New Haven — Renel Michel refers to himself as the New London High School wrestling team's manager his freshman year.

New London coach Mike Gorton said he actually thought he gave Michel a resounding pep talk one day during a tournament that season, when Michel was afraid to wrestle. He didn't find out until two years later that Michel had his twin brother, Renelson, wrestle for him instead. That's how nervous he was.

On Saturday, Renel Michel, a senior in his first season on the Whalers' varsity roster, was a State Open finalist at 285 pounds, the first New London wrestler to earn that distinction since Eric Murphy in 2004.

The No. 12 seed in the tournament, Michel, who weighed in at 219 pounds, pinned top-seeded Nick Martone of Platt in the semifinals before facing No. 2-seeded Michael Gaboardi of Danbury in the championship at the Floyd Little Athletic Center.

Michel was the runner-up, falling 6-4, despite leading the match 2-0 after the first period.

“He did a heck of a job,” Gorton said. “The kid had a lot of weight on him. That's a Danbury wrestler. The double (on which Michel scored) was absolutely beautiful and he rode him out. I'm proud of him."

Montville senior Joel Morth was the area's other finalist, competing at 132 pounds. He was the runner-up at that weight for the second straight season, edged by Ellis Tech's Baltazar “JoJo” Gonzelez 5-3. Morth, 43-2, suffered both losses this season to Gonzalez, although this match was much closer than the first, a 12-4 loss during a late-season tournament at Woodstock Academy.

“He's disappointed,” Montville coach Gary Wilcox said of Morth. “… We're going to do this whole thing over again next week (at New Englands) and I hope it comes down to them again. They're two gifted athletes out there.”

Morth said he made a “stupid move” the first time he wrestled Gonzalez, resulting in the decisive defeat. Gonzalez is a reigning New England champion, winning last year at 126.

“One of his biggest features is his condition,” Morth, last week's Class S champion, said prior to facing Gonzalez in the final. “He keeps coming.”

Danbury won the team title with 212.5 points, breaking its own Open records for points scored, as well as margin of victory. The Hatters had six individual champions. Newtown was second with 90 points. Montville was the top local team, tied for sixth with 83.

Both local finalists had dramatic semifinal wins.

Morth trailed 3-0 heading into the third period against No. 6 seed Ryan Angers of Tolland in the semis and was lying prone on the mat with the trainer and Montville's coaches standing over him.

He managed an escape to make it 3-1, then rallied with a takedown just as time ran out to force overtime. He topped Angers 5-3 in overtime.

“This is my biggest tournament of the season. I thought, 'I just have to push through it, do it for my coaches, do it for my family,'” Morth said.

“To be honest with you, it's like a blur to me. I elbow passed him (at the end of regulation). His hand touched the mat while my hand was around his waist. The refs talked it over and agreed. It all came down to heart. I'm not saying I had more heart than him or anything, but I had to dig deep.”

In the 285-pound semifinal, Michel, third last week in Class L, had just watched as his brother Renelson was pinned in the third period of the 220-pound semi. Renelson, the Class L champ, didn't feel he was pinned and reacted emotionally to the loss.

“It was hard,” Michel said. “I felt (Renelson's) energy. … I've never seen (Martone). I didn't know anything about him. … I've been following it for four years because of my brother, but this is my first year wrestling.

“It's just amazing. Unbelievable.”

Other semifinalists Saturday were Fitch's Jarod Kosman at 106 pounds and Ledyard's Bo Nguyen at 120.

Kosman, the Class L champion and top seed at the Open, lost his first match of the year, falling 5-4 to No. 4 Ryan Jack of Danbury in the semis. Nguyen, the No. 2 seed, fell 6-2 to No. 6 Chandler Duhaime of Shelton. No. 2 Renelson Michel was pinned by No. 6 Thomas Long of Newtown in 5:06.

Kosman, Ledyard's Collin Crader (170) and Montville's Emanuel Diaz (182) finished third. Ledyard's Mike Sullivan was fourth (182) and Montville's Noah Caskey (126), Montville's Sam Kury (145) and Fitch's Dakota Grover (195) were fifth. Ledyard's Nguyen and Jacob Millbach (160) were sixth along with Renelson Michel.

v.fulkerson@theday.com