Handling Schedule Key to Winning at State Open
By Ken Lipshez | Sports Correspondent at March 2, 2024 | 9:15 am | Print
Aside from facing the state’s best wrestlers, State Open contenders must deal with the additional challenge of a staggered schedule.
Consider the waters New Britain High state champion Geovanni Medina had to navigate last Saturday in New Haven. He won a difficult second-round match Friday night. The quarterfinals went off Saturday morning. The semifinal bout took place around 1:30 p.m.
After Medina dispatched Shelton’s Sean Kellett, he was looking at a gap that would last approximately six hours before engaging Cody Keane of Glastonbury for the 126-pound championship.
What does a wrestler, his coach, his family and friends do in an unfamiliar city for six hours in anticipation of the state’s ultimate six-minute battle? The Floyd Little Athletic Center, formerly the Greater New Haven Athletic Center renamed for the Elm City’s favorite son and the Denver Broncos Hall of Fame running back, is a stunning facility, but no place to be cooped up for all that time awaiting the biggest match of your life.
“We left for awhile,” Medina said. “We went to sit down and eat.”
It turns out that Geo’s father Frank has New Haven friends with discriminating culinary insight. They traveled through downtown New Haven and went to Modern Pizza, a quaint State Street establishment that I, as a New Haven native, can tell you serves up some of the best pies man ever created.
“I didn’t want anything too heavy,” Geo said.
Uh oh! The State Open’s important, but passing up a chance to sample some Modern apizza? With all due respect to some of New Britain’s fine establishments, New Haven pizza rules. What’s a wrestler between matches to do?
“Coach (Charles Ferguson) said to have something with protein,” Geo said. “I had a Philly cheesesteak. Let the rest of them eat pizza but I made sure they saved some slices for me for later.”
Good call, Geo!
A LITTLE HISTORY: Medina goes into the New Englands with an NBHS career record of 88-14.
He qualified for the New Englands last year at 112 pounds after placing second at the Open but encountered a difficult time. He lost his first-round bout, 10-3, to Logan David of King Philip Regional High School (Wrentham, Mass.). He dropped a 3-2 decision to Sarith Has of Methuen (Mass.) High.
With that experience under his belt, Medina seeks to make an impact this weekend.
“It’s a big step. It’s a different place,” he said. “I don’t know who the kids are. I just know they’re really good and I just have to wrestle them.”
New Britain has had some excellent individual wrestlers, many of whom used their judo training to vault into scholastic wrestling.
Randy Reyes is the last to win a New England title (1995, 160 pounds). Kevin Greco (135) and Danny Chacon (152) won Class LL crowns in 1996. Peter Black was a two-time state champion at 140 pounds in 1998-99.
Brett Roberts put together a dynamic Class LL run to win the 125-pound weight class out of the third seed in 2006 but didn’t fare well at the Open. That same season, Jordan Jacquo finished third in the LL’s and fourth at the Open at 135. Joe Colella was third in the division and fifth at the Open.
Nick Gialluca qualified for the Open as a sophomore in 2007 (125) pounds and as a junior (2008) and went 1-2 in each tournament.
Jacquo and Roberts have given back to the program by helping Coach Ferguson in practice.
“[Roberts] has helped me along the way,” Medina said. “He always talked to me before matches. He gave me extra confidence. He would say nobody could take it from me. I worked out with him during the offseason. He’s my strength coach.
“Jordan Jacquo helps out a lot, too. He gives time after work, which is really special.”
While blazing an historic trail for New Britain High wrestling, Medina aspires to provide inspiration for others to wrestle. He noted that the team aspect of competing at the Open was something he dearly missed.
“The wrestling program is becoming smaller and I don’t want it to end,” Medina said. “I want to keep it alive so the athletic director won’t close it with the budget, and all that.”
Ferguson said Medina’s accomplishments and his attitude will help the program flourish.
“It’s really going to make kids come out and make the kids we have work harder,” said Ferguson, who took over from long-time coach Ed Smith in 2004-05. “Lots of kids play football. It’s going to jar interest to get more to come out.
“The team has been growing since he was a freshman. We ended the season with 22 to 25 wrestlers and we went to the junior varsity tournament with 15.”
Ferguson said two jayvees came home from the Simsbury tournament with titles, one placed third and another fourth.
