New Look Trojans enjoy successful week

By Stephan Ortiz

(MANCHESTER) – Few could blame Simsbury coach Ernie Goodwin when he revealed he was unsure of what to expect when his Trojans wrestling squad took to the mats for the first time this week.

Gone were state medal contenders Marcus Furze, Steve Brant and Greg Hovey. In were a bunch of new faces, including a couple of freshman. Relying heavily on the senior leadership of captains and state qualifiers Lawton Arnold (215 pounds) and Der ek Magnan (145), the Trojans opened the season at Suffield.

After a Suffield pin at 189 pounds, Arnold and junior heavyweight Mike Mormile pinned in a total of 69 seconds. A couple of forfeits later and Simsbury enjoyed a 24-6 lead. Three straight pins, beginning with junior 125-pounder Dan Calzarette and ending with senior Gordon Zachs gave the Trojans an insurmountable lead.

Senior captain Jared Gross capped the 63-15 triumph with a gutsy 3-2 victory at 171 pounds.

After the weather wreaked havoc with the practice schedule, Simsbury took part in the Skip Arden Tournament in Manchester. Some rough outings early threw a monkey wrench in the Trojans’ title hopes but a remarkable run in the medal round enabled Simsbury to edge out CCC rival Glastonbury for second place behind South Windsor.

The Trojans were led by Arnold, who dominated three opponents en route to the 215-pound title. So dominant was the reigning LL champ, he shut out his New Britain opponent in the finals, 16-0.

Junior Spencer Brickey, the top seed at 152 pounds, looked every bit poised to build on his breakout season of 2008. He bolted to an early lead over South Windsor’s Anthony Josie en route to a 7-3 victory.

Winning third-place medals for the Trojans were 103-pound freshman Joey Hooper, Calzarette, Zachs, Magnan, David Brant, Gross, senior captain Jamie Ramos and Mormile. Ramos was giving up almost 30 pounds in the 215-pound weight class.

The Trojans have a stiff test at Manchester on Tuesday, December 23rd and then host the Frank Chaves Invitational at 10 am on Saturday, December 27th. The 10-team tournament features some of the best talent in the state and honors the Trojans’ long-time coach.

Arnold remains unbeaten for erratic Trojans

By Kenny Jackson

(Simsbury) – Ernie Goodwin has had many talented wrestling teams during his coaching career but few have left him as puzzled as this year’s Simsbury squad.

At times, they look like one of the top 20 teams in the state and have showed it in heart-breaking losses to Shelton and Greenwich. At other times, the young Trojans have showed their inexperience, performing poorly in the semifinal rounds at the Skip Arden and Frank Chaves Invitationals.

Goodwin has been able to count on one constant and that is the performance of senior captain Lawton Arnold. The top 215-pounder in the state has bolted to an early 15-0 mark with title victories at the Arden and Chaves events. In the team’s most recent outing, Arnold went 4-0 in matches against Shelton, NFA, Cheshire and New Haven.

Perhaps most impressively, Arnold was expected to face one of his few regular season challenges against Shelton’s Pat Gillen, ranked in the top five in the state. In one of his most complete performances of the season, Arnold dominated Gillen, 8-3.

But the Shelton match was typical for a Trojans team that is 5-4 through the first month of the season. After Arnold opened the match with a win, heavyweight Mike Mormile followed with a gritty 2-0 victory and, one match later, sophomore Alex Kozieradzki recorded a first-period pin for a 12-6 lead. However, Simsbury lost five of the next six matches and never recovered in a 45-21 loss.

A loss to NFA to start the day was even more disappointing as junior 189-pounder Mackenzie Davis opened the match with a thrilling pin and Arnold and Mormile followed with first-period falls for an 18-0 lead. The lead was short lived as only Kozieradzki, sophomore Josh Gowdy and senior captain Derek Magnan managed wins the rest of the way and Simsbury came up on the short end of a 41-31 decision.

As they have all season, the Trojans did battle back, posting a 66-16 triumph over a game but undermanned New Haven squad. Simsbury capped the day, and got its record back over .500 with a 54-24 triumph over Cheshire.

Simsbury fell behind 12-0 and trailed 15-6 but eventually took the lead on Gowdy’s fourth win, and third pin, of the day. Back-to-back pins by juniors Spencer Brickey and David Brant, Brant’s in spectacular fashion as he erased an early deficit, gave the Trojans a 30-18 lead. Pins by Davis and Arnold and wins by Mormile and freshman Joey Hooper capped a 54-24 triumph.

The Trojans return home Wednesday, January 14th, when they host New Britain. The match is slated to begin at 6 pm.

Zachs, Gowdy continue to roll as Simsbury wins two of three

By Frank Silva

(AVON) –Weather wasn’t the only thing rough for the Simsbury Trojans last week. Wrestling coach Ernie Goodwin, trying to inspire his inexperienced Trojans to fight off their backs a little better, provided a little physical incentive to the boys and the message was apparently well received as Simsbury won twice in a four-team meet Saturday.

After some shaky early season performances, Goodwin instituted running stairs for any wrestler that failed to fight off his back. Simsbury, one of the better conditioned teams in the state, took the incentive plan to heart - quickly.

Traveling to Avon to face the host team, Farmington and Terryville, the Trojans got major contributions up and down the lineup and ran their record to 7-5.

Opening with Terryville, senior 135-pounder Gordon Zachs, needed just 39 seconds to stake the Trojans to a 6-0 lead. One bout later, sophomore Josh Gowdy made it 12-5 with a 68-second fall. Despite a stunning last-second victory by David Brant at 160 pounds, Simsbury found itself trailing 18-15 when unbeaten senior Lawton Arnold took to the mat. The top-ranked 215-pounder in the state needed just 21 seconds to pin and junior heavyweight Mike Mormile followed with a 36-second fall for a 27-18 advantage. Consecutive first-period pins by freshman Joey Hooper and sophomore Alex Kozieradzki opened a 21-point lead and the Trojans cruised to a 45-25 triumph.

Against rival Farmington, Simsbury fell behind 4-0 but pins by Gowd and junior 152-pounder Nick Stemm, and a 6-0 triumph by Brant gave the Trojans an 11-point lead. After a pin for Farmington, senior captain Jamie Ramos gutted out a 3-1 overtime victory. Farmington forfeited to Arnold and Mormile and the strategy almost paid off when they won the next four bouts to pull within 30-28. With the match hanging in the balance, senior 130-pounder Chris Schiano managed a 4-2 triumph and Zachs sealed the 39-28 victory with a second-period pin.

In the day’s finale, Simsbury squared off with state-ranked Avon. Gowdy got the team off to a great start and ran his record to 7-0 with an 8-2 triumph over a very tough Ryan Pearson. The Falcons followed with wins in three of the next four matches to ignite the crowd and open a 14-8 lead. Arnold needed just 17 seconds to run his record to 18-0 and knot the score and Mormile followed with an 18-second pin, improving to 16-3 on the season. However, Avon won each of the next five matches, including two pins and a forfeit to open a 38-20 lead.

With the match already decided, Zachs squared off with Avon ace James Gendler, who was ranked sixth in the state. After falling behind early, Zachs took control of the match and dominated on his feet. With both crowds chanting, Zachs threw Gendler one final time before recording the fall with one second left in the match. It was Zachs’ 12th win in 17 matches this season. Avon’s Matt Silver put the final touches on a 43-26 victory with a tech fall in the final bout.

The Trojans have a big week at home with matches against RHAM on Wednesday and state power Southington on Friday.