One week down in winter sports season, and here’s what happened

This past week was the first of the winter high school sports season, and several local teams got off to great starts.

The Holy Cross and Crosby boys basketball teams rolled to season-opening home victories on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Wilby boys basketball drilled Woodland at home on Friday night. Bristol Central boys basketball heated up on both ends of the floor in the second half of a dominating win over Southington on Saturday in the Doc Hurley Classic in Hartford.

Holy Cross girls basketball picked up two wins while being short-handed, one over Derby on the road Tuesday and the other over Mercy at home Wednesday. St. Paul girls basketball powered past Kennedy on Friday. WCA girls basketball split its first week, defeating Wilby on Monday and losing to Naugatuck on Thursday. Wolcott girls basketball also split its opening week, losing to Seymour on Tuesday and defeating Career Magnet on Wednesday. The Crosby, Kennedy and Wilby girls basketball teams each lost twice.

Bristol Central wrestling won its season opener, 63-12, against Glastonbury on Wednesday. The Rams then finished fourth at the Skip Ardan Invitational in Manchester on Saturday. Bristol Eastern wrestling lost its opener, 59-24, to Avon before finishing sixth in the C.J. McCormack Invitational in Berlin on Saturday.

BY THE NUMBERS:

5: The number of Holy Cross boys who reached double figures in the team’s 95-38 win over Torrington on Friday. Those players were: Ashton Sannasi (22), Nate Muniz (18), Elijah Parker (15), Derone Fordham (11) and Kevin Matiz (10).

23-9: The scoring margin in both the second and third quarters for the Crosby boys in their 86-36 win over Watertown on Saturday.

16: The point total in both games for Wolcott girls basketball’s Amber Vincent.

24: The point total for Bristol Central senior Donovan Clingan in his team’s 55-29 win over Southington on Saturday.

5th: The national ranking for Bristol Eastern captain and wrestler Ella Nichols. Nichols won her first match of the season via pin against Avon, then claimed three more victories (1 pin, 2 decisions) and a first place finish at 152 pounds in the C.J. McCormack Invitational in Berlin.

2nd: The finish by Bristol Central indoor track runner Francis Porrini III in the 1000 meters at the 20th Annual Hillhouse Invitational in New Haven.

Photo caption: Crosby’s Jonathan Rivera elevates over a pair of Watertown defenders during Saturday’s game at The Crosby Palace. (Copyright, Sports on CT-69)