The Brunswick School Invitational Wrestling Tournament celebrated its 50^th anniversary and fittingly, host Brunswick was the gold standard at the event’s golden anniversary.

Winning four weight classes, while having numerous other athletes place among the top six in their respective bracket, the Bruins displayed their superior depth, enabling them to win their own tournament. For the second time in three seasons, Brunswick finished atop the team standings at the ultra-competitive, 14-team Brunswick Invitational on Jan. 18, amassing 373 points.

New York Military Academy finished second in the team standings with a team score of 257.5 points and Eagle Hill School from Massachusetts placed third (214 points). Greenwich High School made a strong showing, finishing fourth at the Brunswick Invitational (179.5), followed by Episcopal Academy (131.5) and St. Sebastian’s School (117).

Greenwich Country Day School finished in eighth place (75.5 points) and Hopkins School was seventh (116). The host Bruins have won their own Invitational Tournament 24 times since the tourney’s inception in 1976.

Nineteen Bruins wrestlers placed among the top six finishers in their respective weight division at the Brunswick Invitational on Jan. 18.

“This year is the 50th anniversary, so we’re especially excited to win it this year,” said Brunswick School assistant coach John Martin, who is on a coaching staff headed by Tim Ostrye, who has guided the program for more than several decades. “It took a full team effort, we knew New York Military Academy was going to be tough and pretty loaded. It was our team depth that allowed us to get the team trophy.”

Patrick O’Donohue, a senior co-captain, wrestled his way to the 138-pound weight class championship at the B.I.T. In the title match, O’Donohue, also a soccer star at Brunswick, won my major decision over Sawyer Bean of St. Sebastian’s, 11-3.

In the 138-pound semifinals, O’Donohue pinned Emran Moradi of Marvelwood School by pinfall in 1:48. He led the match, 10-1, prior to pinning his semifinal-round opponent. O’Donohue also earned pinfall victories in the first round and quarterfinals on his way to winning the 138-pound title.

“We were happy to see our senior co-captain Patrick O’Donohue win the tournament,” Martin said. “He got hurt at this tournament last year. He had a great soccer season for us and he is doing a great job on the wrestling mat as well.”

Ethan Phelps, a junior, finished in third place in the tournament’s 138-pound bracket for Brunswick, giving the squad valuable team points. Joseph DeMita, a Greenwich High School junior, placed fifth in the 138-pound division.

Jack Degl, a junior captain, claimed the tournament’s 167-pound title. He captured the championship trophy by scoring an 11-3 major decision against his foe from Thayer Academy in the final.

“It feels great, I got second last year, so I’m really glad I got it done this year we had a few finalists and a few champions and I’m really glad to be one of them,” Degl said.

An experienced wrestler, Degl has registered an impressive record of 18-1 for the Bruins so far this season. He won against his opponent from Hamden Hall Country Day School in the semifinals by pinfall in 1:27 and pinned his opponents in the first round and quarterfinals in less than one minute.

“I thought I wrestled pretty well, I didn’t go past the first period until the finals,” the top-seeded Degl said. “I didn’t get taken down at all, even in the finals. The only points scored on me were escapes.”

“In the finals, I thought I wrestled well, I thought I wrestled aggressive,” Degl continued. “In that finals match, he hit me really hard, I hit him back hard, we wrestled through that and I dominated. I’m pretty happy.”

“Jack is one of our leaders and a tough competitor,” Martin noted.

Leo Dubner from Greenwich Country Day School represented his team well in the 167-pound division. Dubner placed third overall.

Junior Michael Marini won the heavyweight division, the 287-pound division for the Bruins. The No. 1-seeded Marini pinned Booker Erskine of Episcopal Academy in the championship matchup in 1:05. Marini led the match, 3-0, when he pinned his opponent.

“It feels really good, the competition was good,” said Marini, also a Brunswick football player. “The first match I wrestled, the kid was a lot bigger than me, so I had to work hard.”

Marini has been a consistent force in the heavyweight division throughout the season for the Bruins.

“My junior season has been pretty good, I’ve lost a few matches, but I have to keep working and be ready for states,” Marini noted. “There are going to be a lot of challenges, so I have to keep working and keep going.”

“Marini continues to have a tremendous year at heavyweight,” Martin said. “He’s another multiple sport athlete.”

In the 101-pound weight class at the B.I.T., seventh-grader Jamie Cook won the round robin, bracket, which included four grapplers. Henry Gittes of Greenwich Country Day School placed second in 101-pound weight class.

Junior Alec Harned placed second for Brunswick in the 152-pound division. Harned was defeated by Jordan Joslyn of New York Military Academy by pinfall in the championship match in 3:24.

Harned won his semifinal-round match versus his Hopkins School opponent by major decision, 10-1.

Greenwich High School junior Jacob Rubenstein had a fifth-place finish in the 152-pound class. Brunswick junior Quinn McGraw was sixth in the 152-pound bracket. McGraw suffered a leg injury in the match for fifth place against Rubenstein and was forced to withdraw.

The 177-pound division saw Brunswick junior Will O’Reilly register a stellar second-place finish. O’Reilly lost to Benjamin Smith of New York Military Academy in the title bout by pinfall in 2:00. Sophomore Alex Neitzell was fourth for Greenwich High in the 177-pound class, while Cardinals teammate Oliver Schwartz, a freshman, finished fifth.

Greenwich Country Day School’s Evan Myers finished sixth in the 177-pound bracket.

Indeed, the Bruins’ depth was evident throughout their tournament

“We only had four champions, but we were able to win the tournament because of our depth,” Degl said. “We had so many guys at every weight and they’re pretty good. So, we had a lot of guys place.”

In the 192-pound division, Brunswick junior Jake Greene was the runner-up. Greene faced New York Military Academy’s Isael Perez in the final and lost by pinfall in 1:33. In the semifinals, Greene won by technical fall against his Hopkins School opponent. He was leading his semifinal match, 19-3. Bruins teammate Nikki Krause, a junior, placed third (192-pound).

Declan Murray, a Bruins senior, finished in second place in the 217-pound bracket. He lost to Canterbury’s Soren Rief by pinfall in the title match. In the 217 semifinals, Murray pinned his opponent’s shoulders to the mat in 2:16.

Sophomore M.J. Maraglino gave the Bruins a fifth-place finish in the 217 class. The 120-pound division saw Greenwich High School sophomore Mark Zolotarevsky post a second-place finish.

Zolotarevsky was defeated by Oumar Tounkara (New York Military Academy) in the finals by technical fall. In the 120 semifinals, Zolotarevsky was victorious against Brunswick senior captain Christian Yanoti, recording a hard-fought 11-9 decision.

Yanoti placed third in the 120 division and Graydon Ross from Greenwich Country Day School was fourth. Michael Ligouori, a sophomore, was sixth for the Bruins.

Sophomore Marco Sethi gave Brunswick a third-place finish in the 146-pound weight class, while teammate Nikki Krause, a junior, took third (192) in his class.

Greenwich High sophomore Cody Griesmeyer had a second-place finish in the 108-pound class. Paul Kesmodal of Brunswick was fourth (108). Also for the Cardinals, junior Isaac Bell finished second in the 128-pound bracket. Bell won two of his three matches on his way to a second-place showing.

GHS teammate Emmanuel Tertiropoulos, a junior, was third (128 division), while Owen Bartoszek, a sophomore took fifth for the Bruins.

Sophomore Judah Viders (134) placed fourth for the Bruins, while junior Jordan Chiapetta (287) was fifth.

Up next for Brunswick are road matches against Trinity-Pawling School (Jan. 25) and Salisbury School (Jan. 29). The FAA Duals are scheduled to take place on Feb. 1. For the season, the Bruins have a record of

Martin emphasized how focused and determined the Brunswick team is each day in practice and what an outstanding group of athletes they are to coach.

“We value every day with these guys in the wrestling room,” he said. “We have a lot of fun in there. Coming off exams, it was a great win today (at the B.I.T.).”