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"I think I only let up five points the whole tournament, which is better than I thought I would do," he said.
This weekend he’ll be looking to go a step farther when he competes as the No. 3 seed at 130 in the State Open on Friday (beginning at 5 p.m.) and Saturday (starting at 9:30 a.m.) at the New Haven Athletic Center, located adjacent to James Hillhouse High School. With a top-four finish, he’ll advance to the New England Open on March 6-7 at the New Haven Athletic Center.
"I don’t see any reason why that’s not going to happen," Archibald said.
"I got a really good placement in the Open. I think I should do some damage," Fiorini said.
"He’s a hard worker," Archibald said. "He’s hungry, and he’s had a really good week of practice. I think he’s going to do something real special this weekend."
Fiorini has already faced two of his potential State Open opponents this season and has beaten both. No. 6-seed Andrew Durand of East Hartford, his potential second-round challenger, lost by pin to Fiorini. No. 2 Travis Richards of Windham, his potential third-round opponent, lost by a 12-3 decision earlier this season to Fiorini.
"I never thought I’d make it to New Englands, but I got a really good shot this year. I’m going to try really hard for it," he said.
Fiorini said he’s gotten a lot of support from teammates, friends and family this season.
"It’s been helpful. They’ve made it a lot easier on me," he said.
He’ll have a big cheering section traveling to see him in New Haven.
"It means a lot," he said.
Fiorini is one of 10 area wrestlers who will be competing at the State Open, which includes 16 participants in each of the 14 weight classes.
Bristol Eastern’s Dan Strong is the No. 9 seed at 152 after placing third in that class in the Class L meet. Terryville’s Jared Griffin has earned the No. 12 seed at 135, while Greg Hom from Lewis Mills is the No. 15 seed at the same weight.
Plainville is sending six wrestlers after placing second overall, with three state class champions, at last weekend’s Class S meet.
Thanh Tran is the No. 2 seed at 103 after winning that weight class in the Class S meet. Jesse Cavallaro is the No. 3 seed at 119 after winning the Class S title, while Nick Cavallaro is the No. 4 seed at 112 after also winning at his weight in the Class S meet.
Also for the Blue Devils, Justin Mals (a Class S runner-up) is the No. 5 seed at 140, Justin Fangiullo (also a Class S runner-up) is the No. 8 seed at 189 and John Curry is the No. 15 seed at 171.
EASTERN ON THE ROAD: The Bristol Eastern girls basketball team will begin play in the Class LL State Tournament on the road Tuesday, playing at South Windsor at 7 p.m.
The Lancers were in a five-way tie for the 16th-best record in Class LL at 12-8 (all records regular season only), but South Windsor earned the No. 16 seed (and the home-court advantage) based upon power (schedule) points. Eastern is the No. 17 seed.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will likely play at No. 1 Manchester (19-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. Manchester faces No. 32 Weaver (8-12) in a first-round game on Monday.
Lewis Mills earned the No. 8 seed in Class M and gets a bye through the first round. The Spartans (15-5) will play at home against No. 9 Grasso Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will likely face No. 1 East Catholic (19-1) in a neutral-site quarterfinal game next Saturday.
Plainville (13-7) enters the Class M Tournament as the No. 11 seed, and will face No. 22 Windsor Locks (8-11) at home on Tuesday, 7 p.m. The winner will play at No. 6 Stonington (15-5) on Thursday.
CCC TOURNEY HAS EXPANDED: The Central Connecticut Conference’s boys basketball tournament has expended this year to 16 teams, doubling the past number of participants.
Bristol Central, which finished second in the CCC South at 12-2 (16-4 overall) is the No. 4 seed and will face No. 13 Simsbury (8-11) at home in a first-round game on Saturday. With a win, the Rams would play a quarterfinal game at home on Monday against the winner of a game between No. 5 Weaver (13-6) and No. 12 Rockville (9-11).
Bristol Eastern finished fifth in the CCC South at 5-9 (8-11 overall), and is the No. 14 seed in the CCC Tournament. The Lancers will play at No. 3 E.O. Smith (12-4) on Saturday.
Central will host the semifinals and final on Wednesday and Friday. Games will be played at 5:30 and 7 p.m. on Wednesday and the title game will be at 7 p.m. on March 5. There will be no consolation game.
