Colin Falla entered the 2026 Joe Sikorski FCIAC Wrestling Tournament undefeated against CIAC opponents and seeded first in the 285-pound weight class and he the Greenwich High School senior captain definitely illustrated why he was the top-ranked competitor in his weight class at the ultra-competitive event.

Falla continued his unbeaten wrestling season in the state, excelling on one of the biggest stages of the season for high school grapplers in Fairfield County.

In one of the most exciting and hard-fought matches of the Joe Sikorski FCIAC Wrestling Tournament at New Canaan High School on Feb. 14, Falla won the 285-pound weight class championship, edging Fairfield Warde senior Jose Abreau Barillas in the title match. All eyes were on the heavyweight match at the FCIAC Tournament, which saw Falla defeat Abreau Barillas in an ultimate tiebreaker, following three overtime periods.

“It feels great, I’ve been wrestling since I was in kindergarten and people talk about the FCIAC Tournament and I’ve been watching it since I was a little kid,” Falla said of winning the FCIAC heavyweight wrestling championship. “Just to be out on the big stage and getting it done means a lot.”

Falla earned his 100th career win against Danbury for Greenwich, which finished eighth in the team standings at the FCIAC Tournament, which included 15 squads. Fairfield Warde won the FCIAC team championship with a total of 203.5 points, Ridgefield finished second (196 points) and Danbury was third (180.5 points).

For the season, Falla has registered an outstanding record of 24-0 in the state (CIAC) and 25-2 mark overall, his only losses coming at the Brunswick School Invitational Tournament.

“Colin has had a great year,” Cardinals coach Jere Petersen said. “He’s had some close matches and he’s wrestled really smart.”

A member and captain of Greenwich’s 2025 CIAC Class LL state championship football team, Falla was named to the 93rd New Haven Register All-State Football Team for his impressive season as an offensive lineman this past fall.

“Football transfers to wrestling and wrestling transfers to football,” Falla said of how the sports are connected. “Our offensive line coach used to coach wrestling and there’s a lot of translation there.”

“He has really good body positioning,” Petersen said of Falla’s wrestling skills. “Part of that is being an offensive lineman. He moves really well for a heavyweight.”

In the heavyweight (285-pound) FCIAC championship match between Falla and Abreau Barillas, the first period was scoreless, before Abreau Barillas took a 1-0 lead with an escape with 1:39 remaining in the second period.

Falla tied the match at 1-1 when he executed an escape at the 1:49 mark of the third period, which ended knotted at 1-1. Following a scoreless one minute of overtime, two 30 second overtime periods took place.

Abreau Barillas went ahead, 2-1, with an escape in the second overtime, but Falla evened the score again with an escape in the third overtime. Then came the ultimate overtime period. Fairfield Warde’s Abreau Barillas chose to go on the bottom, so if Falla held on for 30 seconds and Abreau Barillas didn’t escape, the title would go to Falla.

Greenwich’s senior captain held on tightly and rode out for the ultimate overtime win in the heavyweight division.

“The Warde kid is really strong, really athletic,” Falla said. “I haven’t seen him this year, but he’s a really great competitor. He gave me a tough challenge. I’m sure I’ll see him again, maybe in the State Open. I’m blessed to have this opportunity.”

Falla advanced to the championship match by defeating Nicholas Mercado of Wilton in the semifinals by a 6-3 decision. The quarterfinal round saw Falla pin Brien McMahon senior Jaiden Caro in four minutes. At the time of the pin, Falla held a 9-1 advantage.

Being the No. 1 seed earned Falla an first-round bye. Cardinals junior Mark Zolotarevsky was seeded second for the Cardinals in the 138-pound weight class at the FCIAC Tournament. Zolotarevsky, also a captain, made it all the way to the championship match, where he lost by decision to senior Paul Soracco of Fairfield Warde in the 138-pound final, 8-5.

“I’m not totally happy with how I finished, but I thought it was a big improvement from last year, I got sixth,” Zolotarevsky said. “I put in a lot of work in the offseason.”

After Zolotarevsky had an escape, Soracco scored a takedown and a near fall to go ahead, 7-1, in the third period. Zolotarevsky closed to within 8-5 later in the third period on the strength of an escape and a takedown.

Greenwich’s 138-pounder was close to tying the match up and was in position for a takedown when time ran out in the match.

“I think I should have pushed the pace in the first period,” Zolotarevsky noted. “I waited a little too long.”

“He had a chance at the end to keep that match going,” Petersen said of Zolotarevsky. “He’s had a couple of tight, tough matches. He has had some good, competitive matches all year.”

As the No. 2 seed, Zolotarevsky got an opening round bye. He won by pinfall against New Canaan junior Andrew Mastronardi in the quarterfinals in 3:46 and outlasted senior Lucas Sotolongo from St. Joseph in the semifinals, 11-6.

Senior Ben Graziosi earned a third-place finish in the 215-pound division for the Cards. Following a first round bye, the third-seeded Graziosi was pinned by Darien senior Nicholas Faugno in the quarterfinals in 1:01. Graziosi then won his match versus senior Sevastian Vazquez from Stamford in the consolation round by pinfall in 53 seconds.

In the 215-pound consolation semifinals, Graziosi pinned New Canaan’s Cooper Fox in 22 seconds. Graziosi was defeated by Trumbull’s Jonathan Kubie, a senior, by major decision, 16-2 in the consolation match for third place in the bracket.

“I obviously, wanted to get first, but it didn’t happen, so next best thing, so I have to keep coming back, keep getting better,” Graziosi said. “I’ll be ready for LLs.”

The CIAC Class LL Tournament is scheduled to be held Feb. 20-21 at Trumbull High School.

So far this season, Graziosi has posted a 30-7 record, including a 2-2 mark in the FCIAC tourney.

“I wasn’t really tired, it was just my mind playing tricks on me and so I just didn’t let it get the best of me,” Graziosi said of wrestling four matches in the conference tournament. “The season has been good, it’s been better than my junior year. I came here and got sixth last year, so it’s obviously, nice to get third. It’s an improvement. I work really hard to win and I want to go out and win every time.”

“Ben’s been great on his feet,” Petersen said. “When he’s had good flow on his feet, he’s been really successful. He did a good job of wrestling back and getting third here. He has a good chance of making a run at LLs.”

Senior Joseph DeMita recorded a strong third place finish for the Cardinals in the 144-pound division at the FCIAC Tournament. He pinned Trumbull’s Daniel Hughes in the opening round (1:48), then lost to John Carrozza (Ridgefield) in the quarterfinals (pinfall, 2:49).

In the consolation round, DeMita earned a hard-fought 15-11 decision over Brien McMahon’s Jake DiChiara, 15-11, then topped his opponent from New Canaan in the consolation semis, 9-4. Fairfield Warde senior Griffin Caird pinned DeMita in the 144-pound consolation final, so DeMita earned a fourth-place finish.

Eli Himelstein, a senior, also had a fourth-place finish for GHS. Himelstein placed fourth in the 165-pound bracket. He pinned Brandon Garcia from Warde in the first round in 3:31 after holding a 10-1 lead, then was edged by his Fairfield Ludlowe foe in the quarterfinal round, 9-6.

Himelstein also wrestled well in the consolation bracket, pinning St. Joseph’s Santiago Hidalgo in 1:49, then beating Yancy Braxton from Norwalk by pinfall (4:49). In a highly competitive match for third place, Himelstein was pinned by Danbury senior Luca Serba (4:49).

Freshman Andrew Miller (120-pound division won his first-round match before losing in the quarterfinals and senior Jacob Rubenstein (157) was victorious in his opening-round match for the Cardinals.

“The guys who were in this tournament really fought hard,” Falla said of his Cardinals squad. “We had a lot of guys wrestling for third. Wrestling back is not easy in these tournaments. We had a lot of great outcomes in this tournament.”

A mainstay on the mat, Falla is one of Greenwich’s most experienced competitors.

“My dad got me into wrestling when I was in kindergarten and I fell in love with it,” he said. “I’ve been doing it ever since I was a kid. My brother (Drew) was wrestling heavyweight when I was a freshman. I saw what hard work can do and how it can take you far.”

Indeed, Falla is primed to wrestle to victory at the upcoming CIAC Class LL Tournament and the State Open Championships.

“The goal is always to win it,” Falla said. “There are tough challenges everywhere, so I’m just going to go out practice hard and prepare myself.”

Zolotarevsky also has his sights set high.

“I want to win a State Open title,” Zolotarevsky noted. “It’s going to take a lot more work and being mentally stronger than everyone else.”