on the team, but especially the younger and new wrestlers,” said Tseperkas. “Tyler is one of our go-to guys when we need a big win, and he leads by example. Tyler will be one of the guys mopping the mats before practice, instead of passing the job off to an underclassman. Mike is a very modest and humble leader who will step up whenever needed, and knows how to motivate his teammates.”

For the 215-pound bracket, sophomore Christian DeMaio lost by pin at 2:50 to Luke Benanto of Amity. After a first-round bye in consolation showings, he fell to East Haven’s Joe Allen (pinfall at 1:29). At 285 pounds, junior Joe Carbone Jr. won by 8-5 decision against Michael Mordecai from Amity, and then he fell to Zach Sulkis of Law by pin in 61 seconds. He then won his inaugural consolation clash over Isiah Fuentes (pin at 3:55) before a pinfall loss at 48 seconds to Xavier’s Alden Gaboury.

“Christian has filled in admirably for the team at 215, while only weighing around 180 all season,” said Tseperkas. “He was still able to earn nine wins for the team, despite giving up so much weight in each match.”

Xavier took the team title with 218.5 points, while Foran was runner-up with a tally of 150.5. Also, Guilford was third (140), ND-WH came in fourth (128.5 points), Amity finished fifth (76), Fairfield Prep was sixth (75 points), Shelton saw seventh (72 points), Branford was eighth (66 points), host East Haven placed ninth (51.5), Hand was 10th (47), Cheshire came in 11th (46.5), Morgan placed 13th (32), Law had 27 points to come in 14th, Lyman Hall was 15th (20), Sheehan was 16th (18 points), and New Haven finished 17th (13 tallies).

At the Class M State Championship at Guilford High School on Feb. 16-17, the Nighthawks finished 21st overall with 43.5 points. Iamunno earned the fourth-place distinction for the 150-pound bracket. Following a first-round bye, he won by 18-2 decision over Law’s Amilio Venditti, and then fell to Jennings with a 38-second pinfall.

In the consolation bouts, he fought his way back by beating Harley Emmons of RHAM (12-1 major decision), Berlin’s Landon Cote (pin at 0:56), and Shad Stewart of Fitch (3-1 decision), prior to falling by 12-6 decision versus Branford’s Dylan Warner to place fourth.

Also competing at states for North Haven were Purchio, freshman Anthony Tseperkas (120 pounds), sophomore Auriana Camano (113 pounds), DeMaio, Elijah Ellis, Minns, Carbone Jr., Asbury, Mansur, Moran, Ty Ellis, and DiMauro.

The 2023-2024 North Haven roster is comprised of seniors Kauhl, Owen Lin, Yaseen Mahmoud, Alexander Molyneaux, Dillon Olson, Albert Rotondo, Ruggiero; juniors Asbury, Carbone, Jr, Emilio Crocco, DiMauro, Elijah Ellis, Ty Ellis, Tristan Garney, Iamunno, Hashim Ibrahim, Hashim Ibrahim, Mansur, Moran, Sean Perrotti, Ivelisse Rivera-Kelly, Nick Romano; sophomores David Borrelli, Auriana Camano, Donovan Dasilva, DeMaio, Emeka Dimkpa, Jeremy Guertin, Logan Jeffrey, Colton Kennealy, Rayyan Mahmoud, Minns, Purchio, Gnaneshwar Vaka; plus freshmen Evan DiMauro, Benjamin Green, Ashton Manacchio, Sean Millman, Brody Quaranta, Anthony Tseperkas, and Johnny Williston.