North and Weigel Notch Wins But Are Eliminated On Day 1
Congratulations to Pine Bush junior Andrew North and Onteora senior Austin Weigel for competing admirably in one of the toughest high school wrestling tournaments in the country, The Super 32 Challenge. Although they were eliminated on Day 1 of the tournament and did not place, both wrestlers recorded multiple victories competing against some of the toughest wrestlers in the nation.
North began his day in style with a 1:30 pin over Aslan Kilic of Georgia. In his next match, North lost a hard fought 4-0 decision to Spencer Lee of Pennsylvania. Lee went on to win his next two matches and is in tomorrow’s quarterfinal round. In his first consolation match, the Pine Bush junior grinded out a 2-1 victory over Georgia’s Logan Sims. North’s tournament came to an end when he lost a heart-breaker 3-2 over fellow New Yorker Nick Barbaria. A junior who wrestles for Section 1’s New Rochelle, Barbaria finished 6th in the state at 99 pounds last year.
Onteora’s Austin Weigel also started his day with a victory notching a 4-3 victory over Mitchell Hensley of Indiana. In Weigel’s next tilt, he was defeated 7-1 by Matt Gancayco of Maryland. Weigel bounced back with two consecutive victories in the consies, a 5-2 decision over Delaware’s Aaron Dennis and a 6-4 victory over fellow New Yorker Johnny Vrasidas. Weigel was eliminated from medal contention when he was pinned by PA stud Colton Peppelman in the first period.
Piccininni and Brady Only New Yorkers In Quarterfinals
In one of the biggest stories of Day 1, defending NY state champion Nick Piccininni (Ward Melville, Section 11) defeated Zahid Valencia of California at 113 pounds. Valencia is the #1 ranked wrestler in the country at 106 pounds. Piccinnini also pinned NJ state qualifier John Amato during Day 1 action. Shayne Brady of Section 3’s Carthage HS is the only other NY wrestler to advance to the quarterfinal round. Wrestling at 182 pounds, Brady will have to meet Pennsylvania’s Jacob Taylor in his quarterfinal bout. Brady was a state runner-up at 170 last year.