2023-2024 Regular Season Kickoff

THE TIME IS HERE! THE ROAD TO ALBANY BEGINS TODAY!

The 2023-2024 season kicked off today, officially. Christmas comes early, ladies and gentlemen. As another season is upon us, many will embark on their final journeys while others take the mats at the Varsity level for the first time. As a whole, let's take a look at some of the top headlines heading into the season, this season's "By the Numbers" and a few sleepers that may cause some noise.

BY THE NUMBERS: 2023-2024 SEASON

17 - New York State Champions
15 - New York State Runner-Ups
91 - New York State Place Winners
142 - New York State Qualifiers
14 - Eastern States Champion
5 - Eastern States Runner-Ups
28 - Eastern States Place Winners
6 - NHSCA Champions
4 - NHSCA Runner-Ups
41 - NHSCA Place Winners
4 - Super 32 Champions
3 - Super 32 Runner-Ups
5 - Super 32 Place Winners
2 - Fargo FS National Champions
5 - Fargo FS All-Americans
2 - Fargo GR All-Americans
4 - Grappler Fall Classic Champions
2 - Journeymen Fall Classic Champions
2 - Journeymen Fall Classic Runner-Ups
11 - Journeymen Fall Classic Place Winners
9 - MAWA Champions
6 - MAWA Runner-Ups
13 - MAWA Place Winners
2 - Ohio TOC Champions
3 - Ohio TOC Runner-Ups
27 - Ohio TOC Place Winners
3 - Reno Worlds Champions
3 - Reno Worlds Runner-Ups
1 - USMC 15U Greco Place Finisher
1 - USMC 15U Runner-Up
2 - USMC 15U FS Place Finishers
3 - Moobin Classic Champions
1 - Walsh Ironman Champion
1 - Powerade Place Finisher
5 - North East Regionals FS Champions
11 - North East Regionals FS Runner-Ups
17 - North East Regionals FS Place Finishers
5 - North East Regionals Greco Champions
6 - North East Regionals Greco Runner-Ups
18 - North East Regionals Greco Place Finishers
57 - NYS Freestyle Champions
43 - NYS Freestyler Runner-Ups
54 - NYS Freestyle Place Finishers
44 - NYS Greco Champions
36 - NYS Greco Runner-Ups
30 - NYS Greco Place Finishers

PRESEASON RANKED WRESTLERS BY SECTION

70 - Section 5
48 - Section 3
43 - Section 8
43 - Section 11
42 - Section 4
40 - Section 2
40 - Section 6
24 - Section 9
23 - Section 1
16 - CHSAA
11 - PSAL
8 - Section 10
6 - Section 7
1 - AIS

TIOGA REMAINS ON TOP; COACH HARRINGTON'S SQUAD AIMS FOR A 3-PEAT

In the past two seasons, The Tioga Tigers have not lost a dual meet and left the SRC Arena in Syracuse as Division 2 Dual Meet Champions. Coach Kris Harrington and company are in prime position for a 3-peat. This years' senior heavy squad is led by three New York State Champions, Gianni Silvestri, Caden Bellis and Ousmane Duncanson. All three are ranked in the top 10 in NYWN's Class of 2024 Rankings. 2x NYS Champion Gianni Silvestri (#4) has committed to Clarion, Reigning NYS Champion Caden Bellis (#5) will be heading to the University of Pennsylvania and 2x NYS Gold Medalist Ousmane Duncanson will be joining 4x NYS King Anthony Noto at Lock Haven. This 3-headed monster gives Tioga a near 18 points each dual meet.

Not to be outdone, four other Tiger seniors landed in the top 150. Tyler Roe (5th in NYS) comes in at #49 with Drew Macumber (6th in NYS) at #64. Binghamton Commit, Deakon Bailey is currently sitting at #75 and is looking to expand on his 6th place finish in Albany from last season. Levi Bellis rounds out this amazing core of Senior Tigers. Bellis is aiming for his first trip to South Pearl St. during his final stanza.

I'm not sure if Tioga is rebuilding or just simply reloading. Their underclassmen have been taking shape thus far. Right off the top, Ousmane's younger brother Jayden is already a 2x NYS bronze medalist. It is only a matter of time before the youngster will be wrestling on Saturday night inside the MVP Arena. His national prominence is on the rise also after taking 7th place at the NHSCA nationals this past Spring. The 5th part if this quintet is 2023 NYS Runner-Up Logan Bellis. Bellis and Company are looking to amass the 157.5 points they scored last year in Albany and perhaps a state record for individual champions in one season.

SAME FACES - NEW PLACES

Transfer Portal 101.
Instructor: New York State
Class Length: June-September

That is the course I take each off season. A daunting task of keeping track of well over 1000 student athletes from New York and where they may potentially land before the start of the upcoming season. Even a mere five years ago, there wasn't much, if any, movement in the off season. Fast forward, and the movement has grown exponentially. Truth be told....I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! One cannot disagree that transfers cause a massive buzz around the state, regardless of situations or circumstances. This off-season alone, from what I was made aware of, the following wrestlers will be dawning a new singlet this season:

Braidon Woodward - Palmyra Macedon-5
Gage LaPlante - St. Francis-C
Griffin LaPlante - St. Francis-C
Cullen Edwards - St. Francis-C
Zachary Caldwell - St. Francis-C
Kole Haseley - St. Francis-C
Max McCarthy - St. Francis-C
Caden Barrientos - Lewiston Porter-6
Jaron Barrientos - Lewiston Porter-6
Eian Peterson - Niagara Wheatfield-6
Angelo Turo - Central Square-3
Sean Gordon - St. Joe's Collegiate-C
Anthony Valls - Chenango Forks-4
Brayden Kellison-Neglia - Williamsville North-6
Jacob Hurd - New Hartford-Sauquoit Valley-Utica Proctor-3
Landon Lee - Chaminade-C

As many know, The Red Raiders of St. Francis have have made the biggest splash by far this offseason. Coach Messore and company are clear favorites to claim the CHSAA Dual Meet Championship this season. I will be the first to vouch that St. Francis should be at the NYS Duals in Syracuse as well as Iona Prep from last season. The black and red squad representing the Catholic League in Albany will turn some heads this year, mark my words.

Surprise....Surprise.....Welcome [back] to New York!

After a 3 year hiatus, Mason Ketcham has returned back to New York from Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey. Back in 2020, Ketcham went on to finish 3rd in Section 9 as a 7th grader. During that season, Mason reeled off 20 straight wins after losing his first ever varsity match to Marco Giumarra of Cornwall. Thirteen of those 20 wins came via bonus points. Ketcham would avenge his loss to Giumarra at the Section 9 tournament, 2-1. Impressively, the youngster racked up 35 wins that season. Needless to say, Ketcham should be joining a star studded squad, reppin the blue and white "IX", in Albany this season. Section 9 had quite the showing last season, winning the overall Sectional Team Title, outlasting Section 2, 218.5-200.5. Section 9 put 7 in the finals, 5 coming away with the gold.

As a freshman in 2022, Mason was a NJSIAA state alternate after placing 5th at the Region 1 Championships. During that season he compiled a 23-9 record. Unfortunately Mason missed his entire sophomore campaign. Ketcham would garnish some national recognition while competing at NHSCA Nationals. In 2022, he would earn All-American status (8th). Ketcham's key win would come against 2022 Florida State Champion Frankie Florio, 9-4. This past Spring, another trip to VA Beach didn't end the way he had hoped. A 3-2 record, although admirable, wasn't enough to get back onto the blocks however his three wins came against three different state qualifiers, one from South Carolina, one from Florida, and the third....2x NYS PF (8-8) Dylan Devine (Schalmont-2).

The Now-Washingtonville Junior qualified for Fargo in 2023. On the grandest stage of them all, he would leave the FargoDome with a 4-2 record. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to reach the blocks. Impressively, Mason racked up the points in his 4 wins. In three of his wins, he would reach the 10 point plateau. He seem to run into alot of West Coast grapplers. Three of his wins came against wrestlers from Alaska, California and Colorado.
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Vincent Tripaldi has made the trek south from New Fairfield, Connecticut to New Rochelle, New York. The newest member of the Iona Gales brings quite the resume and experience with him over the border into the Empire State. Tripaldi joins an Iona squad that was an astounding 35-1 in dual meets last season. Tripaldi's presence in the middle weights only furthers the Gaels' depth, which includes George Johnson ,Jude Bellatoni (4th @ CHSAA '23), Justin Shay (56-1, 3rd in NYS '23), Paolo Ciatto (48-8, 8th in NYS '23), Eric Grant (54-2, NYS Qualifier) and Kosta Koufalis (44-4, CHSAA Runner-Up '23).

While Vincent was at New Fairfield, he was a 2023 Connecticut Open State Runner-Up (Class S State Champion), went 2-2 at the 2023 New England Championships (Lost in the blood round), and went 3-2 at the 2023 Eastern States Classic with wins over NYS D2 Qualifier Ryker Cox (Cobleskill-Richmondville-2), NYS D2 Runner-Up Andrew Spaulding (Honeoye Falls Lima-5), and 2x NYS D2 Qualifier/2023 Graduate Evan Shriberg (Locust Valley-8). Lastly, this past Spring, Tripaldi split four bouts in Virginia Beach at the NHSCA Nationals. In his two wins; he would defeat Paul Bessette (2022 Georgia 6th) and Tottenville's Eric Pinto (2023 PSAL 4th).

Sadly, as some may enter the Empire State, others depart with higher ambitions:

Perhaps the biggest news from this offseason is current Penn St. Recruit/4x NYS Champion/2022 UWW U17 World Freestyle Bronze Medalist Zack Ryder is foregoing his senior season at Minisink Valley and will be training with the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club. Ryder has reached the state finals in each of his 5 seasons with the warriors, with his only blemish coming in 7th grade to 4x NYS Champion and current Northern Colorado Stud Stevo Poulin. It is a bittersweet ending to arguably one of the most prolific careers in New York State history.

3x NYS place finisher (5-7-3) Liam English has departed from Cobleskill-Richmondville and will be competing for the New York Military Academy.
Gabriel Garibaldi will be attending Green Farms (CT) after taking 6th place at states in 2023 while competing for Iona Prep.
Aiden Shufelt jumped a few states, Pennsylvania and Maryland specifically, and landed in Virginia. Shufelt ended his career in NY with bronze medal finish last year at the MVP Arena.
Formerly of Homer, Talan Hubbard took his talents west to Spire, Ohio. An injury last season ended Hubbard season. In 2022, Talan was a New York State Champion at 113lbs

New Year - New Weights:

The new weight classes for the 2023-2024 season will be:
101lbs
108lbs
116lbs
124lbs
131lbs
138lbs
145lbs
152lbs
160lbs
170lbs
190lbs
215lbs
285lbs

NYWN'S 2023-2024 "UNDER THE RADAR"

High school wrestling in New York differs from the other 49 states. During the state tournament, you not only represent your school but you represent your section based on the geographical location of your high school. New York is divided into 14 sections throughout the state. Each section has its own respective colors and designs. Ask any NY wrestler about what it means to represent their section at the NYS tournament, and the instant smile on his/her face will say it all.

A couple of years back, the NYS Committee pondered the idea of removing sections completely and going to a regional format. In my biased opinion, if that eventually happens, it will diminish the pageantry and brotherhood that all wrestlers experience with their "sectional team." From state practices with new partners to media day to the parade of champions, it would be a travesty and disheartening not to honor these great athletes in such a grand atmosphere.

As the 2023-24 season kicks off, nearly 95% of high school wrestlers have never felt that overwhelming sensation of walking into the MVP Arena in Albany as a competitor. The culmination of one's season is tightly wound into a magical, emotional, and highly intense weekend of phenomenal wrestling.

This season may be your time. It could be a senior with one last shot, a junior that couldn't "get over the hump", a sophomore that had an injury last season, a freshman who hit a growth spurt, an 8th grader who has a year of varsity experience under their belt or a 7th grader who is ready to shock the entire state.

Below are wrestlers from each section who are under the radar this season. Can they make that push and qualify for the Big Dance in late February?

Division 1:
Section 1 - Ian Sutherland (Brewster)
Section 2 - Jacob Hanlon (Averill Park)
Section 3 - Collen Austin (Fulton)
Section 4 - Joe Mastrantonio (Elmira)
Section 5 - Fletcher Smith (Rush Henrietta)
Section 6 - Brayden Kellison-Neglia (Williamsville North)
Section 8 - Kirk Smith(Hewlett)
Section 9 - Jacob Roger (Middletown)
Section 10 - Nolan Jensen (Massena)
Section 11 - Chris Holm (Northport)
CHSAA - Thomas Mancini (St. Anthony's)
PSAL - Cristian Cruz (New Utrecht)

Division 2:
Section 1 - Shawn O'Mara (Hendrick Hudson)
Section 2 - Collin Diffee (Hudson Falls)
Section 3 - Cooper Doxstader (Holland Patent)
Section 4 - Landyn Shaffer (Deposit-Hancock)
Section 5 - Zachary Rooks (Palmyra Macedon)
Section 6 - Jayden Malecki (Chautauqua Lake-Westfield-Panama)
Section 7 - Dylan Cogswell (Saranac)
Section 8 - Ashley Diaz (Seaford)
Section 9 - Lorenzo Caserto (Marlboro)
Section 10 - Charlie Rossner (Canton)
Section 11 - Nick Reilly (Mt. Sinai)
AIS - Remy Becker (Hackley)
PSAL - Aldo Romero (Petrides)

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