The second CIAC Girls Invitational wrestling tournament was completed Sunday at New Haven’s Floyd Little Athletic Center, and it was a great day for grapplers from Bristol schools.
Bristol Eastern senior Ella Nichols had the best day of all. A defending champion, Nichols won again, taking the top spot at 152 pounds. Nichols secured three wins via pinfall to claim her championship. She needed just 52 seconds total for her quarterfinal and semifinal victories over Kiyree Michel of Shelton (33 seconds) and Olivia Cicarelli of Killingly (19 seconds). In the final, Nichols pinned New Haven’s Alexandria Gorman in 1:12.
Nichols earned takedown and nearfall points before pinning Michel. In the semifinal, Nichols took down Cicarelli seven seconds in before securing her pin. Nichols took down Gorman 20 seconds into the first period on the way to a third straight pin.
St. Paul sophomore Mallory Sefcik finished second at 235. She had a first round bye before pinning Grace Marino of Shelton in 14 seconds in the semifinal round. Sefcik took down Marino 13 seconds in and had her pin just one second later. Sefcik was pinned by Caroline Gonzalez Garcia of Windham in 1:28 in the 235 championship final.
Bristol Central sophomore Araya Guilmette finished third at 138. She lost her first bout via major decision, 15-3, to eventual champion Kelly Aspras of Foran-Milford, but rebounded to win three straight. Guilmette started her run in the consolation round with a pin of Paulina Vargas of New Britain in 1:23. In the consolation semifinal, Guilmette built a 13-2 lead by securing a second period pin of Sydney Dameron of Griswold/Wheeler. In the third place bout, Guilmette had a 5-0 lead in the second period before pinning Renee Bunn of Killingly.
Photo captions: (Top) Bristol Eastern’s Ella Nichols stands at the top of the podium after winning at 152 pounds. (Middle right) St. Paul’s Mallory Sefcik finished second at 235. (Bottom left) Bristol Central’s Araya Guilmette finished third at 138. (Photo credit: CIAC Sports Twitter account)
