Newtown High School's wrestling team closed out the regular season, this past week, with a pair of head-to-head wins around a solid performance in the Jonathan Law Invitational.

Newtown defeated Masuk 45-21 on January 31.

In the 120 pound weight class division, Aidan Occhipinti pinned Luke LaRivere in 0:19. At 132, Nik Accousti defeated Salvatore Gambino in a 4-0 regular decision. In the 152 division, Owen Walsh defeated Jason Lobdell in a 3-1 regular decision. At 160, Steven Vournazos beat Brendan Attah in a 13-7 regular decision. The other points were score via forfeits.

Zeller both placed first, and Accousti, Walsh, and Doug Carriero all placed third. Aaron Occhipinti, Zeller, and Carriero each won three bouts via pin fall. Walsh won three matches by pin and edged Ridgefield's Lazar Agover in a 6-5 regular decision.

On February 3, the Hawks competed in the Jonathan Law Invitational and placed fourth with 125.5 points. East Haven won the competition with 189.5. Aaron Occhipinti and Joe

Accousti had a trio of pin fall wins and a technical fall victory. Accousti bounced back from a 10-7 regular decision loss to East's Amadeo Bugatti to pin his next two opponents, earn a 15-0 technical fall win over Platt Tech's Rasec Rodriguez, then defeat Bugatti in a rematch, pinning his opponent in 4:25 to take third place.

Newtown defeated visiting Brookfield 64-12 on Senior Night, February 5. At 120, Aidan Occhipinti pinned Richard Stabile in 1:14. At 126, Aaron Occhipinti pinned Louis Stabile in 2:11. The pins continued. At 132, Accousti won by pin fall over Caleb Lupinski in 3:29. In the 152 division, Walsh pinned Colton Nakano in 1:31. At 195, Doug Carriero pinned Adam Frame in 5:03. At 285, Zeller earned a 12-2 major decision triumph over Richard Mitchell.

"We're hoping this is the time of year we start to peak," said Newtown Coach Ron Chivinski, whose team will compete in the South-West Conference championships, at New Milford High School on Saturday, February 10.

The Hawks give up points at some weight divisions due to forfeits but the Newtown coach is hopeful that strong performances from his competitors will lead to individual advancement into the deep rounds of the tourney.

"Those add up. It becomes an individual sport and a team sport," Chivinski said of weight class triumphs.

Following a dominant New Milford team, which is unbeaten in the conference, are several squads with similar capabilities, Chivinski noted. Newtown, Joel Barlow of Redding, Pomperaug of Southbury, and Bethel are all 6-2 in the SWC, and Weston is 5-3.

There are a lot of teams out there exhibiting talent," the coach said.