Led by 170 pound weight class champion Fisher Stites, the Newtown High School wrestling team placed third among 92 teams in the State Open, at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven, February 24 and 25.

Stites defeated Norwalk's Ryan Gilchrist 3-2 in the pinnacle bout. Newtown scored 120 points as a team. Xavier of Middletown was first with 175.5 followed by New Fairfield with 121.5. Newtown finished ahead of South-West Conference rival New Milford, which placed fourth with 96.5.

Luca Manfredi was runner-up in the 152 bracket; Kenna Gioffre (113) and Marc Maurath (145) were both fourth; and Jon DaSilva finished sixth in the 285 division.

During the first weekend of March, the 57th Annual New England Championships will take place in Providence, R.I. Gioffre, Maurath, Manfredi, and Stites will represent NHS. This tournament includes the top 24 wrestlers per weight class from all six New England states.

Newtown came in third in the Connecticut Wrestling Online final poll for the season.