Branford wrestler Cheyenne Carden was third at 134 pounds at the 14th national girls tournament held this past weekend at Eastern Michigan University. Carden won by decision, 4-2, over Payton Woodall (Plainfield, IL) in the third-place match. To see complete results, click here.

Shelton senior Pat Gillen was pinned by Nick Gwiazdowsk of New York at 4:57 in the 215-pound division at the national tournament, held Sunday at Virginia Beach, VA.

Gillen finishes his career as a four-time All-American and four-time Academic All-American. He went 53-1 this year and 204-15 in his career. He set the state record for career wins at the national tournament. Gillen was a four-time Register All-Area selection and a two-time MVP.

Some information from Shelton wrestling coach Bill Maloney:

Shelton senior Pat Gillen, a four-time NHSCA All-American, is looking to become the first Connecticut wrestler to win a NHSCA Senior National title. Only two other state wrestlers have earned a spot in the senior finals – Windham High’s James Poulin at 275 pounds in 1991 and Hand’s Jim Guzzio at 130 in 1992. Both finished second.

Ledyard’s T.J. Hepburn is the only Connecticut wrestler to win a NHSCA national championship when he won a Junior National title at 135 pounds in 2006.

Gillen advanced to the championship final at 215 pounds at the national wrestling tournament after an impressive performance Saturday at Virginia Beach, Va. Gillen earned a major decision over Darren Hankins of Virginia, 15-7, to earn a spot in the finals, which will be held today at 5 p.m. Earlier in the day, Gillen pinned Blake Bean of Kansas at 2:41. Gillen will face Nick Gwiadowski of New York for the championship. Gillen is currently 53-0 on the season and has a career record 204-14.

Shelton senior Pat Gillen advanced to the championship final at 215 pounds at the national wrestling tournament after an impressive performance Saturday at Virginia Beach, Va. Gillen earned a major decision over Darren Hankins of Virginia, 15-7, to earn a spot in the finals, which will be held today at 5 p.m. Earlier in the day, Gillen pinned Blake Bean of Kansas at 2:41. Gillen will face Nick Gwiadowski of New York for the championship. Gillen is currently 53-0 on the season and has a career record 204-14.

Shelton senior wrestler Pat Gillen set the state record for career wins when he recorded his 201st during the NHSCA Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach on Friday. Gillen claimed the top spot after a pin over Brandon Lustgarten of FL in 35 seconds in his first match. Gillen's victory surpasses former Ledyard standout TJ Hepburn's mark of 200 wins. Gillen will face Michael Chapman of GA in the Round of 16 starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday. For brackets and results, click here.

The boys' swimming State Open championship took place Saturday at Yale's Kiphuth Pool. Some highlights:

Greenwich wins 27th title since 1973. Fellow FCIAC members Darien, Ridgefield and New Canaan finished second through fourth. Defending champion Pomperaug was fifth.

Among area teams, Xavier was 9th, Amity was 14th and Branford was 17th.

Amity junior Eric Holden wins the 100 breaststroke, finishing in a State Open record time of 56.37 seconds. It was the second straight title in that event for Holden, who has also won two straight Class L titles. Holden was also third in the 200 individual medley.

Ridgefield senior Andrew Klutey wins the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and swam on the winning 200 freestyle relay team, and on the 400 freestyle relay team that was third.

Xavier senior Kevin Kosciuk was second in the 200 IM.

Haddam-Killingworth senior Ryan Buys was second in the 100 butterfly.

Senior Michael Dustin led Greenwich by winning the 100 butterfly and third in the 50 freestyle. Dustin also swam on the winning 400 freestyle relay team.

Other area swimmers earning medals were:
Cheshire sophomore Gregory Han (sixth in the 200 IM, third in the 100 breaststroke) and Notre Dame-West Haven junior Nicholas Celestin (sixth in the 100 backstroke).

The State Open swimming championships will be contested today starting at 2:30 p.m. at Kiphuth Pool at Yale's Payne Whitney Gym.

Defending champion Pomperaug, Greenwich, New Canaan, Sacred Heart, among others, are expected to contend for the team title.

Click here for results from last night's diving championships, as well as pysch sheets for the swimming portion.

A pair of Sheehan swimmers placed second in their respective events at the Class M state championships Wednesday at the Freeman Center on the campus of Wesleyan University.

Senior Jared Thurston was second in the 50 yard freestyle, finishing in 21.83 seconds. Teammate Joshua Bjornberg was the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke (:59.52).

Notre Dame-West Haven’s Nicholas Celestin and Brett Borgognone placed fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 100 butterfly.

Tyler Olt of Branford was sixth in the 100 freestyle, while Hand’s Richard Denton placed fourth in the 100 backstroke.

New Canaan won the title, scoring 567.5 points. Darien was second (517.5) and Brookfield was third (481). Branford placed fifth, Notre Dame was 11th, and Sheehan finished 13th.

View complete results here.

The Foran swimming team placed third for the second straight year in Class S. Sacred Heart won its second title in three years and tallied 591.5 points. Defending champion Weston finished second with 382 points. Foran was next with 336, and Haddam-Killingworth was fourth with 327.

Foran sophomore Dylan Swanepoel won his second consecutive title in the 500 yard butterfly. Swanepoel was also second in the 200 freestyle. In the 500, Swanepoel edged Suffield's Kyle Eheander by four-tenths of a second.

"My coach was telling me to watch out for him (Eheander)," Swanepoel said. "I kept an eye open for him. It was a good race until the end."

Junior Richard Enders won the 100 backstroke for the Lions. Foran believed it could finish as high as second overall, although the Lions lacked depth. Foran brought just eight swimmers to the meet.

"We're really happy with it," Enders said. "We only had eight people from this team here. Other teams had a lot more. But we're really, really happy with third."

Greenwich has won its 18th straight divisional crown by winning the Class LL title on Tuesday. Fairfield Prep was second.

Xavier senior Kevin Kosciuk won the 200 yard individual medley, finishing in a school-record time of 1:54.69, at the Class LL state championship. Kosciuk finished second last season.

Ridgefield's Brian Bollerman, who won the event last season, finished second in 1:55.20.

Greenwich is seeking its 18th straight title. Fairfield Prep and Xavier should each vie for a top 3 finish. Check back for updates about the Class LL meet throughout the night.

Pomperaug won the Class L state boys' swimming title Tuesday at the Freeman Center at Wesleyan in Middletown. It was the fourth straight title for the Panthers. Amity was second, while Cheshire was fourth.

Amity junior Eric Holden won the 100 breaststroke at the Class L swimming meet. Holden won in 57.39 seconds, edging Cheshire's Gregory Han, who placed second in 57.85.

Holden won the event for the second straight year. Last year, Holden set a meet record with a time of 57.30.

Cheshire sophomore Gregory Han won the 200 individual medley in 1:54.51. Amity's Eric Holden was second in 1:57.39.

the 200 medley relay. The Spartans finished in 1:40.93, edging Pomperaug by three-tenths of a second. Cheshire was third.

From Wesleyan in Middletown. Follow this blog for updates throughout the meet.

Foran, which finished third in Class S in 2010, is again one of the contenders in that class. The Class S meet is scheduled for Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Wesleyan in Middletown.

Foran finished 8-5 during dual meets this year, and placed ninth at the SCC meet on March 2. However, competing against schools of its own size in Class S will allow the Lions to vie for the title. Sacred Heart, Haddam-Killingworth and Weston are also expected to contend for the title.

"Class S, we would definitely like to finish in the top 5," Foran coach Kristin Skuches said. "We know there's a very small point spread between second and seventh place right now so going in, definitely top 5. I'd love to see us repeat at third like we did last year, but definitely top 5. That's where we want to be."

Foran had a successful day at the trials this past Saturday.

"I think that was key," Skuches said. "We go into trials trying to place our kids as high as we possibly can. They went in and did that on Saturday. Getting all three of our relays into that top 8, having three kids in the final heat (of individual events), that will definitely help us try to achieve that goal."

Foran brings just eight swimmers to the divisional meet. However, sophomore Dylan Swanepoel (200 freestyle, 500 freestyle), junior Richard Enders (100 freestyle, 100 backstroke), and senior Andrew DeLuke (50 freestyle) will all compete in the final heat in their respective events.

Read more about Foran in Tuesday's Register.

Swimming Divisional meet schedule (all meets at Wesleyan):

Class LL, Tuesday, 7:15 p.m.
Class L, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
Class M, Wednesday, 7:15 p.m.
Class S, Wednesday, 3 p.m.

Shelton senior Pat Gillen defeated Brendan Battles-Santos from Nauset, Mass. by technical fall in the third period to win the championship at 215 pounds.
The victory marked career win No. 200 for Gillen, which tied Ledyard’s T.J. Hepburn for the state record.
Hepburn accomplished the feat from 2004-2007.
Gillen can set the record at the national tournament, which will be held later this month.
Hand junior Joe Demichele won his first New England title after emerging with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Ben Tammany of Timberlane, N.H. in triple overtime at 285.

Hale-Ray's Dillon Carter lost to Nate Lawrence of Timberlane, N.H. by a 7-1 decision at 160 pounds. Carter was also second at the State Open and won the Class S title.