NEW MILFORD -- By holding its own tournament for the last 26 years, the New Milford High wrestling team has gotten a

mid-season look at how it stacks up against some tough competition.

If Saturday's performance is any indication of postseason potential, then New Milford has plenty to look forward to in the second half of this season. The Green Wave claimed four individual titles and won the tournament with 173.5 points.

New Milford High’s Mike Bellagamba, top, controls Sam Schwartz of Housatonic Valley in the semifinals of Saturday’s tournament. Bellagamba went on to win the 152-pound division as the Green Wave won four individual titles en route to a victory.

"There is a big difference in a tournament compared to wrestling in a dual match or multi-match event," said New Milford coach Daryl Daniels. "In a dual match the kids know who they are wrestling. This type of tournament gives you a look of what you have getting ready for the postseason tournaments."

New Milford finished 48 points ahead of second-place Shelton. Ridgefield finished third at 118 points.

"Overall as a staff we are satisfied," added Daniels. "This is our midseason and the key time is now until the end of the month. We just hope that the team is not satisfied."

Eight New Milford grapplers finished in the top four of their individual weight class.

Nick Amorando started the run on individual titles with a victory in the 103-pound division. The freshman took down and pinned Nat Summerton of Guilford in just 42 seconds for the victory. In the 112-pound final, older brother Anthony came up just short in an 8-6 loss to Mike Briskin of Cheshire. Nevertheless, it was a good night for the family.

"We have no sibling rivalry," said Nick, who claimed his first title as a varsity wrestler. "It was just great to line up next to him, on varsity, in a final."

"As a team we went out and wrestled real hard as a team," he added. "We wrestled back really well and we did everything strong."

The Green Wave picked up a second individual title in the 130-pound final as Luke Andrade defeated Matt Fallon of Ridgefield to claim the crown with a 6-3 decision. Andrade took two points on a take down in the final three seconds of regulation to tie the match and then gathered three more points in the third overtime period for the victory.

"I just had to win that match," said Andrade. "I was just trying to score at the end and it was a huge move."

After the Wave's Dan Cahalane took second in the 140-pound class, Michael Bellagamba conquered the 152-pound division with a 6-1 decision over Andrew Ford of Bethel. In the 171-pound title match, New Milford secured its fourth and final title of the night as Cody Griswold scored a 4-2 decision over NFA's Patrick Sawyer.

Also scoring important points for New Milford was Edin Messanovic, who took third at 125 with a 10-0 decision over Ricky Jordan of Shelton. In the 145-pound division, Tim Bradle placed fourth.

However, New Milford was not the only local program to have success. With five wrestlers in the top four, Ridgefield claimed its lone individual title in the 125-pound class as Alex Blank, the defending State Open champion, won a 15-2 major decision over George Fernandes of Bethel.

"We brought nine kids and two of our kids, a freshman and sophomore, lost matches in the last minute," said Ridgefield coach Gary Tiger. "If they place, we have seven of nine place. It's still a good day as we had five of nine place."

Mike Danise of Bethel also scored an individual title with a pin of Pat Plumb of Seymour in the 285-pound final. Robert Fiore of Joel Barlow took second at 145 while Mike McKeever of Brookfield took second at 189.

TEAM SCORES: 1. New Milford 173.5, 2. Shelton 125.5, 3. Ridgefield 118.0, 4. Bethel 99, 5. Guilford 97, 6. Housatonic 94.0, 7. Seymour 90.5, 8. Norwich Free Academy 77.5, 9. Cheshire 64, 10. Platt Tech 54, 11. Brookfield 47, 12. Rocky Hill 36.5, 13. Ansonia 26, 14. Sheehan 24, 15. New Milford B 21, 16. Joel Barlow 17.5, 17. Notre Dame 15, 18. Holy Cross 13, 19. Shepaug 9.5.

103: Championship: Nick Amorando, New Milford, pinned Nat Summerton, Guilford, 0:42. Consolation: Jed Cervero, Cheshire, dec. Eric Rigoli, Shelton, 5-4.

112: Championship: Mike Briskin, Cheshire, dec. Anthony Amorando, New Milford, 8-6. Consolation: Colin Paulish, Ridgefield, dec. Ben Arel, Housatonic, 10-6.

119: Championship: Rob Ferrante, Shelton, dec. Gary DiPietro, Seymour, 10-8. Consolation: Dominic Ghi, Housatonic, dec. Joe Levine, Brookfield, 8-0.

125: Championship: Alex Blank, Ridgefield, dec. George Fernandes, Bethel, 15-2. Consolation: Edin Messanovic, New Milford, dec. Ricky Jordan, Shelton, 10-0.

130: Championship: Luke Andrade, New Milford, dec. Matt Fallon, Ridgefield, 6-3. Consolation: Josh Morales, Notre Dame-Fairfield, by forfeit.

135: Championship: Nick Guilette, Sheehan, dec. Andrew Lischke, Bethel, 3-1. Consolation: Kane Jarmon, NFA, dec. Ethan Shore, Guilford, 7-5.

140: Championship: Gage Hoegesyn, Seymour, dec. Dan Cahalane, New Milford, 7-2. Consolation: Buddy Kiefner, Platt Tech, by default.

145: Championship: T.J. Magnoli, Rocky Hill, dec. Robert Fiore, Barlow, 5-1. Consolation: Kyle Muenzner, NFA, dec. Tim Bradle, New Milford, 6-2.

152: Championship: Michael Bellagamba, New Milford, dec. Andrew Ford, Bethel, 6-1. Consolation: Jordan Tiger, Ridgefield, pinned Sam Schwartz, Housatonic, 4:33.

160: Championship: Kyle Lundberg, Guilford, dec. Rob Tomlinson, Cheshire, 4-3. Consolation: Rob Rusnak, Platt Tech, dec. Bradley Visconti, Housatonic, 7-2.

171: Championship: Cody Griswold, New Milford, dec. Patrick Sawyer, NFA, 4-2. Consolation: Stewart Lamberton, Guilford, dec. Scott Wolfe, Shepaug, 7-2.

189: Championship: Pat Gillen, Shelton, dec. Mike McKeever, Brookfield, 4-2. Consolation: E.J. Wasikowski, Seymour, pinned Peter Brazee Housatonic, 2:39.

215: Championship: Travis Torello, Ansonia, dec. Ben Wilbur, Housatonic, 8-4. Consolation: Ryan Cicchese, Ridgefield, dec. Andrew Teofilo, Guilford, 5-1.

285: Championship: Mike Danise, Bethel, pinned Pat Plumb, Seymour, 3:01. Consolation: Rich Wigglesworth, Shelton, dec. Stephan Martucci, Guilford, 1-0.