A Great Banquet Highlighted by Tributes to Retiring Wallkill Coach Jeff Cuilty
The Friends of Section 9 held their annual awards banquet last night at Kuhl’s Highland House in Middletown. Plaques were given to the top 4 D1 placewinners and the top 2 D2 placewinners. There were also several special awards handed out (listed below). The highlights of the evening, however, were the tributes given to Jeff Cuilty by his colleagues. Coach Cuilty who is retiring from coaching after an illustrious 37 year career that has landed him in the NYS Wrestling Hall of Fame.
After coaching for 8 years at Ardsley High School in Section 1, Cuilty coached at NFA for 24 years and Wallkill for 5 years. In the 5 years at Wallkill he turned a once struggling program into one that is perennially state recognized. Although he is retiring from teaching and coaching, Coach Cuilty is will remain active in wrestling in two extremely important capacities. He will continue to serve at the Section 9 wrestling chairperson. His contributions in this role are incredible highlighted by his part in creating the wild card system for the NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships.
Perhaps the crown jewel of Jeff Cuilty’s career is his role as the tournament director for the Eastern States Classic. The ESC is without question one of the toughest high school wrestling tournaments in the nation. This year’s event showcased some of the best high school wrestlers from over 150 schools spanning 5 states. The event gets larger, tougher, and thus more complex to run, every year. I am very happy to announce that Cuilty will be staying on as tournament director for the ESC – I’m not sure how we could run the tournament without him!
Below are all of the award recipients from last night’s banquet. Congratulations to all of the winners!
John Bell Lifetime Achievement Award – Jeff Cuilty
Troy Bouzakis Wrestler of the Year – Ryan Ferro, Warwick
FS9 Person of the Year – Phil Rosas, Port Jervis
FS9 President’s Team Award – Minisink Valley
FS9 Most Courageous Wrestler – Mike Fekishazy, Wallkill
Comeback Wrestler of the Year – Kendall Elfstrum, MW
Most Improved Team – Pine Bush
D’Aliso Most Improved Wrestler – Louis Libutti, MW
FS9 Coach of the Year – Rich Ormsby, Pine Bush
FS9 Fan of the Year – Marie Ng, Monticello
FS9 Parent of the Year – Matt Curreri, Eldred
Frank Tscham Team of the Year – Monroe Woodbury
Mark Faller Coach of the Year – John Gartiser, MW
Assistant Coach of the Year – Bob Christensen, MW
Modified Coach of the Year – Trevor Gale, Onteora
Coach’s Wife of the Year – Carolyn Cuilty
Ref of the Year – Wayne Carroll
Officials Sportsmanship Award – Brandon Bobe, Wash.
Scorekeeper of the Year – Sydney Sauschuck, Port Jervis
Scorekeeper of the Year – Amanda Sexton, Port Jervis
D’Aliso Scholarship – Brad Bonner, Wallkill
DeCapua Scholarship – Ryan Ferro, Warwick
DeCapua Scholarship – Evan Barczak, MW
DeCapua Scholarship – Kendall Elfstrum, MW
DeCapua Scholarship – Mike Fekishazy, Wallkill
DeCapua Scholarship – Brandon Bobe, Washingtonville