For 51 straight dual meets, Bristol Eastern wrestling was victorious. There were some close calls along the way, including a 39-34 victory at Southington in the 2018-19 season opener, but the Lancers found a way to win when it got tight.
No. 2 Eastern won its first two matchups at Saturday’s New Fairfield Duals, setting up a state Top 6 tussle against No. 6 Simsbury in the championship round. The Trojans, coming off of a 38-31 win at No. 3 Southington on Wednesday, once again played the role of spoiler, and just like the dual meet against the Blue Knights, they did it in the last bout.
Simsbury scored a pin in the final bout, 120 pounds, to beat Eastern 36-30 and win the New Fairfield Duals. With the loss, the Lancers saw their streak of 51 straight dual meet victories end. The win streak was the longest in Eastern wrestling history, and the fifth longest in state history. The Lancers won their last two dual meets of the 2015-16 season, then won all 15 in 2016-17 and all 19 in 2017-18. Eastern started the 2018-19 season by winning its first 15 dual meets. The Lancers fell to 15-1 with the loss to the Trojans. All of those numbers come from the Connecticut High School Wrestling Record Book.
Simsbury won four of the first six bouts against Eastern, including three by pin, to claim a 21-6 lead. The Trojan lead was 30-12 before the Lancers began their comeback. Eastern won four straight bouts, two by pin, to forge a 30-30 tie going into the 120 finale. Trinidad Gonzalez started the comeback with a pin at 220 (5:15), then Nick St. Peter came up with a 3-2 decision at 285. Trent Thompson grabbed a pin at 106 (1:05), then Mason Lishness battled to a 2-1 decision at 113 to tie the match. Unfortunately for Eastern, the comeback ended with a Simsbury pin at 120.
Also picking up wins for Eastern against Simsbury were Tommy Nichols (3-2 decision at 132); Justin Marshall (9-4 decision at 152); and Joe Morelli (pin in 5:42 at 170). Nichols’ decision made the score 6-3, and Marshall’s decision cut the deficit to 15-6. When Morelli picked up his pin, Eastern trailed 21-12.
Eastern reached the championship round with wins over New Fairfield and Bethel, each by the final of 72-6. The Lancers have one last dual meet in the 2018-19 season, which is Wednesday against city rival Bristol Central. That dual meet is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at Bristol Eastern.
