Branford Wrestling Wins First State Title In Program History

BRANFORD, CT — For the first time in program history, Branford High School's wrestling team has won a state title.

Branford was crowned state champion after earning 261.5 points at the CIAC Class M Championship tournament, which took place at East Haven High School on Friday and Saturday. The school beat second-place winner Foran (226.5 points) and third-place winner Berlin (155.5 points) to come out on top.

Results posted to Connecticut Wrestling Online show four Branford wrestlers won their respective weight classes, and seven more placed in the top six.

Among the first-place winners is Cole Snider, who won the 170-pound class. Snider is a sophomore who WFSB reported has been 90 percent blind in his left eye since birth.

"It feels amazing," Snider told WFSB. "I've been dreaming (of) this my whole life."

Branford's other first-place winners were Jace Korab (138-pound class), Patrick Zdunek (160-pound class) and Nate Mathis (195-pound class).

Branford's win comes after its regular season ended with a record 0f 24-1 and a second-place finish at the Southern Connecticut Conference (SCCs), Zip06 reported.

"I told them this entire week that we were going to win this weekend," coach Kevin Kapushinski told Zip06. "This past month, I have kept their mindset at, 'We are going to succeed every weekend. We're going to win every single weekend.'"