South Windsor High Wrestling Ties for 2nd at State Open

The South Windsor High wrestling team turned in an impressive performance at the State Open championships at the Floyd Little Athletic Center in New Haven on Feb. 22-23, tying for second with Windham in the 96-team field.

Not bad for a team that sent just six wrestlers to the tourney and placed third at the state Class LL championships a week ago.

“It’s what we have our sights set on,” head coach Jude Knapp said. “The kids stepped up their performances. They came close and I’m proud of the way they wrestled.”

Danbury won the meet with 130 points, with South Windsor and Windham High each tying with 121 points.

Seniors Sam Odell (152) and Casey Mitchell (145) led the way for the Bobcats, winning titles in their respective weight classes.

Odell, a 3-time state Class LL champion, and Mitchell, a two-time state Class LL champion, both won at the State Open for the second time, according to Knapp. Odell won at 145 pounds last year.

“It’s what we expect those two guys to do,”  Knapp said of Odell and Mitchell, who were both No. 1 seeds. “They are the best in their weight class. … Both were able to get it done.

Knapp said that Odell controlled the title match against Foran’s Clay Callahan despite the close 3-2 score.

“I don’t know if the match was that much in question,” Knapp said. “Sam’s been wrestling a long time and he knows how to win big matches. He knows what he’s doing. It’ was closer than I would have liked it to be, but I was confident Sam would get it done.”

Mitchell had a last-second takedown of in his title bout against Avon’s Jimmy Murphy to give him a 6-4 victory at 145 pounds.

“It was the same sort of thing [as Odell]; he’s a very good wrestler,” Knapp said. “When he decides to be offensive, not too many wrestlers can stop him.”

Both Mitchell (46-0) and Odell (45-0) remained undefeated on the year.

South Windsor junior Conor Caffrey turned in a terrific performance as the runner up at 126.

“He had a great tournament and in probably one of the deepest weight classes,” Knapp said. “He faced some tough, tough kids and he battled real well for us to put himself in finals.”

Freshman Max Odell, Sam’s younger brother, also had a great tournament, placing third at 132.

“Taking third as freshman at 132 is phenomenal because some of the best wrestlers in the state are at those middleweights,” Knapp said. “Some freshmen perform well [at the State Open] at lower weights, but for [Max Odell] to have beaten some of those kids at that weight shows you the type of kid he is.”

Tom Anderson also placed for South Windsor, taking fifth and just missing qualifying for the New England Championships.

Justin Healy also competed in the tournament at 113, making it to the second day of the competition.

Going forward, both Odells, Mitchell and Caffrey will compete next week - the top four wrestlers from the State Open qualify for the New England tourney.

“With all the guys, we’re hoping to make a run next weekend,” Knapp said.