High School Happenings: Section Dual Meet Champs, the Best in the City and So Much More

This article is from 01/27/14

It was a weekend that crowned Section dual meet champions and awarded the Mayor's Cup.  And a whole lot more.  Here's a look at some of the things that caught our eye over the past few days.

Section 3 Crowns a New Dual Meet Champion . . . General Brown

General Brown swept four contests to capture the Section III Dual Meet championship at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.  The Lions began with victories over Phoenix (45-27) and Hannibal (60-18) before meeting the defending champs from South Jefferson in the semis.

In that clash, General Brown nabbed eight matches (six by bonus points) to come out on top 40-33.  Both Ryan Snow and Tyler Silverthorn picked up forfeits, while Zech Pitre, Connor Schissler and Garrett Fields notched significant extra points with pins.  Trevor Snow chipped in with a major while Colton Erb and Kyle O'Connor recorded decisions.

That took General Brown to the finals, where the team squared off with the #2 seed, Central Valley.  The Lions got off to a strong start, building a 12-0 lead on the strength of decisions by Riccardo Dawkins (182) and Erb (195) and a pin by Pitre (220). However, Central Valley responded with the next three wins to move ahead 16-12 after six bouts.

But at that point the momentum switched hands again, starting with a victory by Schissler at 113, followed by a pair of pins by Fields (120) and Snow (126) and another triumph by Scott Bluto (132) to give the Lions a 30-16 advantage.  The Thunder once again mounted a comeback, but a victory by O'Connor (152) and a fall by Silverthorn at 160 clinched a 39-31 triumph and the hardware for coach Mike Hartle's squad.

Speaking of Dual Meet Champions . . . Union-Endicott Sits Atop Section 4

Union-Endicott nabbed the Section 4 Dual Meet championship over the weekend, winning all three of its matches by over 30 points.

In the opener, U-E beat Norwich 60-21, followed by a 57-24 triumph over last year's titlewinner, Johnson City in the semis. In the finals, the Tigers may have expected a rematch with top-seeded Newark Valley, a team that edged Union-Endicott 41-40 in December, handing the Tigers their only loss to a Section 4 team.  However, fourth-seeded Vestal didn't allow that rematch to happen after upsetting Newark Valley to earn a spot in the title bout.

Vestal jumped ahead 3-0 in the championship round with a decision by Owen Jarrold at 152, but U-E went on to win 11 of the last 14 bouts, including pins by Tahjae Napoleon (170) and Andrew Brinser (220) and a technical fall by Sammy Davis (182).  And when Anthony Noce added another tech fall at 126 pounds to give the Tigers a 41-21 lead, the dual meet crown was locked with three matches remaining.  Also winning for U-E were Zachery Martin, Isaac Eddings, Grant Gannon, Mikey Carr, Xavian Hughes, Zack Bendick and Tristan Martin.

For more, see this link.

Who Picked Up "Best in the City" Honors at the Mayor's Cup?

Monsignor Farrell won the Mayor's Cup, driven by championships from Matt Seitz (126), Karl Weisner (145) and Mazan Hassan (285) and a runner up showing by Mike Newman (195).  Seitz won all of his bouts by bonus points.

The silver medal squad, Poly Prep, also had a trio of titlewinners as Noah Malamut (113), Lenny Merkin (132) and Adis Radoncic (170) grabbed crowns on Sunday.  Radoncic, a 2013 NYS champion for the PSAL, racked up three pins along the way.

Speaking of falls, 182 pound champ Maleke Cunningham of Wingate put all of his opponents on their backs, registering pins in each of his four contests.  He was so dominant that none of those matches lasted more than a minute and a half.  In the finals, he faced Brooklyn Tech's Ben Fenyves, who had upset the top seed in the opening round.

Also joining the pin parade was state ranked Nathanael Rose of Eagle Academy, who also had four falls on his road to the 195-pound title.  Joining him atop the podium was teammate Miguel Perez (220).

Rose was one match from placing at the NYS tournament last year.  Two wrestlers who made the podium in Albany last year, Konstantin Parfiryev of James Madison (160) and Said Kahramonov of New Utrecht (138), took care of business at the Mayor's Cup.  Both were top seeds, as were fellow winners Joe Marino (99) of Tottenville and Danny Amancio of MLK (120), while number two seeds Adam Gomez of Cardozo (106) and Zafar Iskandarov of Brooklyn International (152) won their brackets as well.  Gotham City Wrestling has more here.

Speaking of Monsignor Farrell and CHSAA Battles . . .

Two weekends ago, while Monsignor Farrell was capturing the CHSAA Dual Meet event, St. Anthony's was competing at the Prep Slam in Georgia.  On Friday, the two powerful squads clashed, with St. Anthony's coming out on top 46-27 by dominating in the lower weights.  The Friars won seven of the eight bouts from 99-145 pounds, all by bonus points. Brian Kelly (99), Ben Lamantia (120), Marshall Winston (132), Kevin Jackson (138) and Freddie Dunau (145) all recorded pins, while John Twomey took a forfeit at 113.  In a meeting of two quality 126 pounders, Joe Russ of St. Anthony's majored Eastern States placer Matt Seitz.

In the higher classes, it was the opposite story, as Farrell captured five of seven contests, including pins by Karl Weisner at 152 and Rich Sisti at 220.  However, it wasn't enough to overcome St. Anthony's significant points in the lightweights.

Warsaw Dominates at the Livingston Conference Athletic Association Championships

Warsaw picked up a commanding victory, by over 180 points, at the LCAA Wrestling Championships, powered by six gold medalists - Dylan Walker (99), Corey Farrell (145), Josh Griffith (152), Burke Paddock (170), Aaron Paddock (182) and Most Outstanding Wrestler Colin Royce (138).  Royce had two pins, a major and a 3-1 win over Warren Oderkirk of Pavilion/York, a former champion at this event.

In addition, Warsaw boasted five silver medalists.

Perry was the second place squad with a trio of titlewinners - Andrew Hollister (126), Christian Hollister (132) and Spencer Kramell (160).  Additional wrestlers to make the top of the podium included Tyler Hamsher (Wayland Cohochton, 106), John Lauricella (Le Roy, 113), Daylon Swearingen (Pavilion/York, 120), Dakota Woolley (Letchworth, 195), Dan Welch (Avon, 220) and Wyatt Hall (Bath Haverling, 285).

Monroe Woodbury Takes the Top Spot at the Ridgefield Challenge in Connecticut

At the Ridgefield Challenge, Monroe Woodbury finished atop an 18-team field filled with squads from Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York.

The Crusaders were powered by champions Marco Vespa (99), Vinny Vespa (106), Evan Barczak (120), PJ Smoot (126), Jamie Panuto (132) and Rob Kelly (220).  In addition, a pair of Monroe Woodbury wrestlers dropped finals bouts against Empire State opponents.  Kevin Kelly lost to Edgemont's Tyler Aslanian at 113, while Brandon Lewis fell to Larry Courtien of Somers at 145.

Courtien was joined as a gold medalist by teammates Liam Hiene (152) and Dom Celli (160), as the Tuskers nabbed third in the team race.  Also placing in the top 10 was John Jay East Fishkill, led by 182-pound champ Brett Perry.

Speaking of Monroe Woodbury and Section 9 . . . at the Gene Brigham Invitational at Minisink Valley, the host team finished on top with three champions - Mike Raccioppi (138), Frankie Hernandez (145) and MOW Gerard Daly (113).

Host Yonkers Wins the Super 16

Yonkers captured the Super 16 tournament, led by a trio of champions.  Coming out on top for the host squad were Justin Lopez (99), Fredy Guevara (120) and Elieser Maldonado (152).  Lopez won a high-scoring decision in the championship round over Abby Bunyea of Mahopac, the first female to ever make the finals of the event, according to the Lohud Blog.  Bunyea had an early lead, but Lopez fought back for the victory.  Among the other champions was state qualifier Stephen Paternostro of Pleasantville.

Midlakes Captures the Jack Fisher Newark Invitational

Midlakes captured the Jack Fisher Newark Invitational by over 70 points over the weekend with four titlewinners - Rafael Mateo (126), Derian Woodard (138), Jeryd Graham (195) and one of the Most Outstanding Wrestler recipients, Sean Peacock (132). Peacock had a pair of pins and a technical fall.

The other MOW, Trey DuVall of Addison, notched two pins and a 7-0 decision to take the 182-pound crown.  His teammate Israel Byler continued a very strong season of his own, registering two falls and a 6-3 victory over Vinny Romeo of Canandaigua Academy to win at 145 pounds.

Speaking of champions, Wayne, the second place team, had four wrestlers take top honors - Joe Sliwoski (99), Bryan Lantry (120), Matt Azzano (160) and Tyler Butler (170).  Their teammate, Luke Yankloski, was second at 106 behind a wrestler who has quietly had a very good campaign, Aleksei Cartagena of Pittsford.

Cartagena was one of three gold medalists for his squad, along with Lucas Govert at 152 and Tyler Schaefer at 220.

Recently returning to action in the Empire State was 2013 state medalist Jon Haas. Now wrestling for Penfield, Haas came away with the title at 113 pounds after a major, a pin and a 7-0 triumph.

Rounding out the list of champs was Justin Niver of Penn Yan at heavyweight.

Falconer Takes Another Title; Wins the Salamanca Invitational

Falconer won the Salamanca Invitational by a slim, one-point margin over Pennsylvania's Kane, led by 160-pound champion Kyle Ross and six silver medalists.

Also coming out on top at the event, which featured squads from New York and the Keystone State, were the Dunkirk duo of Hector (106) and Tito (113) Colom as well as the Olean trio of Drew Marra (120), Shawn Williams (285) and Icar Simon (99).  Salamanca's Brad Cunningham took gold at 220, while Frewsburg's Trevor Spicer did the same at 195, as did Maple Grove's Jed Micek at 145.

Peru Wins Tournament As Bushey Collects Milestone Victory

NYS ranked wrestler Jordan Bushey picked up his 100th career victory and joined five other Peru grapplers as titlewinners over the weekend at the Bob Benoure Tournament in Vermont, an event that included several out-of-state squads.  Also grabbing gold for the Indians were Carson Dobozy (99), Brandon Goddeau (106), Ethan Feazelle (126), Jay Oakes (145) and Tanner Phillips (152).

In Section 2 . . .

Hadley Luzerne/Lake George took the title at the Ken Baker Classic, led by champions Jason Hoffman (145) and Forrest Kubricky (182) as well as three wrestlers who took second in the upperweights.

Salem was second with four titlewinners - Dan Van Dyk (126), Luke Fronhofer (132), Jordan Keys (285) and lightweight MOW Carter Merecki (138).  Nabbing the other MOW accolades was Andrew Sacco, who took gold at 152. Among the other winners were 2013 state champion Luis Weierbach at 120 and his Hoosick Falls teammate Nolan Foster at 113.

A Few Other Dual Meet Notes . . .

Arlington came out on top at the Rondout Duals, led by standout performances by Alfredo Olmedo (99), Brady Robin (113), Nicolus Jimenez (120), Mario Zeppetelli (152), Michael Peterson (160) and Tanner Nielsen (195). Meanwhile, Saugerties racked up a 5-0 mark to capture the Wizard Duals behind perfect weekends from wrestlers such as Rob Cuomo (195) and James Bethel (220), according to Section 9 Wrestling.  Suffern, led by strong showings from Peter Oliveto and Daiton Powell, topped Plainedge in the title tilt of the Warwick Valley Duals.

Columbia won the Memorial Duals at home with a perfect 5-0 mark. John McHugh of the Blue Devils earned MOW honors. A number of milestones have been reached recently for the team as coach Anthony Servidone recorded his 200th victory, as did 152-pounder Angelo Kress. In addition, Jimmy Devine and Matt McHugh notched their 100th wins.

The John Glenn 'A' wrestlers went 5-0 at their dual meet tournament to remain unbeaten, according to the NWCA Scorebook.  (The squad also had a 'B' team competing at the event).

Also in Suffolk County, a few wrestlers picked up impressive victories, including Comsewogue's Evan Mayer over Jimmy Leach of Eastport South Manor at 138 and Michael Alesi of Islip over Anthony Cirillo of Rocky Point at 106.  Both Leach and Cirillo were mentioned in the last set of state rankings.  And in Nassau, in a tight dual win for Locust Valley over Island Trees, Hunter Dusold nabbed an 11-9 victory over Chris Donnelly in a battle of state qualifiers.

Congratulations to Waverly's Ryan Wolcott, who became his school's all-time wins leader over the weekend.  The 220-pound All-State wrestler now has 197 victories and will be looking to hit the 200 milestone in the next several days.

Of course there was more.  Feel free to send results and highlights to newyorkwrestlingnews@gmail.com.  Looking forward to the postseason run . . .