Medina, Krivickas Lead NBHS Wrestling
By Ken Lipshez | Sports Writer at March 1, 2024 | 9:30 am | Print
The New Britain High wrestling team finished 21st at the State Open with 29.5 points.
In an era that constantly screams, “If you’re not number one, don’t bother me,” the accomplishment draws high marks because it was carried on the shoulders of just two wrestlers.
Senior Geovanni Medina was already hard at work Sunday afternoon, training for this weekend’s New England Championships in Providence, after settling for second place in the 132-pound weight division at the State Open held in New Haven last weekend.
Junior Dylan Krivickas went 2-2 at the Open in the 170-pound class.
New Britain coach Charles Ferguson likes to stress that a team’s seasonal won-lost record doesn’t tell much of the story in a sport that is uniquely individual and team-oriented at the same time.
New Britain was winless in CCC West meets and Farmington undefeated, yet Farmington was but one place and 2½ points better than the Hurricanes at the Open with eight more competitors in the field.
“It tells a lot,” Ferguson said. “Being a coach and understanding the sport, you can see it and be proud of it, but somebody who doesn’t understand the sport? … I wish they would.”
Medina, seeking to repeat as Class LL and Open champ, began the Open by defeating Jacob Cervero of Cheshire by technical fall (15-0) after earning a first-round bye. He edged Edward Rivera of Branford, 8-6, in the quarterfinals and nipped Pharoah Eaton of Fairfield Warde, 4-3 in the semifinals.
Medina endured just his second defeat of the season in the final, falling 7-4 to Class M champion Howard Kilpatrick of Bacon Academy.
“He didn’t wrestle like himself. He wasn’t aggressive enough,” Ferguson said. “He wrestled defensively, trying to counter off what his opponent was doing instead of being more offensive-minded. I’m not taking anything away from [Kilpatrick]. He came out and did what he wanted to do. You have to be on a mission.”
Krivickas won by first-period fall over Trystan Cauley of Suffield in 1:10, but was pinned by Class S champion Devyn Petsa of Windham in the quarterfinals in 3:07. He battled back in the consolation round to overwhelm Brendan MacIntyre of Bethel, 13-2, but was pinned by Dante Futia of Middletown in 2:49 to end his season at 33-5.
“He gets almost angry, forgets about wrestling and tries to manhandle his opponent,” Ferguson said. “I worked with him on trying to be a smart mat wrester. He listened really well and it paid off. There are other things I need to work on with him to get over the top next year.”
Medina, the top seed in the ‘LL’ meet at Trumbull High School Feb. 15-16, didn’t allow as much as a point in the first three bouts.
After a first-round bye, he pinned Sawyer Machette of Brien McMahon-Norwalk in just 55 seconds. He dominated Jeremy Dilzer of Xavier, 11-0, in the quarterfinals and pinned fourth seed Jeff Glover of Westhill-Stamford in the semifinals in 3:12.
Medina scored a 7-2 decision over second-seeded Max Odell of South Windsor in the final.
Krivickas, the second seed in Class LL, finished second.
He pinned Juan Barranco of Shelton in the first round (1:42), nipped Tyler Hyde of Southington in the quarterfinals (6-5) and downed Forrest Speed of Newtown in the semifinals (6-2). He lost by fall against Elliot Antler of Xavier in the second period of the championship bout.
The Hurricanes were 13th at the ‘LL’ meet with 76 points, thanks in part to additional contributions from two sophomores wrestling in difficult divisions for underclassmen.
Josh Graves, the third seed in the 182-pound division, went 2-2 to finish his season at 22-8. He pinned Max Temple of Newtown in the second period of a second-round bout, but lost a 5-4 heartbreaker to Brandon Molnar of Simsbury in the quarterfinals.
Graves made quick work of Jose Mandujano of McMahon (pin in 56 seconds) in his first consolation-round test, but was ousted from the competition by Mackenzie Thompson of Shelton (pinned in 1:54).
Ferguson said Graves had to wrestle in a heavier weight class than he should have due to the circumstances.
“I wanted him at 160. He [weighed] around 170 but couldn’t beat out Dylan,” Ferguson said. “We went over 170 to wrestle 182. I knew it was gonna be tough but I wanted him in the varsity lineup. For a first year wrestler, he learned a lot about wrestling from November to February. He’ll be a better wrestler next year.”
Alex Swaby, competing in the 220-pound division where he was seeded ninth, pinned Erick Cuatzo of Bridgeport Central in 1:11 before falling in the quarterfinals to top-seeded Andrew Cavanna of Glastonbury in 4:20.
Swaby pinned Gabriel Stiles in 2:45 in the wrestlebacks but finished his season at 18-10 when fifth-seeded John Mioline of Trumbull pinned him.
Ferguson said Graves and Swaby, both promising football players as sophomores, can become the next great New Britain tandem if they take the time to better learn the techniques.
