Eastern has won 12 of its first 14 dual meets and for the first time since taking second in 1998, the Lancers were in the hunt for the Bristol Central Invitational championship.

Eastern placed four wrestlers in the championship round and led rival Bristol Central by nine points and visiting Mohonosen High of Rotterdam, N.Y. by 14.5 points before the finals.

But Eastern still has to learn how to close it out if they are to attain Krueger’s vision of becoming a state championship contender and a top 10 squad.

The Lancers went 0-for-4 in the finals while five of the six Mohonosen wrestlers prevailed to lead the tired visitors to a 173.5 to 167 win over Eastern in the 21st annual Bristol Central Invitational Monday.

The slimmed-down Invitational was cut to just 11 teams. The 16-team affair had originally been scheduled for Jan. 4, but was postponed by snow.

Host Bristol Central finished tied for third with 162 points, with Bruce Guillmette (215) bringing home a championship. Plainville was also third with a pair of champions -- Vito Barbagallo (140) and the most outstanding wrestler of the tournament, Jesse Cavallaro (119).

Plainville, missing starter Dave Chapman (189) with the flu, still was able to finish third for the second straight year. Cavallaro (119) had 10 takedowns in his win over Bristol Central’s A.J. Boi as he won his second straight Central Invitational championship. Barbagallo (140) was too much for Mohonosen’s Matt Poodlack in a 19-4 victory. Brian Wilson (275) lost in double OT to Mohonosen’s Matt Cole when he couldn’t escape in the 30-second OT session.

Tran Trang (103) and Fangiullo (215) each finished second while Jordan Benson (112) turned in an outstanding performance to finish third. Plainville also wrestled three times on Saturday in a quad-meet.

Mohonosen, which only had nine wrestlers in the tournament thanks to schoolwork commitments and some weight problems, finished in second in a two-day tournament on Friday and Saturday in Saugerties, N.Y. They host dual meets tonight and Thursday back home in New York.

Mohonosen wrestlers beat Eastern grapplers in a pair of head-to-head matchups in the finals. Chris Ronca (145) caught Eastern junior Adam Dekow in the first period and pinned him while A.J. Goska (152) outlasted Dan Strong, 8-4, handing the sophomore his first defeat in 19 bouts this winter.

"Our kids really stepped it up in the finals," Mohonosen coach Sean Daley said. "That was nice since only one of our finalists was a senior."

Eight of Mohonosen’s nine wrestlers finished in the top 3.

Eastern senior Ryan Lavoie (125) lost to Branford’s Cito Martone, 10-0, in the finals while Vinal Tech’s Ryan Borowitz was too strong for senior Josh Schumacher at 189 pounds, who was pinned in 1:58. Matt Chapulas (171), Al Blumenthal (215) and Sean Connoly (275) each finished third. Brian Martin, who normally wrestles at 103, finished second in the 95-pound exhibition class.

"We wrestled OK," Krueger said of Eastern’s effort in the tournament. "We were capable of wrestling better. You need to look to improve each match, every practice. Still, the kids turned in a very solid effort today."

Central’s Guillmette improved to 17-2 with his 6-2 win in the final over Plainville’s Justin Fangiullo. A key takedown in the third period iced the win for Guillmette. Teammates Adam DellaBianca (112) and Boi (119) each finished second while Kyle Dess (103), Mike Fiorini (125), Pat Fanelli (135), Dan Aparo (140) and Mike McMahon (145) each shook off losses to rally and finish third in their respective weight classes.

The effort was a soothing tonic after a rough Saturday at the Art Powers Duals in Berlin where Central (10-6) dropped matches to Berlin, Waterford and Stamford while getting past Fitch.

"They are tough kids and they bounced back," Central’s first-year coach Brian Archibald said. "We threw them to the wolves (in the first half of the season) with a tough schedule but they’ve done OK."

MAT DUST: Ledyard’s Bill Heuschneider (103) and Adam Collins (171), Cavallaro and Jonathan Law’s Anthony Fischetti (130) each won their second straight championships. Goodwin Tech’s Brent Seaver, who trains with Bristol Central, went 0-2 on the afternoon wrestling at 189 pounds. ... Eastern’s Matt Chapulas earned the fast fall award with three pins in 3:05, including a 24 second pin in the consolation round. ... How did Mohonosen find out about this tournament? Turns out that the uncle of current Central wrestler Mike McMahon is Daley, the head coach at Mohonosen. ... Two-time defending champion Cranston East, R.I. wasn’t able to attend.