It’s been a busy few weeks capped off by the Eastern States Classic. Most wrestlers are at the weights where they will be in the post season, however I’m certain we’ll see some last minute jockeying around for position! I decided to rank 6 wrestlers per weight for this edition. Greiner and Elfstrum are still out but I have a feeling we’ll see them on the next rankings! As always, respectful comments are welcomed at sectionixwrestling@gmail.com. Enjoy!
99 lbs.
1. Nick Picariello – Minisink Valley, freshman
2. Jordan Suarez – Pine Bush, freshman
3. Colby Amell – Saugerties, sophomore
4. Christian Prokosch – Cornwall, junior
5. Justin Morales – Middletown, freshman
6. Jacob Chenier – Kingston, freshman
Pine Bush freshman Jordan Suarez makes the drop to 99 and gets right into the mix at #2 here. Suarez lost a close decision to #1 Piccarello at the MV vs PB dual a few weeks ago and had a wbf over now #6 Chenier. Picareillo, Prokosch, and Morales all 1-2 at Eastern States and Amell with a wbf over #6 106 Harris.
106 lbs.
1. Dylan Earl – Monroe Woodbury, junior
2. Greg Fischer – NFA, junior
3. Ryan Burgos – Monroe Woodbury, sophomore
4. Kevin Urena – Pine Bush, sophomore
5. Ethan Palanca – New Paltz, 8th grade
6. Wade Harris – Red Hook, senior
Earl and Fischer still hold on to the top two spots respectively however Fischer made a strong case for taking over #1 with his strong showing at ESC which included a win over Queensbury’s Antoine Grace. Burgos and Urena drops to 106 and grabs the #3 and #4 spots while New Paltz 8th grader Ethan Palanca enters the rankings at #5 with his win over #6 Wade Harris. Harris avenged a Mid Hudson Tournament loss to Pat Ross by pinning the Onteora 8th grader to grab the #6 spot.
113 lbs.
1. Marco Vespa – Monroe Woodbury, sophomore
2. Tyler Lynch – Minisink Valley, senior
3. Matthew Romano – Valley Central, freshman
4. Jimmy Heinlein – Saugerties, sophomore
5. Avery Ellison – Wallkill, senior
6. Liam Bullock – Chester, junior
Lynch drops down to 113 and has a great showing at Eastern States placing 6th. Vespa dnp at Eastern States but has a head to head over Lynch at 120 earlier in the season so he keeps the #1 spot. Avery Ellison picked up a couple of nice wins at the ESC and enters the board at #5 while Chester junior Liam Bullock is undefeated this season and grabs the #6 position!
120 lbs.
1. James Faison – Wallkill, freshman
2. Joe McGinty – Monroe Woodbury, freshman
3. Nick Conetta – Chester, freshman
4. Tommy Askey – Pine Bush, freshman
5. Chris Bouton – Kingston, senior
6. Patrick Owens – Monticello, senior
Faison has a breakout weekend and is the new #1 at 120. The Wallkill freshman went 3-2 at the ESC and notched wins over Tyler Albis (ranked #8 by NYWN) and state qualifier Tony Negron. McGinty went 1-2 at ESC and stays at #2 for now but Chester frosh Nick Conetta is 15-0 with a win over #6 Owens and is right on his heels. Number 4 Askey had a big win over #5 Bouton in a dual…Bouton has looked very tough since making the cut to 120 including a 6-4 win over MV’s Savacool at the ESC.
126 lbs.
1. Robert Satriano – Valley Central, senior
2. Andrew Davis – Wallkill, senior
3. Cameron Wernicki – Monroe Woodbury, senior
4. Nate Ross – Onteora, freshman
5. Chris Massaro – New Paltz, senior
6. Nick Albornoz – Minisink Valley, sophomore
This is tough weight to rank…126 is deep and will get deeper if MV’s Connor Greiner returns to action this week. Satriano, Davis and Wernicki are all very talented and could probably beat each other on any giver day. Ross has a head to head over Massaro who looked very tough at the ESC. Albornoz has looked good since cutting to 126 but this final spot could have easily gone to MW’s Emanuel Ward who recently was defeated by another contender here, Middletown’s Ishmael Alicea.
132 lbs.
1. Ian Houck – Rondout Valley, junior
2. Brad Bonner – Wallkill, senior
3. Anthony Sountis – Monroe Woodbury, senior
4. Vinny Vetrano – Minisink Valley, junior
5. Robert Estevez – Monroe Woodbury, sophomore
6. Tyler Matos – Middletown, senior
Houck goes 0-2 at Eastern States but still no reason to drop him from the top spot. Bonner, Sountis, and Vinny Vetrano all did well at ESC and could potentially battle it out for the D1 crown in February. Estevez enters the rankings via his impressive win over #6 Matos at the Massapequa Tournament.
138 lbs.
1. Dominic Vetrano – Minisink Valley, junior
2. Louis Libutti – Monroe Woodbury, senior
3. Dylan Greer – Pine Bush, junior
4. Robert Randall – NFA, senior
5. Kyle Ripa – Wallkill, senior
6. Mat Malherio – Highland, sophomore
Dom Vetrano drops to 138 and takes over the #1 spot here however previous #1 Libutti from Monroe is having an outstanding season and plans on making me eat my words by dropping him to #2. Pine Bush junior Dylan Green made his return to action in style by winning the Shoreline so we put him at #3. Robert Randall from NFA has been solid all year and very tough since dropping to 138. Ripa is having a great year and has posted 2-point wins over #6 Malherio and next in line Pasquale Satriano from VC.
145 lbs.
1. Brandon Bobe – Washingtonville, senior
2. William Harrison – Port Jervis, sophomore
3. Tom Fini – Monroe Woodbury, senior
4. Shawn Burgos – Pine Bush, junior
5. Tyler Serafini – NFA, sophomore
6. Mike Kubik – Goshen, senior
This weight just became very interesting. Bobe drops down and becomes the new #1 but seemed to get injured at the ESC after looking very strong on his opening round win. Harrison and Fini are still rolling along as are Burgos and Serafini. Kubik from Goshen enters the rankings at #6 but it was a toss-up between him and Justyn Kelly from Monticello who has looked great since dropping to 145.
152 lbs.
1. Evan Barczak – Monroe Woodbury, senior
2. Lucas Wightman – Warwick, senior
3. Nijee Noble – Kingston, senior
4. Dillon Ross – Onteora, junior
5. Tristen Schiafo – Red Hook, junior
6. Nathaniel Garcia – Middletown, senior
Barczak cemented his #1 spot at 152 by storming to the finals of the Eastern States Classic. The Drexel commit lost in sudden victory of the finals to 2X state finalist Peter Pappas from S8. Wightman made a statement by placing 8th at the ESC and notched a few impressive wins along the way. Shiafo and Ross both went 1-2 at ESC but Ross avenged his loss to Schiafo at the Mid Hudson by defeating him 4-2 at the Jamie Mormile so we’ll go Ross #4 and Schiafo #5. Nijee’s title at the Mid Hudson keeps him over them for now. Garcia won the title at the Henrick Hudson Tournament and enters the rankings as our #6.
160 lbs.
1. Ryan Ferro – Warwick, senior
2. Timmy Ganuncio – Minisink Valley, junior
3. Noah Curreri – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West, senior
4. Owen Daly – Pine Bush, senior
5. Zachary Beam – Valley Central, senior
6. Lester Larkai – Washingtonville, senior
Ferro was a late scratch at the ESC but the defending state champ has a pretty secure hold on the top spot at 160 in Section 9. Ganuncio has been wrestling great! He lost a regular decision to Ferro in a dual and at the ESC he notched a win over Munch from Commack who finished 5th. He did not place however his two losses where to the Cuomo (champion) and Loew (3rd). Curreri entered the ESC as the #3 seed however he did not place after suffering heart breaking losses to the kids who ended up finishing 4th and 5th. Ganuncio’s common win over Curerri (Munsch) is the reason for them flipping #2 and #3 positions. Daly, Beam, and Larkai have all been very solid and they round out 4-6.
170 lbs.
1. Mark Ohanian – Valley Central, senior
2. Adonis Morano – Middletown, junior
3. Maxx DeCapua – NFA, freshman
4. Brian Mascaro – Wallkill, junior
5. Jason Butler – Port Jervis, junior
6. Demetrius Moore – Minisink Valley, senior
Fekishazy moves up to 182 so VC’s Ohanian takes over the top spot at 170. He had a very solid ESC. He dnp but his two losses were to the eventual champion Tyler Barnes (7-5 sudden victory) and state qualifier Austin Trombley (2-1). Morano was 2-2 at the ESC and was one sv loss away from placing as was DeCapua who is now at 170. Marcaro is super solid as is Butler who went 1-2 at the ESC. MV senior Moore returns to the board at #6 but has MW’s Santanter and Middletown’s Ali nipping at his heels!
182 lbs.
1. Mike Fekishazy – Wallkill, senior
2. Joey Yanis – Minisink Valley, junior
3. Ben Cuppett – New Paltz, senior
4. Kyle Strauss – Monroe Woodbury, senior
5. Henricus Van Heedstede Obelt, senior
6. Will Leonard – Cornwall, sophomore
Fekishazy looked awesome at ESC making it to the finals where he medically forfeited out to a 2nd place finish. Yanis had a nice ESC tournament making it to Day 2 before suffering losses to Louis Deprez (#2 in USA) and state placer Tyreek Bromley. Cuppett went 1-2 while VHO and Leonard both went 0-2. Strauss at #4 has been very tough since dropping from 195.
195 lbs.
1. Andrew Covais – Minisink Valley, senior
2. Samson Perez – Monroe Woodbury, senior
3. Tom Kearns – Goshen, senior
4. Alex Leonty – Washingtonville, senior
5. John Cassidy – Cornwall, senior
6. Thomas Keller – Cornwall, senior
For the time in a row, 195 was the most difficult weight to rank. It seems like there are about 7 or 8 wrestlers who might be the best here on any given day. Covais has the best total body of work so we’ll return him to the #1 spot. Perez drops to 195 and picks up a close win over Kearns at ESC. Leonty has been idle for a while but will still be a contender here. Cassidy, who placed at ESC, and his teammate Keller seem to be very equal. Middletown’s Oquendo, Wallkill’s Kras, and ELSW’s Goodall are also very tough here.
220 lbs.
1. Ryan Ellefsen – Goshen, senior
2. Horace Duke – Middletown, senior
3. Scyler Phillips – Port Jervis, senior
4. James Ball – Saugerties, senior
5. Tyler Bohenka – Valley Central, senior
6. David Strauss – Monroe Woodbury, sophomore
Although he was probably expecting a better finish, taking 4th at the ESC is outstanding and Ellefsen is still the clear #1 here and a contender for a state title in February. Duke has been excellent with his only S9losses coming to Ellefsen. Phillips was a late scratch at ESC but holds at #3 as does Ball at #4. VC senior Bohenka had a nice win over #6 Strauss in their dual versus MW so he enteres the rankings at #5.
285 lbs.
1. Andrew Fenner – Minisink Valley, junior
2. Norris Gipson – Middletown, senior
3. Guy Soumah – New Paltz, senior
4. Austin Taylor – Warwick, senior
5. Will McCartney – NFA, senior
6. Peter Leser – Saugerties, senior
Gipson placed at ESC and Fenner did not but we keep Fenner #1 and Gipson #2 because of the head to head wbf by Fenner. No reason to move Soumah, Taylor, or McCartney and we add #6 Leser to the board here.