Connecticut
Aspras, Taylor honored with Saunders and Schultz Awards, respectively – Connecticut Wrestling Online
Foran’s Kelly Aspras, left, and GFA’s Nate Taylor were honored as Connecticut’s winners of the 2024 Tricia Saunders Excellence Award and the Dave Schultz Excellence Award.
Milford’s Kelly Aspras of Foran High has been selected as the 2024 Connecticut winner of the Tricia Sanders High School Excellence Award and Greens Farms Academy senior Nate Taylor of the Sandy Hook section of Newtown has been selected as the state winner of the Dave Schultz Excellence Award in 2024 from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Both awards recognize and honor wrestlers for their excellence on the mat, scholastic achievement, citizenship and community service.
Aspras, who will attend nationally-ranked Sacred Heart University next winter, had a limited wrestling schedule this past winter. She eliminated wrestling against boys to avoid injuries and remain healthy throughout the season.
Aspras continued to dominate the competition among the girls. She finished third at the Eastern States Classic in New York at 145 pounds in January and won Foran’s Queen of the Mat tournament for the second time with three pins.
She won her third CIAC Girls Invitational championship and won her first New England championship at 152 pounds, finishing her high school season with a 13-1 record and 11 pins. She became the third girl in state history to win a third Girls Invitational title.
Taylor, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania next season, is a four-time National Prep School Tournament All-American. Three times, he finished third in 2021, 2022 and 2024 with a second place finish in 2023. Taylor wrestled at 190 this past season.
He won three New England Prep School championships in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and three Western New England championships, being named Most Outstanding Wrestler twice in 2023 and 2024. Taylor helped Greens Farms Academy win the last two New England championships.
Last December he was third at the Ironman Tournament in Ohio at 190 pounds and was an All-American at the Super 32 preseason tournament in 2022. He earned All-American honors in the 16-and-under division, formerly known as the Cadet Division, at 170 pounds at the USA Wrestling national championship meet in 2021.
In 2021, he won the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) freshman tournament at 160 pounds.
First presented in 2014, the Tricia Saunders Award is named in honor of Saunders, a four-time world champion wrestler and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman to be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.
The Dave Schultz Award was established in 1996 to honor Olympic and world champion Dave Schultz, whose career was cut short when he was murdered in January 1996. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member in 1997 and as a member of the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2016.
DANBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — Danbury drivers can expect hours-long closures on Sugar Hollow Road early Monday morning after a “serious” crash, according to local police.
Police said the morning crash has caused closures in both directions at the Ridgefield Line (Bennetts Farm Road) and at Miry Brook Road.
The road is expected to close for approximately three to four hours, police said.
Drivers are asked to seek alternate routes, including George Washington Highway and Route 53.
There are no words on injuries.
Additional information was not immediately available.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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ROCKY HILL, Conn. (WFSB) – People like Dena Pizzoferrato are changing what they put in their grocery carts after hearing about a cyclosporiasis outbreak.
“I’m kind of a little nervous so I’m looking to see what I buy right now,” Pizzoferrato said. “Today I didn’t buy any lettuce. I said I’m OK for now.”
Doctors say the illness is spread through parasites that make their way onto fresh produce. There have been 23 reported cases in Connecticut since May, but the CDC says the number is likely higher. Across the country, more than 840 cases and 86 hospitalizations have been reported in 31 states.
Symptoms include diarrhea and nausea that can last days to weeks. Doctors have not identified a source for the outbreak.
Dr. Ulysses Wu, chief epidemiologist at Hartford HealthCare, said a range of produce could be contaminated.
“Typical things you would think are vegetables or fruits. In the past, it’s been raspberries, basil, cilantro. You may find it in lettuces, bagged salads. So it’s a variety of things that can be contaminated, but they have not found it at this time,” said Wu.
Wu said residents should take precautions with their produce. “Take precautions with your fruit and your produce. We give the same advice when people go overseas that you should always peel something. You should always boil something,” he said.
Doctors also recommend washing produce thoroughly if boiling is not an option, and washing hands regularly.
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Chip Rubenstein, owner of Chip’s Auto Sales of Milford, says he’s honored to celebrate the dealership’s 50th anniversary alongside America’s 250th birthday.
“I opened Chip’s Auto Sales in 1976, during a chaotic time for our nation in the world,” said Rubenstein, “50 years later, I am so proud of the legacy I’ve created as somebody who always tried his best to do right, and to serve my community proudly.”
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