The Section 9 Division 2 Tournament takes place on Sunday 2/12 at SUNY Ulster. Wrestling will begin at around noon with the finals slated to begin at approximately 5:00 pm. Division 2 wrestling in Section 9 is getting better every year and this year’s tournament will be no exception. Let’s take a look at some of the possible marquee match-ups for Sunday!
99 Pounds
With his 21-7 record, Rondout Valley’s Nikko Walsh has emerged as the favorite but we can expect for him to be tested by whoever wins between Red Hook’s Matt Morris and New Paltz’s Aiden Cuppett.
106 Pounds
This will probably be the most exciting weight to follow! Red Hook senior Wade Harris has made several trips to Albany however this year he is going to receive a serious challange from Onteora 8th grader Pat Ross who has split matches with Harris this year. We also need to keep an eye on Marlboro’s John Antonelli who has posted several impressive wins this season!
113 Pounds
At 23-1 Chester sophomore Liam Bullock is the clear favorite but he definitely cannot look past Onteora 8th grader Nick Ross who has posted 25 victories this year!
120 Pounds
Chester senior Nick Conetta is 24-1 this season and is the heavy favorite here. Conetta’s only loss was a 3-2 decision to a wrestler from Section 2 and he has a victory over the 3rd seeded D1 wrestler at 120, Patrick Owens from Monticello
126 Pounds
This will be another great weight to watch with at least 3 wrestlers with a legitimate chance to punch their ticket to Albany in Nate Ross (Onteora), Chris Massaro (New Paltz), and Nick Curreri (E/L/SW).
132 Pounds
Rondout Valley junior Ian Ross is the clear favorite at 132 and is hoping to find his way to the medal stand in Albany in two weeks!
138 Pounds
We can expect to see Round 3 between New Paltz senior Shane Gullicksen and Highland sophomore Mat Malherio. Malherio won the first match 6-5 and Gullicksen avenged the loss a few weeks ago by defeating Malherio 3-2 in UTB!
145 Pounds
This is a pretty open weight with Hayden Baker from Rondout Valley and Zach Chartrand being two of the favorites, however Burke’s Connor Post has a 10-1 record this year and is definitely worth keeping an eye on!
152 Pounds
If Dillon Ross from Onteora and Tristen Schiafo from Red Hook both stay at this weight – watch out! This will be another battle between two wrestlers who both have the potential to place at the state tournament in Albany! The two have met three times this year with Ross winning twice. The scores of the three matches have been 3-2, 4-3 (OT), and 3-2 (UTB)…yeah they’re pretty evenly matched!
160 Pounds
This is another weight where a Section 9 wrestler has his sights set higher than on just winning a Section 9 title! E/L/SW senior Noah Curreri placed 5th in NYS last year and is going to be one of the favorites to make it to the finals in Albany this year! He has a 30-2 record and his only two losses came at the Eastern States Classic!
170 Pounds
This is a wide open weight with several wrestlers having a chance to win the title. Let’s keep an eye on Matt Shields from Onteora and Larry Oliver from Highland – both are having solid years. This is a weight where we may be surprised by a late entry who has moved here from a different weight class.
182 Pounds
New Paltz senior Ben Cuppett is a 2X Section 9 champ but he was recently majored by Brody Harris from Chester. Jeff Kiluba from Red Hook is also seeded here for now! If all three wrestlers decide to stay at this weight, 182 will be a blast to watch!
195 Pounds
This is another weight where we have several wrestlers to watch for and an 11th hour weight change is definitely possible. Two of the favorites here are John Goodell from E/L/SW and Austin Eighmey from Ellenville.
220 Pounds
Same as 195 – we have a few peple to what for and we should expect a last minute weight change into this weight. I’m predicting we’ll see Goodell from E/L/SW here!
285 Pounds
We have pretty good depth at heaveyweight in the D2 tournament this year! Let’s keep an eye on Angel Lemus (Onteora), Colin Canfield (Highland), and Will Sutherland (Rondout Valley) as three wrestlers with a legit shot of taking the title!