By Kim J. Harmon

STRATFORD – The Newtown High School wrestling has believed all along that it has a shot at winning the South-West Conference championship (and forget, for a moment, that at least four and possibly five different people have shots at individual titles) and so far has made a convincing argument for that belief.

The ‘Hawks went to 3-0 in the SWC last week with a convincing 52-27 win over the Red Devils of Stratford – an effort that gave the ‘Hawks some impetus heading into a tough battle with Bethel on Wednesday (after press time).

The ‘Hawks have had success in their tournament schedule so far (one individual title at the Guilford Tournament and two individuals titles at the Keene, New Hampshire, and Bristol Central Tournaments) but at the same time are remaining focussed on taking a run at the SWC title. The ‘Hawks were plenty focussed as they beat up on the Red Devils last week.

The match was over rather quickly.

With Jon Read (98) and Matt Sullivan (119) registering pins and John Dietter (106) earning an impressive 14-3 win early, the Nighthawks had built up a fast 16-0 lead even before Ross Alpert (125) and Nick Feola (130) had a chance to walk across the mat with their forfeit wins.

And after that, it was really over.

In the first match of the night, Read fell into a 2-0 hole early in the first period against Mike Charantano, but methodically built up a 12-3 lead in the early stages of the third period before registering the pin at 4:19. Dietter had to go the distance with Sean Charantano, but easily earned a 14-3 major decision.

Sullivan followed with a pin in 3:11 in the 119-pound division.

After Alpert and Feola were credited with forfeit wins, the ‘Hawks had a 28-0 lead heading into the middle of the order. There, at 135 pounds, Dan Maley – the guy they should be calling the Cardiac Kid for the thrilling bouts he gets involved in – got locked up into a double-overtime match with Anthony Carino.

Tied 4-4 in the third period, Maley earned an escape with just 29 seconds left to take a 5-4 lead – only to see that lead disappear with 20 seconds left when Carino earned a two-point takedown. But Maley earned a one-point escape with only six seconds left to knot the match at 6-6 and send it into overtime.

After one scoreless overtime, Maley then started down in the second overtime and was unable to escape within 30 seconds, giving Carino the win.

Adam Prokop pinned Camilio Ochoa in 56 seconds at 140 pounds to put Newtown ahead, 34-3, but then Mike Daniels was pinned at 5:07 in the 145-pound class to trim that lead to 34-9. The ‘Hawks did not worry, because Vinny Bodetti (152), Steve Selezan (160), and Tyler Miles (171) earned three consecutive pins to give Newtown an insurmountable 52-9 lead.

Bodetti’s pin was early in the second period while Selezan and Miles’ pins were both in the first period.

In the final contested match of the evening, Chris Symes was pinned in the second period of the 189-pound match by Andre Williams. Stratford then earned forfeits in the 211- and 275-pound divisions to arrive at the final score.

After Bethel on Wednesday, the ‘Hawks were set to host Farmington, Fitch and Bacon Academy on Saturday (11 am weigh-in, 12 noon match) and then will return to the SWC schedule next Wednesday and host Law.

Success At Bristol Central

Dan Maley and Steve Selezan continued their success with first-place finishes at the annual Bristol Central Wrestling Tournament this past weekend. Those finishes helped the ‘Hawks take third in the 14-team tournament.

Maley was first at 135 pounds and Selezan was first at 160 pounds.

The ‘Hawks also got stellar finishes from Nick Feola (2nd at 130 pounds), Jon Read (2nd at 103 pounds), Matt Sullivan (3rd at 119 pounds), Tyler Miles (4th at 171 pounds), and John Dietter (4th at 112 pounds).

Cranston East won the tournament.