Bristol Eastern wrestling finished second overall behind New England powerhouse Timberlane Regional, N.H., on Saturday at the annual John Gorman Invitational held in Cumberland, R.I.
The Lancers had 191 team points while Timberlane totaled 201. Eastern was the highest Connecticut finisher at the Rhode Island tournament.
Trent Thompson (106 pounds), Justin Marshall (152) and Trinidad Gonzalez (220) continued their impressive tournament wrestling seasons with first place finishes in their weight classes. Thompson won three straight bouts by tech fall before dispatching New Milford’s Evan Lindner in the final in a 7-0 decision. Thompson also beat Lindner for the 106 title at the Bristol Central Invitational earlier this month.
Marshall had a first round bye, then won by major decision and tech fall to reach the semifinal round. He won an 11-4 decision over Kevin Carlucci of Franklin, Mass., in the semifinal, then won by fall in 3:04 in the final against Tyler MacKiernan of Pinkerton Academy (Derry, N.H.).
Gonzalez won his first two bouts by pin, then claimed a 3-1 decision over Philip Coppolino of Cumberland, R.I., in the semifinal. Gonzalez received a win by injury default in the final against Robbie Fahey of Pinkerton Academy.
Tom Nichols finished second at 132 for Eastern after having to default in the final against Timberlane’s Connor McGonagle. Mason Lishness won a 1-0 decision over Carson Milovanovic of North Andover, Mass., to win the third place bout at 113. Alexander Marshall (145) and Nick St. Peter (285) each placed fourth while Riley McCarthy (120) was fifth. Dylan Garcia (182) and Ethan Mathieu (195) each took sixth to round out the Lancer placewinners.
Eastern is 9-0 and has won 45 straight dual meets, a school record. The Lancers face Maloney on Wednesday in Meriden before heading to the Colter-Abely Midseason Classic at Xavier in Middletown on Saturday.
NOTE: This story has been updated with the correction that Justin Marshall pinned his opponent in the 152-pound final.
