Section 9 D1 & D2 Tournament Previews and Seeds

                                      Division 1

99 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:  1. Anthony Stramiello (PB) 2. Tyler Lynch (VC)
                         3. Jarred Greiner (MV) 4. Marco Vespa (MW)
Top-seeded Stramiello has already majored #2 Lynch and pinned #4 Vespa this year. He and Greiner have yet to lock horns and neither have Greiner and Lynch.   Middletown’s Oscar Lainez wrestled  Stramiello very tough late this season and could be a factor as well. 99 pounds will be very exciting at the S9 tournament and ultra-competitive at the state tournament!

106 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:  1. Vinny Vespa 2. Jamie Pulver (Saug)
                         3. Isaiah Gutierrez-Vera 4. Rob Ricci (MW)
Returning state place winner Vespa has to be considered a heavy favorite at 106 this year.  Vespa’s is 32-2 with both of his losses coming at the Eastern States where he placed 4th.  Pulver’s only loss at 106 this year has been to D2 favorite Feliciano from Highland while Gutierrez-Vera has a head to head over Ricci.

113 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. John Stramiello (PB) 2. Gerard Daly (MV) 3. Pedro Rosales (Midd) 4. Kevin Kelly (MW)
If this bracket plays out according to seeding, the 113 pound final will be one of the most anticipated finals of the night.  Stramiello is a 2X state place winner and a 4X state qualifier. Daly was a state qualifier two years ago but missed all of last year due to surgery.  Both have been very impressive this year as have Rosales and Kelly.  113 will be a war!

120 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Dylan Booth (PJ) 2. Evan Barczak (MW) 3. Matt Lopez (MV) 4. Dan Romano (VC)
Booth finished 5th in NYS last year and is definitely the favorite here but don’t sleep an Barczak.  The MW freshman lost a hard fought 1-0 decision to Booth at the Eastern States and is anxious for a rematch.  Lopez is extremely athletic and has been very impressive since dropping to 120.

126 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Da’mani Burns (NFA) 2. PJ Smoot (MW) 3. Sean Foschini (NFA) 4. AJ North (PB)
In order to see a rematch of last years most exciting finals matchup, Burns and Smoot will have to get through some very tough opponents.  When you addMinisink’s Tyler Mayo, Saugerties’ John Lerczak, and Washingtonville’s Brandon Bode to the equation, the excite at 126 could start at the quarterfinal round!

132 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:  1. Chris Truglio (MV)  2. Joe Ginley (War) 3. Hussain Hasan (VC) 4. Nick Sebesta (Wall) 
Returning state qualifier Truglio has been awesome this year but he certainly will face some tough competition if he wants to punch his ticket to Albany again.  Hasan, Ginley and Sebesta are all very dangerous plus there is always the possibility of a last minute entry from a very congested 126 pound weight class.

138 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:1. Mike Raccioppi (MV) 2 Brett Johnson(Corn) 3 Brandon Crespi (Wall)4 Brian Bucci(Saug) 
Raccioppi is a 2X state qualifier and has his sights set on a S9 and a NYS title.  Johnson proved to be Raccioppi’s biggest obstacle locally having dropped a hard-fought 4-1 decision to him in a dual last week.  Bucci is young and tough while Goshen’s Golubinski and MW’s Smith both plan to make some noise here. 

145 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Tom Wightman(War)2. Dan Storer (Corn) 3. Frankie Hernandez (MV) 4. AJ Aberli (War)
145 is without a doubt the most wide open weight class in S9 this year.  The above 4 as well as Lewis from MW and Shadid from Washingtonville all have legitimate shots at winning this weight.  This is another weight where the fireworks will start in the quarterfinals!

152 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Ryan Ferro 2. Alec Guevara(Wall) 3. Osman Hasan(VC) 4. Johnny Grandson(Mid) 
Although only a freshman, Ferro is a seasoned varsity wrestler who has wrestled some great competition this year.  If he gets to the finals he will definitely have his hands full with Guevara and Hasan in the bottom half of this bracket. Grandson cannot be over looked either.

160 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:1 Dan DeCarlo (PJ) 2 Nick Wentland (MV) 3 Mike Fekishazy (Wall) 4 Chris Matos (Midd)
A few weeks ago, many people considered 160 a race for second place with DeCarlo being the “lock” for the title.  The 2x state qualifier who finished 5th in NYS last year is definitely the favorite again this year, however the emergence of freshman sensation Fekishazy and Wentland’s recent win over Zsido have some people thinking DeCarlo may be tested.  We will find out on Saturday!

170 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:  1. Tyler Blasko (Wall) 2. Quinn Zsido (Corn) 3. Tanner Sexton (PJ) 4. Bruce McLee (Wash)
This is another weight where wrestling fans have anxiously awaited for the S9 tournament to decide who is top dog.  Blasko is 37-1 and has a 8-6 win over Zsido but hasn’t faced Sexton.  Zsido has a win over Sexton back in December.  Sexton is tough as nails.  It will be fun watching 170 unfold this weekend!

182 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1 Nick McShea (MW) 2. Kyle McGuire (NFA) 3. Bryan Beyers (Wash) 4. Deonte Moore (MV)
McShea and McGuire are certainly the favorites to reach the finals but 182 has enough depth to make it another very tough weight at this year’s S9 tournament.  Beyers, Deonte Moore and Eliot Marzano from Kingston can be very competitive this weekend.

195 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Erik Jessell (Corn) 2. Rob Cuomo (Saug) 3. Jake Wood (King) 4. Garrett Betcher (Wall)  
Starting to sound like a broken record but this is another weight class that could have  much anticipated final!  Jessell beat Cuomo 6-3  in a December dual and Cuomo pinned Jessel at the Mid-Hudson Tourney. Recently Jessell beat McShea in a dual while McShea defeated Cuomo a few days prior.  Yes they are close! Betchler is tough and Velazquez from Middletown proved he can be dangerous as well with his defensive pin over Section 1 stud Grella who has pinned both Cuomo and Jessell this year.

220 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:1 James Bethel (Saug) 2 Rob Kelly (MW) 3 Brandon Mascaro (Wall) 4 Joe Humphrey(Midd)
Arguably the most anticipated match at this year’s Section 9 tournament is the potential showdown between Kelly and Bethel.  Both wrestlers have impressive records and have wins over quality opponents.  Mascaro is tough and can keep matches close.  Humphrey is young and athletic.

285 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1 Sam Weinger (Wash) 2 Isaac Serrano (NFA) 3 Tyler Vervalin (MW) 4 Kevin Santos (MV)
Weigner and Serrano are on a crash coarse for what can be another very exciting finals match however Vervalin has been improving all year and Santos has a ton of heart!  Section 9 will be very well represented in Albany this year!

                               Section 9 Tournament Seeds  (both D1 & D2 on separate tabs at bottom) 

                                                                                      Division 2

99 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Ian Houck (RV) 2. Dean Artrip (Tux) 3. Wade Harris (RH) 4. Shane Gullickson (NP)
Houck and Artrip are the clear favorites to make it to the finals at 99 as both have pinned the # and #4 seeds during the season.  Houck, only an 8th grader, has wrestled one of the toughest schedules for any 99 pounder in S9 – D1 or D2!  He also has a 3-1 head to head over Artip this season.

106 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Mike Feliciano (High) 2. Dillon Ross (Ont) 3. Chris Massaro (NP) 4. Noah Winchester (RH)
Feliciano is a defending champ who has already pinned the #2 seed earlier this year.  The Highland junior has his sights set on the medal stand in Albany.

113 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Taylor Benson (RH) 2. Finbar Stuart (Ont) 3. Andrew Parete (RV) 4. Eric McCord (NP)
Benson went to the states last year as a 99 pounder and has wins over #2, #3, and #4 seeds this season receiving his toughest bout from Parete back in December.

120 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Austin Ingraham (High) 2. Brandon Moore (Ont) 3. Hunter Wells (RH) 4. Jade Cruz (RV)
Ingraham placed 6th in NYS last season and hopes to ascend higher up the podium this year. The from Highland has wrestle with anybody in NYS as evidenced by his recent 2-0 loss to Matt Morris from Section 2.  Morris in undefeated this year and has a win over defending state champ Luis Weirebach.

126 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds:1 Matt Rauch (RH) 2 Jesus Castellanos (Hi) 3 Shafi TraegerPayne (Ont) 4 Kevin Mandes (TV)
Rauch is the defending champion at this weight and also has his sights set on the medal stand in Albany.  The senior has a 30-4 record this year including 15 first period pins.

132 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1 Andrew Suleiman (Hi) 2 Dan Stachelek (Tux) 3 Noah Curreri (EFL) 4 Aaron Calabrese (RH)
The junior Suleiman has notched victories over the #2, #3, and #4 seeds already this season and appears to be the heavy favorite at 132.

138 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Josh Borozny (TV) 2. Josh Santiago (RV) 3. Dylan Ward (Bur) 4. Brandon Long (Ches)
This is one of the more wide open weight classes in the D2 tournament with the top seed Borozny having split two matches with the #4 seed Long.  Keep your eye on #2 seed Santiago as he seems to be the most battle-tested wrestler at the weight.

145 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Miles Anthony (Bur) 2. Miguel Candaleria (Ell) 3 Liam Heslin (Tux) 4 Karl Linneman (NP)
145 could prove to be very interesting as there are very few head-to-head matches between the top 4 seeds.  Anthony is undefeated but has wrestled only 8 matches according to NWCA.  Candaleria has not wrestled any of the other top 4, and Heslin has a 3-0 decision over Linneman.

152 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Sam Cruz (High) 2. Joe Schupp (High) 3. Ben Cuppett (NP) 4. Theo Chaskell (NP)
A very unique weight class where the top 4 seeds are from 2 schools.  Cruz was a S9 finalist last year and has wrestled a very tough schedule this year.  He should be primed for a trip to Albany.

160 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Eric Morse (RV) 2. Ryan Vanvalkenburgh (Ont) 3 Brett Hugger (EFL) 4 Chris Maerling (Ell) 
Morse was a S9 finalist last year and has been awesome this year.  He has a 32-5 record and only 2 of those losses have been to 160 lb. D2 wrestlers.  He has teched the 2 seed and pinned the 4 seed this season.

170 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1. Theodore Mapes (High) 2. Javier Cortes (Ell) 3. Scott Parise (High) 4. Mitch Rigano (NP)
The #2 seed Cortes has a 16-5 record this year but one of those losses was by fall to Mapes.  Mapes, ,only a junior, came in 3rd at this weight last year and is a clear favorite heading into this tournament.

182 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1.Kevin Morgans (EFL) 2.Nick DisessaLeon (Ell) 3.Zack Williams (Tux) 4 Austin Becker (Ont) 
182 may be one of the most hotly contested weights in the D2 tourney this year.  Top seeded Morgans, only a sophomore, has emerged with narrow victories over DissesaLeon (9-7) and Williams (5-2) this season.

195 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1 Dustin Mackenzie (Ont) 2 Tadeusz Loarca (EFL) 3 Dom Bellacicco (Hi) 4 Preston Gibson (El)
Mackenzie is the defending champion at this weight and has a 25-3 record making him the favorite but he has not wrestled any of the other seeded wrestlers.  

220 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1 Troy Grant (NP) 2 Ben Zitz (RH) 3 Eddie Anderson (Tux) 4 Stefan Chichkov (RH)
The S9 D2 champ at 285 last year, Grant has decided to test the waters at 220 this year and has been very successful.  The New Paltz junior is 19-4 thus far including a 9-5 win over #2 seed Zitz a few weeks ago.

285 Pounds
Top 4 Seeds: 1 Andrew Freidel (Ont) 2 John Beal (High) 3 Travis Coon (RH) 4 Alex Oliver (High)
The top seeded Freidel got a late start to the season but has been very solid posting a 13-1 record with his only loss coming in the finals of the Gene Brigham Tournament to a Long Island wrestler.