The sixth annual Nighthawk Classic youth wrestling tournament, held at Newtown High School on December 17, was a huge success as the Nighthawk program attracted more than 400 athletes from 33 teams spanning five states. The event, sponsored by Fortis Lux Financial, has grown each year.

Newtown had some dominant performances with 60 of its 95 competing grapplers placing in the tourney and 50 earning first, second, or third.

“Once again, we absolutely killed it,” said Nick Veneziano, president of the Newtown Youth Wrestling Association, which has over 100 wrestlers this season. “I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this program. Year after year we continue to outdo ourselves.”

While some tournaments around the region run behind schedule, as the bracketing process can take a while, Newtown had its brackets set up nearly an hour before the scheduled start time. Together with several food trucks and plenty of snacks for sale, quality medals and trophies for the top teams, it made for a standout event, Newtown youth program officials commented.

“Our goal every year is speed and quality,” Veneziano said. “We take the growth of our sport very seriously, and we feel in order to retain wrestlers and their families, we need to set the best matchups and make the tournament experience smooth and fast. ... The amount of times we hear ‘this is the best tournament of the year,’ every year, really helps drive us to keep working hard.”

I would also like to thank all of our coaches, board members, volunteers, and Tournament Director Tino Candullo, all of whom make The Nighthawk Classic the success that it is.”

Among Newtown’s 95 competitors, five of double-bracketed and there were 13 Nighthawks earning first-place medals, 22 placing second, and 25 coming in third.

“I was delighted with our team’s performance, especially our first-year wrestlers,” Head Coach Curtis Urbina said. “The Nighthawk Classic tournament has quickly become one of the best tournaments in Connecticut, as it introduces our new wrestlers and their parents to the competitive tournament aspect, while the more experienced athletes are challenged to take their skills to a higher level of competition. It also creates a learning and mentoring environment for our team, as our more experienced athletes watch over our new wrestlers and support them throughout this incredible day, bringing our team closer together.”

The following Newtown athletes placed at the tournament:

6U Co-Ed

First Place: Michael Laake

Second Place: Colton Girgenti

Third Place: Caden Shaw, Clark Anderson and Declan Cavanagh

8U Co-Ed

Second Place: Alexander Carrozza, Callum Carl, Evan Emard, Lincoln Giannetta, Tyler San Souci,

Third Place: Dean Macaluso, Emmie Ibbitson, Frankie Skura, Jaxon Leng, Linus Jura, Lucas Nunes, Nicholas McIntyre, Owen Richman, Peter Homick and Quinn Hogan.

8U Girls

Second Place: Emily Greene

Third Place: Emmie Ibbitson

10U Co-Ed

First Place: Gavin Forde, Jacob Kennedy, Joseph Skura, Keegan Rosenschein, Liam Fox and Maddox Wilson

Second Place: Ben Weintraub, Benjamin Atkas, Brendan Tito, Drew Van Scotter and Evan Huber

Third Place: Athan Arnold, Eli Houston, Eli Metcalf and Kellen Lowe

12U Co-Ed

First Place: Camron Veneziano

Second Place: Blake Deloge, Cole Salce and Wyatt Fournier

Third Place: Charlie Langenus, Drake Oatis, Jane Anderson, Riley White and Silas Houston

12U Girls

Second Place: Jane Anderson

Middle School Co-Ed

First Place: Jarvis Kriauciunas, Liam Carl, Luke Piccirillo and Owen Blair

Second Place: Allen Gaudenzi, Micah Houston, Noah Blair, Owen Stoltz and Tristan Rosenschein

Third Place: Angelise Hernandez, Daniel Candullo and Ryder Symes

Middle School Girls

First Place: Angelise Hernandez

Second Place: Riley Lovett