Xaxier wins 9th straight SCC wrestling championship as Braylon Gonzalez ties mark with 4th title

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The Xavier wrestling program won the Southern Connecticut Conference championship for a ninth straight season Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026 at Foran High School in Milford. (Ned Griffen/For Hearst Connecticut Media)


MILFORD - Xavier's Braylon Gonzalez tied a Southern Connecticut Conference wrestling championship record by winning his fourth league title Saturday by technical fall.

Gonzalez needed just two minutes to beat Amity senior Andrew Jackson 17-2 and claim the 144-pound title at Foran High School. He earned Most Outstanding Wrestler honors as the Falcons won their ninth straight title.

For those unfamiliar with the sport, winning by 15 points in just two minutes is absurd.

"God gives me the strength to really do anything in life," Gonzalez said about winning four SCC titles. "Without him and my family, my coaches, none of this would be possible."

Xavier ran away with the team title, just as its often done, with 226 points. It also went eight-for-eight in the finals to win its league-best 13th SCC title, the first of which was in 2011.

Gonzalez won his three matches in a total time of 7:38.

"My dad (Andy) always tells me that if you work hard, whatever you want can come true," Gonzalez.

The other four-time SCC champions are Patrick Gillen (Shelton, 2008-11), Patrick Moynihan (Xavier, 2014-17) and Ryan Luth (Foran, 2015-18).

Gonzalez has won three CIAC Class L and two State Open titles, and has a shot to become just the 12th wrestler in state history to win four divisional state crowns at the L championships Feb. 20-21.

"He puts in the work," Xavier head coach Mike Cunningham said about Gonzalez. "Year-round, (he) finds the best competition (and) wrestles in the best tournaments in the country. (He) just never stops working. He puts the time in.

"In this sport, you get what you earn."

Xavier won the first five finals thanks to juniors Zack Dixon (120) and Zaphyr Musshorn (132) and freshman Josh Perez (106), Treydan Beam (112) and Alexander Depratti (126).

The Falcons' other two champions were juniors Victor Rivera (175) and Chase Catalano (190).

"We're very young," Cunningham said. "It took a little time at the beginning. We wrestle a hard schedule just to get the routine and the constant tough matches. It was a growing process."

Xavier, ranked first in the Connecticut Wrestling Online Top 10 poll, dominated the meet against tough competition, too. Foran is ranked third in the poll while Notre Dame-West Haven, Shelton and Amity all received votes.

Shelton finished second at the meet (151.5), followed by Notre Dame (150), Foran (147.5), Cheshire (119) and Amity (104.5).

The First​

The hugs from seemingly a quarter of those in attendance had just ended when Geovani Cacerer-Garcia, overcome by emotion, hunched down on the gym floor, head in hands, and sobbed.

Cacerer-Garcia, a West Haven senior, beat Thomas Mahon of Foran by major decision 13-5 to win the 150-pound title, the first SCC title for the three-year-old program.

"A lot has been going on in my life the past few months," Cacerer-Garcia said. "We didn't have a wrestling team until a few years ago. My other captain, (classmate) Mark-Anthony (Aiken), my friend Julian (Montiel) over there, it all just came rushing back to me. I kind of remembered why I was here.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, but the job's not done. We got Class LL, we got states (State Open, Feb. 27-28)."

Galke Honored​

Shelton senior Chase Galke repeated as the 285-pound champion and was also named the 2025-26 SCC Wrestler of the Year, much to his surprise.

"I've been putting in a lot of work, but I know there's some tough competition out there," Galke said. "I've just been doing my best all season"

Galke pinned Cheshire junior Carter Marciano in 1:27, the fastest pin of the finals.

"There's definitely stuff I could've improved on, like my shots or underhook stuff," Galke said, "but overall, it went pretty good."

Notre Dame-West Haven's Rich Anderson won the SCC Coach of the Year award.

Champion Roll Call​

Notre Dame was the only other team with multiple winners - junior Alphonse Milano (165) and sophomore Riley Storozuk (157).

Milano beat senior Tyquell Lucas of Foran 9-7. He was last season's 157-pound champion.

Storozuk beat Foran senior Gavin Lefebvre by tech fall 17-1 in four minutes.

Senior Alex Uzzo of Guilford beat North Haven senior Hayden Minns 8-4 to win at 138. He was the SCC and Class M champion at 144 pounds last season.

SCC Wrestling Championships​

Team results: 1. Xavier 226; 2. Shelton 151.5; 3. Notre Dame-West Haven 150; 4. Foran 147.5; 5. Cheshire 119; 6. Amity 104.5; 7. Branford 76.5; 8. North Haven 74.5; 9. Guilford 66.5; 10. West Haven 60.

Championship matches
106:Josh Perez (Xavier) tech. fall Sean Sevigny (Notre Dame-West Haven), 17-2 (3:18).
113:Treydan Beam (Xavier) dec. Gabe Sardone (Notre Dame-West Haven), 6-0.
120:Zack Dixon (Xavier) pinned Marcus Mizzone (Amity), 1:37.
126: Alexander Depratti (Xavier) pinned Noriel Gonzalez (Shelton), 1:39.
132: Zaphyr Musshorn (Xavier) dec. Luke Savage (Cheshire), 9-7.
138:Alex Uzzo (Guilford) dec. Hayden Minns (North Haven), 8-4.
144: Braylon Gonzalez (Xavier) tech. fall Andrew Jackson (Amity), 17-2 (2:00).
150: Geovani Cacerer-Garcia (West Haven) major dec. Thomas Mahon (Foran), 13-5.
157: Riley Storozuk (Notre Dame-West Haven) tech. fall Gavin Lefebvre (Foran), 17-1 (4:00).
165:Alphonse Milano (Notre Dame-West Haven) dec. Tyquell Lucas (Foran), 9-7.
175: Victor Rivera (Xavier) dec. Jack Lilly (Fairfield Prep), 9-8.
190: Chase Catalano (Xavier) tech. fall Panagiotis Christakos (Foran), 19-2 (4:48).
215:Aeden Webster (East Haven) pinned Anthony Nerette (Shelton), 1:39.
285: Chase Galke (Shelton) pinned Carter Marciano (Cheshire), 1:27.

Third-place matches
106:Joshua Vernon (Branford) dec. Bryce Simmons (Hand), 2-0.
113: Sawyer Miller (Foran) pinned Anthony Tseperkas (North Haven), 2:11.
120: Leo Lamore (Notre Dame-West Haven) dec. Daniel Goldsmith (West Haven), 7-0.
126:Harley Guida (Cheshire) pinned Kiernan Grillo (Notre Dame-West Haven), 3:46.
132: Ike Blomberg (Shelton) major dec. Greg Ladden (East Haven), 18-6.
138: Brandon Madera (Notre Dame-West Haven) major dec. Samson Ditman (Amity), 11-1.
144:Robert Perez (Cheshire) pinned Moises Morales-Orozco (Branford), 1:34.
150: Jagger DeBenedet (Shelton) pinned Ashton Manacchio (North Haven), 2:26.
157: Logan Martin (Sheehan) major dec. Ben Romero (Xavier), 15-6.
165:Akwasi Okyere (North Haven) dec. Amilio Venditti (Law). 9-5.
175: Domenic Maturo (Branford) pinned Andrew King (Hand), 4:59.
190: Trent Tracy (Branford) major dec. Noel Martinez (Cheshire), 18-9.
215: Michael Mordecai (Amity) pinned Guverro Liam Bercha (Guilford), 1:36.
285: Nicholas Esparo (Amity) dec. Jayden Gravel (Guilford), 8-1.

This article originally published at Xaxier wins 9th straight SCC wrestling championship as Braylon Gonzalez ties mark with 4th title.

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