Section 9 Division 2 Tournament Preview

Let’s take a quick look at each weight class for this weekend’s 2015 Section 9 Division 2 Wrestling Championships.  This year’s tournament will take place on Sunday 2/15 on the campus of SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge, NY.

99 – Top seeded Nick Conetta from Tuxedo is 12-2 on the year and is undefeated against the field.  Conetta needs to watch for Red Hook’s Wade Harris who he narrowly decisioned 7-4 and has an impressive 25-8 record.

106 – Defending champion and top-seeded Dean Artrip has had another great year and is the heavy favorite here.  The Tuxedo sophomore is 12-0 this season and is hoping to make some noise in Albany.  Rondout Valley’s Matt Kelly is the #2 seed here.

113 – This weight class can produce one of the more anticipated matches of the tournament if Highland’s Mike Feliciano and Rondout Valley’s Ian Houck lock horns in the finals.  The two wrestled earlier in the year at the Mid-Hudson with Feliciano earning the 5-2 victory.

120 – Arguably the deepest weight class in the tournament, 120 has 4 wrestlers capable of winning the title.  To show you how even this weight is, top seeded Andrew Parete needed sudden victory to defeat 3rd seeded Christopher Massaro of New Paltz, and he narrowly beat #4 seed Finbar Stuart from Onteora 3-2.  Second seed Dillon Ross from Onteora has a wbf over Massaro.

126 – Top-seeded Red Hook sophomore Taylor Benson is 29-5 this season.  Although he will not be looking past any of his Section 9 competition, Benson’s sights are on the podium in Albany. Anthony Fazio from New Paltz is the #2 seed at this weight.

132 – Highland’s Andrew Suleiman is a returning Section 9 champ and he is our top seed here.  Suleiman is 29-6 this season and has handily defeated all other section 9 opponents at this weight.  Also keep an eye on Red Hook’s Tristen Schiafo.

138 – Marlboro sophomore Isaac Mathews is our top seed here and he sports a 16-8 record. Red Hook junior Kyle Torre has a solid 16-9 record and he has faced some great competition this year.  Two of Torre’s losses have been to D1 studs Frankie Gissendanner and Owen Bachelder.  This can be a very good final!

145 – Eldred/Liberty/Fallsburg sophomore Noah Curreri is the top seed here and he has a 29-5 record with 16 pins.  He should expect stiff competition from returning Section 9 champion Karl Linneman who dropped a 4-3 decision to Curreri back in January.

152 – New Paltz’s Ben Cuppett is 27-2 this season and he has not lost since December 13th. Only a sophomore, Cuppett has some impressive wins this year including a 9-7 victory over D1 contender Nijee Noble from Kingston.

160 –  Tuxedo junior Liam Heslin is the top seed here.  He is a returning sectional finalist and has a solid 15-4 record this season.  Second seeded Lester Sokolowski cannot be over looked though.  The Highland senior has had very close matches against some very good wrestlers!

170 – Highland’s returning state qualifier Theodore Mapes is having another strong year and is probably the favorite here.  Mapes is 23-9 and has been dominant against the field.  ELF freshman John Goodell has been impressive this year and has a 23-10 record.

182 – Kevin Morgans from Eldred/Liberty/Fallsburg is not only the heavy favorite here but he also has a solid chance to place in Albany.  One of Morgans’ few losses this year was a 5-3 decision to Ryan Marzsal who is currently ranked #1 NYS.  AJ Coolbaugh from Red Hook is the #2 seed here and he sports a 16-9 record.

195 – Top seeded Will Depaolo from ELF was a finalist at this weight last year and he has a 18-7 record this year.  One opponent he has not faced, however, is second seeded Zach Williams from Tuxedo who was a finalist at 182 last season and is an impressive 13-3 this season.

220 – Red Hook senior Stevan Chichkov is the top seed here sporting a 21-5 record with 11 pins.  One of his closest matches this year was a 10-9 victory over the #2 seed, Domenic Bellaciccio of Highland.

285 – This weight class may produce a rematch of last year’s final where Highland’s John Beal took on Red Hook’s Travis Coon.  Last year Beal was the victor however he is the number 2 seed at this year’s tournament as Coon has been dominating.  Coon sports a 16-1 record this season including a third period pin over Beal back in early January.

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