Haddam — It was a day of triumph for Concascias and Caskeys, a day of brothers doing it for their brothers. And a day that didn't quite end in a state championship, but just might have set the baseline for one in the future.

When it was over Saturday, Montville High School finished second at the Class S wrestling championships, behind only its Eastern Connecticut Conference brethren from Windham, which earned its 12th state championship and third straight Class S title.

Still, the Indians were plenty happy with the second-place finish to one of the state's time-honored programs, not to mention a pair of their own individual state champions.

"I'm OK with this," senior Ian Concascia said, following his 100th career victory, a 9-3 decision in the 170-pound finals over top-seeded Tyler Bergeron of Terryville. "We came into the season with four or five freshmen in the starting lineup. I don't think anyone had expectations this high for us. I came into the season optimistic, but I didn't see us ending in this position. I love my team.

"We have a really young core and we're only going to get better and better," Concascia said. "I'm excited to see what they're going to do next year and the year after."

Concascia nearly wrestled at the same time as his brother, Austin, who ultimately lost his 145-pound match to Haddam-Killingworth's Grayson Adler. Meet officials used two mats for expediency, attempting to get spectators and participants home before Saturday's winter storm.

The Concascias would have been wrestling at the same time had the match preceding Ian Concascia's not gone into overtime.

"I thought it was going to be a real cool story to tell my kids one day," Ian Concascia said. "I hate it when my brothers lose. It just pushes me harder."

Concascia shares brotherly inspiration from teammate Noah Caskey, the 106-pound champion. Noah Caskey, a freshman, won Class S the year after his brother, Jake, won a Class S title in his senior season. Jake Caskey wrestled most of the championship match with a broken nose.

"He's helped me out every step of the way," Noah said of his brother. "Jake taught me if you don't go all out, you're always going to be average, mediocre."

Noah Caskey needed every bit of inspiration to defeat Julio Flores of Windham, who defeated Caskey twice before Saturday's finals. Flores had a 2-0 lead into the third period. Caskey rallied and won 5-2.

"You don't give up," Noah Caskey said. "You never give up."

Montville placed four wrestlers in the finals, including Joel Morth, who lost to Windham's Jacob Martin at 120.

Clearly, the Caskeys and Concascias left Haddam-Killingworth's fieldhouse happy. Caskey's dad, Greg, paced most of the match, watching the end of it closer to the hallway than the mat. Concascia's dad, Don, saw his son being interviewed after the championship match and yelled "that's my boy!"

Indeed.

"From day one of my freshman year, I had the goal I was going to win a state championship," Ian Concascia said. "Last year I was really upset when I lost in the semifinals. It pushed me harder this year. I'm very happy."

m.dimauro@theday.com

Twitter: @BCGenius