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Thanh Tran (36-1), who honed his grappling skill while butting heads with Cavallaro on the practice mat for four years, is seeded second at 103 to J.J. Daly of St. Bernard due to placement points from postseason competition last year. Justin Mals (23-4 at 140) is seeded third behind Avon’s Rob Tolk and Tim Scheer of Portland.
Nick Cavallaro (31-8 at 112) notched a fourth seed while Aaron Weinhofer (18-7 at 171) is a live darkhorse in the fifth slot.
"It’s going to take a total team effort to win it," Plainville coach Sean Kelly said. "We have three guys seeded to go to the finals and have two guys who can potentially break through. The other eight have long roads to go."
Kelly pointed to Chad Verbitsky (17th seed at 130) as a competitor who Plainville needs to wrestle above his ranking. Kelly is also looking for such contributions from Jon Saucier (14th at 160) and Tom Bedell (10th at 215).
Kelly said that the challenging schedule that the Blue Devils (18-4) wrestled this season should pay dividends.
"Verbitsky has beaten the No. 5 (Ryan Gaeta of Morgan). Saucier has also beaten the No. 5 (Mo Osman of Rocky Hill)," Kelly said. "We’ll hit some top seeds early and if we don’t win, we’ll have to wrestle back well. The kids have to be mentally prepared. We should be seasoned enough to do it but we can’t afford any letdowns."
Kelly expects the toughest challenges to come from Morgan and Berkshire League kingpin Nonnewaug. Neither, however, faced the type of schedule Plainville endured. Avon, with two top seeds, could also be a factor but depth looms as a deterrent.
Rocky Hill will also compete in the tournament. Aside from Osman, the Terriers have a second seed at 189 in Mike Sanders and A.J. Maselli is fourth at 152.
CLASS L: Farmington, fresh off the most productive season in school history (20-4), will compete in the top-heavy Class L field at Bristol Central High. The field was expanded when the CIAC wrestling committee permitted second-ranked Ledyard and Montville to bump up from Class M.
The Indians have a No. 2 seed in heavyweight Chris Rackliffe (32-2). Matt Hancock (29-3 at 130) is seeded third. Tim Murphy (29-5 at 189), Marcus Brander (26-3 at 160), Matt Woodard (31-4 at 135) and Ray Marci (25-5) at 103 are all seeded fourth.
Farmington, which finished fifth in ‘L’ last year, will be trying to recover from a disappointing fourth-place showing at the NWC tournament last week. Hancock was the lone Indian to take home a NWC title.
"We didn’t wrestle to the level we expected to be at or even to where we had been," Farmington coach Eric Misko said. "We need to rebound and show people we’re technically more sound than we looked this past weekend."
Murphy, a junior who came on strong the second half of the year, looks to regain his level after settling for fourth at the NWCs.
"He has a great work ethic and a willingness to learn," Misko said. "He really picks up technique quickly and is not afraid to try things in matches, which is nice to see. He had Fangiullo in a cradle (in an NWC semifinal) but the referee stopped it because he saw a drop of blood in his nose."
Newington has a third seed in former state champion Craig Ryan at 125 and Kevin Horan at 112 is ranked fourth. Steven Chamble (152) and Chris Kerantzas (171) have the potential to wrestle above their ninth seeds.
CLASS M: While Windham is the favorite in a small, but competitive field at its home gym, defending ‘L’ champion Berlin can never be counted out.
The young Redcoats made huge strides during the year as verified by five wrestlers seeded among the top four.
Junior Dan Madey, second at 135 pounds to Jeff Larrow of Woodstock Academy, is Berlin’s highest seed with a record of 37-2. Freshman Shane Day (33-8 at 125) and senior Eric McCurdy (27-10 at 171) notched third seeds. Jim Solek (30-9 at 152) and Mike Crowe (30-10 at 119) are fourth.
Nick Catalano (25-12) is fifth at 145, Mike Robinson (25-15) is seventh at 130 and Chuck Desrochers (27-13) ninth at 189.
"We have wrestled a tough schedule and we are healthy and energetic coming into the tournament," Berlin coach Jim Day said. "My dream is that all our kids exceed their seeds by a significant amount and the we be in the running for our 10th state title. All the elements are there for an outstanding tournament on our part."
Part of the reason why the Redcoats have forged their way to nine state titles hinges on their mental toughness to accumulate points through the consolation bracket. The onus will be on those wrestling back if Berlin is to grab its fifth crown in six years.
Wethersfield, which is also competing at Windham, has two sixth seeds in Ron Casasanta (152) and Adam Cattel (275). Zach Savic (103) and Jareth Cardoso (135) are eighth.
CLASS LL: Southington doesn’t have its usual powerhouse to spar with the likes of Danbury for the team title at Shelton High but 160-pounder Andy Liseo has a top seed and Chris Lee (140) is third.
Senior Jeff Fontaine is seeded fifth at 119 and younger brother Greg is seventh at 103. Joe Collier has an eighth seed at 145.
New Britain’s highest seed is 112-pounder Hector Garcia (28-5, 19 pins), but in order to finish on top, he’ll have to go through undefeated Joey Martin, the first seed from Simsbury. Martin pinned Garcia at the Greater Hartford Invitational.
"Martin is heads above everybody else. He’ll be tough to beat," New Britain coach Ed Smith said. "Garcia hung with him when they were both freshmen but Martin is a true wrestler."
Mark Roberts is 31-4 at 125 pounds but is seeded fifth in a rugged field. Senior Matt Evans (18-4 at 215), who has spent much of the season battling through injuries and illness, is seeded ninth. Nick Rosado (11-4 at 152) is 10th.
"He missed a lot of the season with an injury so he’s a mystery," Smith said.
