By KEN LIPSHEZ
Staff Writer

BERLIN — With the Nor’easter bearing down on central Connecticut, the general theme at Saturday’s Berlin Invitational was to grab your headgear and get ready to rumble.

With 11 teams attending from around the state and one from Long Island, coaches were almost as cognizant of beating the storm as they were of winning matches.

The weather didn’t concern Berlin 215-pounder Mason Powers. Neither did missing two weeks of wrestling practice because his role on the state championship Berlin football team kept him rather busy.

Powers used an escape to gain a hard-fought 1-0 decision over Logan Thorp of Middletown Saturday to help Berlin to a third-place finish.

Berlin crowned three champions. Shaun Sullivan (125) and Jack Banks (171) received the hardware but didn’t have to compete in a final bout. Sullivan won when Hand’s Max Flanagan couldn’t answer the bell due to an injured hand. Banks was pitted against Phil Santomauro of Harborfields, a team from Greenlawn, N.Y., that left for its Long Island home early because of the storm, resulting in a forfeit.

Will Matuszak (135) finished second after dropping a one-point decision to Hand’s John Jongbloed,

New Milford won the team title with 192 points, a slim 2.5 ahead of Hand. Berlin totaled 115.5, two points ahead of Harborfields. Berlin coach Dave Tremblay was pleased with the effort.

“It’s better than we did last year (5th),” he said. “Looking at the two teams that came in first and second, they’re top-10 teams. I’m pretty happy with a third-place finish with the competition we had here.”

Powers and Logan Thorp of Middletown battled through a scoreless first period. Thorp chose neutral to start the second and the bout remained scoreless.

Powers, opting for the down slot in the third period, needed just 23 seconds to escape and gain the only point. He was surprised that Thorp didn’t choose the down slot and go for the escape in the second.

“Yes, I was surprised because if it went to overtime, the match can go to the person who scored the first point,” he said.

Thorp said he would make the same decision if faced with it again.

“I’m not that good in the top or bottom position,” he said. “I asked my coach [Mark Fong] if I could go neutral.”

Thorp’s strategy surprised Tremblay, too.

“With a tie score I’m picking down,” he said. “If you’re good you’re going to win. It’s part of the gamble. The coach must think his weak spot was going down. It’s early in the season. We’ll wrestle them in a dual meet and it could be a whole different match.”

Powers was optimistic he would slip Thorp’s grip to take the lead.

“I knew I was going to get away,” Powers said. “I’ve really improved on the bottom over the years. It’s one of my strengths.”

Powers had to avert a stalling penalty the rest of the way.

“I tried to take control with a baseball grip,” he said. “With the baseball grip, I could take away his shot technique and could work him toward out of bounds. [The official] is more likely to hit him with stalling.”

Banks advanced to the final with a well-orchestrated 5-1 victory over Brian Richmond of New Milford. Banks was the aggressor in a scoreless first period, and then rode his foe for the entire second when Richmond chose the down position. With Banks opting for down in the third, he escaped in five seconds and gained a takedown with 46 seconds left. He finished with a takedown at the buzzer.

Powers survived a 5-2 overtime match with Dylan Lindahl in the semifinals. Trailing 2-1, he gained a penalty point, escaped and registered a takedown to clinch the win.

Matuszak settled for second place to Jongbloed when he was assessed a penalty point for stalling and droped a 4-3 verdict. Matuszak’s reversal early in the second period enabled him to shave Christian Hammon of Hand, 2-1, in the semifinals.

Dan Cirullo took third at 103 for the Redcoats.

NOTES: Former Berlin wrestler Jason Siegal coaches the Hartford magnet school co-op team composed of University High and Sports and Medical Sciences Academy. … Ex-BHS coaching legend and current athletic director Jim Day will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on April 10 at Foxwoods. Day will receive a lifetime achievement award. … Jack Rudy, a Berlin heavyweight last season, is serving as a volunteer coach for the Redcoats.