Copes Reaches Pinnacle As Cheshire's First State Open Champion

March 4, 2010 by Greg Lederer

Cheshire High School senior wrestler Kyle Copes couldn’t wait for his first State Open Final on Feb. 28. But, he would need to be patient. Because of a drawing the day before, he was slated into the last match at 171 pounds.
“That was the toughest part,” said Copes, of watching for two-and-half-hours. “I had to stay focused.”
When Copes finally took the mat at the New Haven Athletic Center, he didn’t waste his opportunity. Copes (third seed) toppled top-seeded Middletown sophomore Devon Carrillo 11-3 to become the first State Open Champion in Cheshire history. His 43-1 record and 139 career wins are both CHS records.
“It felt unbelievable. I can’t even describe it,” reflected Copes, who leapt into the arms of Head Coach Don Miller.
The championship rewarded a precisely-executed game plan. Copes immediately took down Carrillo, and after a reversal, he added another takedown to take a 4-2 lead. Defense was the story of the second period. Carrillo moved on top of Copes and ground him into the mat. There were a couple moments when Carrillo appeared to have Copes on his back, but he spun out of it. Carrillo had just one point in the period.
“Kyle has always had great hips,” stated Miller.
Copes fought off fatigue to dominate the third period, firing off seven unanswered points.
“My strategy was that I knew he couldn’t take me down,” explained Copes. “I heard from a lot of wrestlers about the defenses he uses.”
Junior Jed Cervero was Cheshire’s first finalist at 112 pounds last year, but he came up just short, 6-4, in overtime.
“It feels incredible that no one at the school has ever done it,” said Copes, a captain with classmates Matt Topitzer and Jake Reid. “There have been many good wrestlers before me. Jed is amazing.”
Copes has been blown away by his final season. He cracked 100 wins and eclipsed 2007 graduate Rob Tomlinson as the school's career wins leader. After finishing runner-up last year, he won his first Southern Connecticut Conference and Class LL titles. Copes is excited to return to New Haven for his first New England Championship, to be held tomorrow and Saturday.
“It’s amazing. I’m going to go back to practice this week,” added Copes.
He didn’t trail once during the State Open. In order to reach the final, Copes had to avenge his only loss the night before. RHAM senior Eric Brainard (second seed) defeated Copes 8-5 on Jan. 9. However, Copes made adjustments. Just like against Carrillo, he fired the first takedown for a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period and extended the advantage to 5-0. Brainard went down holding his knee twice and had to forfeit facing a 9-2 deficit in the third period.
“It feels great. I knew the match was going to be hard the whole way, so I wanted to get up early and put the pressure on him,” explained Copes. “I learned a lot from watching the tape. I got him in neutral and got those takedowns. Winning this one is what matters.”
Copes opened with pins of Devin Corone (Bacon Academy, 14th seed) and Michael Sheehan (Fairfield Ludlowe, sixth seed). The strong start contrasted a frustrating experience last year. Copes suffered a concussion in his first match and had to forfeit at the State Open.
“We talked about coming off illnesses. Before this year, something would always happen for or to him,” recalled Miller. “He is healthier this year.”
Unfortunately, an accident derailed Cervero (fifth seed) from attaining similar goals. Cervero trailed Fairfield Warde’s Evan Frasier (eighth seed) 4-1 when his knee gave out in the consolation quarterfinals. He battled back to 4-3 and 5-3 before the injury forced him to default.
“He’s had knees issues all throughout the year,” said Miller. “It stinks. He had fluid in his other knee and we toyed with the idea of not wrestling. But, Jed is tough and wanted to give it a try.”
Cervero pinned Chris Chorzepa (Newington, 12th seed) in the first round, setting up a match-up with Windham’s Miguel Calixto (fourth seed). Cervero used takedowns to gain leads of 2-0 and 3-2, but Calixto posted the winning move (4-3) in the third period. He rebounded to defeat South Windsor’s Brandon Lopez (14th seed) by a score of 5-1.
Cervero was the SCC and Class LL runner-up, compiling a 38-5 record. He became the sixth wrestler to reach 100 wins (107 total). It was the third straight year that Copes and Cervero reached the State Open.
“I still have another year left,” added Cervero.
Cheshire placed 16th overall (34 points), while Danbury won their 10th straight crown with 98.5 points. Another championship had special meaning. Since Sheehan doesn’t have a team, senior Nick Giulietti competes independently and trains at Cheshire. Giulietti entered the State Open as the top seed and extended his unbeaten record to 32-0, defeating Maloney’s Aaron Cardona (third seed) 5-4 for the 140-pound title. Giulietti qualified for the statewide meet each season, but he was an alternate as a freshman.
“The best feeling I could ever think of. I've been wrestling 11 years for this. All the years of hard work in the off-season paid off,” said Giulietti, who wrestled with Cardona as a kid. “We are good friends. It's tough because you like the kid, but have to focus and compete.”
His tournament was built around toughness, winning the gold medal without a pin. He defeated Ricky Jordan (6-2; Shelton, 11th seed), Lucas Muntz (6-3; Conard, eighth seed), and Tyler Cunningham (4-3; Xavier, fourth seed). He had never reached the semifinals before and had to outlast Cunningham for the third time this season.
“I wasn't going out there to be fancy,” Giulietti explained. “I just want to win.”
Giulietti has received the top seed for his first New England meet. He will wrestle either Matt Minty (Narragansett, Rhode Island) or John Williams (Winchester, Mass.) in the second round. Copes also receives a bye and is scheduled to meet the winner of Mike Wrin (Algonquin, Mass.)/River Robertson (Bucksport, Maine). The 46th annual championship kicks off tomorrow, at 5 p.m.