132 Pounds Maddox (Washingtonville) maj 13-2 Mora Tejeda (Pine Bush) Cuppett (New Paltz) wbf 3:02 Fischer (NFA) Sam (Middletown) dec 4-3 Lombardi (Minisink) Romano (VC) wbf 4:38 Futia (Wallkill)
138 Pounds Savacool (MV) wbf :55 Aleci (Cornwall) Schmalfuhs (Warwick) dec 7-4 Estevez (MW) Heinlein (Saugerties) wbf :36 Jenkins (Middletown) Palanca (New Paltz) dec 9-3 Burns (Cornwall)
145 Pounds Albornoz (MV) wbf 1:34 Manzi (NFA) Wyns (New Paltz) wbf 4:39 Gordon (Kingston) Giumarra (Cornwall) dec 9-7 Lyle (Wallkill) Askey (Pine Bush) wbf 3:23 Gibbons (Warwick)
152 Pounds McGinty (MW) wbf 5:25 Fini (Goshen) Michael (New Paltz) dec 6-3 Gennaro (Washingtonville) Heffner (Cornwall) dec 4-0 Thomas (Wallkill) Florin (Pine Bush) wbf 5:39 Wernicki (MW)
Let’s take a weight-by-weight look at Sunday’s Division 2 tournament which takes place at SUNY Ulster! There will definitely be some incredible finals at this year’s tournament!
99 Pounds Port Jervis freshman Trevor Tufano is the top seed and favorite here. Tufano is sporting a 20 – 12 record and has not lost to any wrestlers in the bracket. An opponent that he has yet to face is 2nd seed Brandon McKay from Red Hook who has a 15-9 record. Other wrestlers to watch here are Red Hook’s second entry Rian Kirker and Chester’s Jared Pincus.
106 Pounds The heavy favorite to win the 106 weight class is Peter Bender. The Highland sophomore has a 25-12 record and finished 4th in S9 D2 at 99 last season. Bender’s stiffest competition will likely come from Lucas Ospina from Rondout Valley, Benjamin Finch from Red Hook, or Rondout Valley’s second entry Rocco DeAveiro!
113 Pounds If the top two seeds make it through, the 113 pound D2 final between Matt Morris from Red Hook and Nikko Walsh from Rondout Valley will be one of the most anticipated matches in either sectional tournament! Morris was the S9 champ at 106 last year and has defeated Walsh, a 2X S9 champ, twice this season. These two wrestlers are very evenly matched and will certainly battle hard to punch their ticket to Albany! Highland’s Chris Gatto and Landen Frey from Rondout Valley will likely battle it out for third and fourth on the medal stand!
120 Pounds This will be a great weight class to follow! There are three Section 9 finalists from last year here…and none of them are the top seed! Liam Bullock from Chester is having an awesome year and is the #1 seed at 120. Bullock was a finalist two seasons ago and came in 4th last year. His season record is 23-3 and he has wins over two of the other contenders at this weight. One of those expected contenders is John Antonelli from Marlboro who lost to Bullock in sudden victory during the first week of the season! Antonelli is 30-5 on the season and has a few noteworthy wins including one over 113 pound stud Nikko Walsh of Rondout Valley. Antonelli also has a win over another contender here at 120 as he has defeated E/L/SW’s Joey Curreri. Curreri was runner up at 99 last season and will be in the hunt as will fourth seed Joe Atesen from Highland.
126 Pounds The odds on favorite to come through this bracket is Eric Tigue from Port Jervis. Only a freshman, Tigue won the S9 D2 title at 113 last year and was a win away from placing at the state tournament. He is 29-4 this season and is looking to get on the medal stand in Albany in two weeks! To get to Albany he will have to get through a few tough kids on the other side of his bracket in Alex Lopez from Red Hook and Tim Pereira from Rondout Valley.
132 Pounds This will be another one to watch on Sunday! The 132 pound weight class has two former champs entered – Mat Malherio from Highland and Pat Ross from Onteora. Malherio is actually dropping down a weight class as he was the champ at 138 last season! He is 33-8 this season and does have a 7-0 win over Ross from their match at the Mid-Hudson Tournament. Ross was the runner-up at 120 last season but was a S9 champ two seasons ago! He is 32-5 this season and is certainly looking forward to a rematch with Malherio! Joey Amato from Port Jervis should not be over looked! He came in 3rd at 126 last season and is sporting an 18-7 record in 2018-2019!
138 Pounds There are some quality wrestlers at 138 but Onteora sophomore Nick Ross is the clear favorite! Ross is a 2X defending Section 9 D2 champion and he is sporting a 41-3 record this year! Two of his losses came at the Mid-Hudson, and if there is such a thing as “an impressive loss,” he has two of them. Ross dropped a 2-0 decision to Logan Sciotto from Section 11 who came in 3rd in NYD D1 last season and he also lost 4-3 to Tyler Albis from Section 1 who is a returning state qualifier and will likely place high in NYS this season! Ross’s other loss came at 145 to Nick Curreri from E/L/SW – a loss he would avenge later in the season. Others to watch here include Gavin Staerker from Port Jervis and Ceaser Luna from Highland – both wrestlers placed at last year’s Section 9 tournament!
145 Pounds The heavy favorite to win at 145 is Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West senior Nick Curreri. He is having an excellent season! Curreri is 30-8 and has wins over Nick Ross and Mat Malherio this season. Curreri finished 3rd at 138 last season and would like to make his senior year memorable by punching his ticket to the state championship tournament in Albany. Two others to watch at 145 are Justin Halbert from Highland and Tyler Benincasa from Red Hook!
152 Pounds It’s tough to make a case for anyone at this weight other than Onteora junior Nate Ross. Ross was a finalist last year and was a Section 9 champ as a freshman. He is 36-4 this season has won the Mid-Hudson, Jamie Mormile, and Dan Wickham tournaments. His toughest competition will likely come from teammate Owen Allsion or Highland’s Logan Smith who are on the bottom half of the bracket.
160 Pounds With no clear cut favorite, this will certainly be an interesting weight class to follow. There are 6 wrestlers in the bracket that have extremely similar winning percentages and could all contend for the top spot on the podium! The top contenders at 160 are James Shaw from Burke, Bryce Horner from Port Jervis, George Reid from Onteora, Steven Bradford from Chester, Nick Tsironis from Red Hook, and Henry Peters from E/L/SW.
170 Pounds Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West senior Cesar Santiago has a 19-8 record this season and is the favorite to win the title at 170 for S9 D2. There are only a few other wrestlers at this weight with a winning record and Santiago has a win over one of them. Santiago defeated Adain Maduro from Highland and Joe Reed from Port Jervis but has yet to wrestle Burke’s Brendan Douthit who will be in the hunt here.
182 Pounds Highland senior Drew Bendy was a finalist last year at 182 and is the favorite to take home the title at this weight this year! Bendy has a 17-9 record thus far and has a 8-7 win over Cole Greco from Chester, one of the other contenders to win at 182. Bendy has traded wins with Highland’s Adam Albright who came in 4th at 195 last year in the D2 tournament. Port Jervis’ Joe Reed is the #3 seed and he will be tough here!
195 Pounds Perhaps the most heavily favored wrestler in this year’s Section 9 Division 2 Tournament in James DeAveiro. The E/L/SW senior has a 23-2 record and both of his losses are to wrestlers who may medal in Albany. DeAveiro pinned one of the better wrestlers in this bracket in Ben Swart from Highland but has yet to wrestle #3 seed Dylan Bullock.
220 Pounds Another heavy favorite to take home a D2 title this year is James Oosterom from Port Jervis. Oosterom, a junior, missed some time this year due to injury but still managed to record an 18-1 record and picked up a win over last year’s D1 state finalist Jhordyn Innocent from Section 1. Oosterom’s one loss came by fall to Middletown’s Armel Duke back on December 5th, however he does have pins over D1 contenders Mark Crisfield from VC and Hayden Barley from Kingston. Oosterom’s opponent in the finals will likely be Jonathan Perez from Highland who is having a great year and sports a 22-9 record or Thomas Marvin from Red Hook.
285 Pounds The 285 pound weight class is pretty wide open in the D2 tournament this year. The prime contenders for the gold this year are Shamar Gittens from Highland, Jason Lonstein from Ellenville, Devin McGovern from Chester, and Jacob Southard from Port Jervis. All 4 wrestlers have records better than .500 and are capable of beating one another an any giver day. This weight should be interesting to follow!
Well it’s almost show time! The regular season is behind us and now it’s time to see see which wrestlers are going to punch their tickets to Albany for the state championships! Let’s take a look at the Division 1 tournament….below is a weight class by weight class break down of what we could expect to see on Friday and Saturday at Monroe Woodbury HS.
Top Seeded Colby Amell
99 Pounds The favorite here has to be Saugerties senior Colby Amell. Amell missed all of last season due to an injury however he was the champion at this weight class in 2017. Amell’s only loss on the mat this year was at ESC to Kevin Lopez from Long Beach. The other two blemishes on his record this year were from an injury default and a DQ. He also has a very impressive pin over one of the other favorites at 99, Andrew Marchese from Washingtonville. Marchese placed 5th in Section 9 at this weight last year is having a great 2018-2019 campaign with wins over a few others to keep an eye on here including Nicolo Ricciuto from Valley Central and Riccie Toldedo from Monroe Woodbury. While wrestling at 106 earlier this season, Marchese also notched a win over last year’s 99 pound champ Justin Morales from Middletown. Another 99 pounder to keep an eye on this season is Jackson Merli from NFA. Merli has over 40 wins this season including victories over Toledo from MW and Ricciuto from VC! Warwick’s Alex Greco, Minisink Valley’s Luke Greiner, and Cornwall’s Kevin Rourke will also be in medal contention at 99 pounds this weekend!
106 Pounds Prior to Monday’s MV vs Middletown match, it was tough to make a compelling case for anyone else at 106 other than Zack Ryder. The Minisink Valley 7th grader is having an incredible season. He has 37-3 record and his only losses have come to last year’s NYS finalists at 99, Stevo Poulin from Shenendehowa (2X) and Chase Liardi from Massapequa. Ryder had pinned every single Section 9 opponent in the first period – all but one have been in the first minute! This all changed however on Monday night at MV! Ryder had his hands full with last year’s S9 champ at 99 pounds Justin Morales from Middletown. Ryder won the match 1-0 with the only point scored came via escape given to Ryder by Morales to start the 3rd period. All eyes will be on a rematch of these two on Saturday night in Monroe! One of the other wrestlers to watch here is NFA sophomore Jaden Hansen who is improving each week and has a recent win over MW’s Dylan Winters who should also place here. Hansen has only one loss to a wrestler in the field, Ryder from MV.
113 Pounds Kingston’s Jacob Chenier has established himself as the favorite to take home the title at 113 this year. Chenier, who placed 3rd in S9 @ 106 last season, has only two losses this season – both coming at the Eastern States Classic. The Kingston junior has wins over most of the other contenders in this bracket including second seeded Elliot Crocco from New Paltz and third seeded Joe Habert from Minisink Valley. Crocco finished third in S9 D2 last year and is having a great season. Habert is a tough wrestler who knows how to finish. He recently pinned 2X S9 D2 champion Nikko Walsh at the Gene Brigham tournament. Austin Maddox from Washingtonville is having a solid season and will definitely contend here as will Alex Greco from Warwick, Andrew Filip from Minisink Valley, Andrew Davis from Wallkill, and Santos Ocasio from Monroe Woodbury.
2X NYS Placer Marco Vespa
120 Pounds Whenever there is a 2X NYS placewinner in a weight class there is a very good chance that they are the favorite! Well Monroe Woodbury senior Marco Vespa finished 4th in the state in 2017 and 3rd last season. He is undefeated this season and is one of the favorites to finish on the top step of the medal stand in Albany in a few weeks! Standing in his way is Minisink Valley junior Nick Picariello. Picariello finished 3rd in Section 9 as a freshman and was a finalist last season. He’s having a great season and is very battle tested this year. We can also expect Moises Diaz from Middletown, Joe Ferro from Kingston, Jack Kohrs from MW, and Chris Zappolo from Washingtonville to contend for medals here!
126 Pounds With several talented wrestlers in the hunt for the top spot on the podium, this will be one of the most closely watched weight classes in the tournament! Jordan Suarez from Minisink Valley is the top seed. He is a 2X Section 9 finalist and is having an outstanding season. Suarez has notched victories by pin over a few of the other contenders in this weight including Brandon DeLaRosa from NFA and Ryan Burgos from Monroe Woodbury, both of whom are having great years! The one wrestler Suarez has not faced is Pine Bush’s Kevin Urena who has a pin over Burgos this season and has also recently defeated state qualifier CJ McMonegal from North Rockland. DeLaRosa recently defeated Urena 4-3 at the NFA vs Pine Bush dual meet. Julian Rodriguez from Middletown, Travis Phillips from Valley Central, Eli Weinstein from Goshen, and Gavin Richter from Kingston will also be in the medal hunt.
132 Pounds This is going to be another great weight class to follow but all signs are pointing towards a finals showdown between last year’s 126 pound champion Matt Romano from Valley Central and Tommy Maddox from Washingtonville. Maddox has been battling injuries all season but has still managed to put together a solid season including an 8-5 win over Romano during the Section 9 Duals. Maddox also has a win over D2 champ Matt Malherio from Highland and he made it to the quarters at the ESC before being forced to injury default out of the tournament. Romano is 1-1 against Malherio and has a win over former D2 champ Pat Ross from Onteora. There are at least 3 other wrestlers we need to watch here including Luke Fischer from NFA, Aiden Cuppett from New Paltz, and Joshua Sam from Middletown.
138 Pounds This weight class could provide us with one of the more anticipated finals of the tournament in Savacool vs Palanca! Sean Savacool from Minisink Valley is having a great year including a 7th place finish at the Eastern States Classic. He has only lost to two NYS wrestlers this season and both of those wrestlers are favored to win their sectional tournaments – Tyler Albis (Section 1) and Mike Blando (Section 8). Ethan Palanca from New Paltz was the D2 champ at 120 pounds last year and is having a great year this season in D1! He has 6 losses this season and all are to top quality opponents. James Heinlein from Saugerties is the 3rd seed here and he’s a pinner! The other wrestlers to keep an eye on at 138 are Rob Estevez from Monroe Woodbury, Jeremy Jenkins from Middletown, Logan Schmalfuhs from Warwick, and Alex Burns from Cornwall!
145 Pounds There are several very solid wrestlers at 145 but more than likely we will see a finals showdown between returning Section 9 finalists. Tommy Askey from Pine Bush was the S9 D1 finalists at 132 last year and he is having a stellar 2018-2019 season. He is as tough as they come. In other corner we will likely see Nick Albornoz from Minisink Valley. Albornoz was a finalist at this same weight last year and he’s also having a great season! This match could be worth the price of admission! A few others to keep an eye on at 145 are Rob Giumarra from Cornwall, Myles Gordon from Kingston, Levi Wyns from New Paltz, and Jacob Lyle from Wallkill!
152 Pounds Monroe Woodbury junior Joe McGinty is the definite favorite at 152 pounds in this year’s tournament. McGinty finished 2nd at 138 last year and 3rd at 120 as a freshman. He’s having a great year including wins over state medal caliber wrestlers Brock Delsignore from Shenedehowa and Steven Major from Kings Park. McGinty’s stiffest competition will likely come from Pine Bush’s Nick Florin. Florin, who also has a win over Steven Major at ESC, is having a great season and is looking to finish his high school career on top. McGinty defeated Florin 5-2 in the MW vs PB dual meet. This weight has some depth too! Wrestlers like Dan Heffner from Cornwall, Vincent Gennaro from Washingtonville, Logan Michael from New Paltz, Kraig Thomas from Wallkill, and Jeremy Mazzella from Warwick will all contend for medals.
160 Pounds This weight class has the potential to set us up for a very entertaining finals pitting a senior versus an 8th grader – something we rarely see at a weight class this high! Steven Gazzillo, a senior from Cornwall, is the top seed and he is having a great season which includes an 8th place finish at the ESC. All 5 of Gazzillo’s losses have been to hammers; however one of his closest wins this year has been to Minisink Valley 8th grader Ethan Gallo who he defeated 6-2 earlier this season. Gallo is young, athletic, and getting better every day. A Gazzillo vs Gallo rematch could be one of the highlights of the tournament. In order for this to happen, however, Gallo is going to need to get past Middletown junior Joe Velazquez! Velazquez defeated Gallo 7-6 in the MV vs Middletown dual meet on Monday! Let’s not forget about some of the other wrestlers at 160 including Middletown’s Destin Morano, Monticello’s Doug Doherty, Wallkill’s Alden Hathaway. Pine Bush’s Lucas Pennell, and NFA’s Connor Leggett!
170 Pounds There are definitely a few contenders at 170 but the favorite here is probably Matt Bucci from Saugerties. Bucci is having a very solid season and has wins over several of the top contenders in this weight class including Pasquale Satriano from Valley Central and William Noteboom from Warwick! Bucci placed 3rd at last year’s tournament and Noteboom finished 5th. Satriano missed last year due to injury and is looking to cap off his high school career with a S9 title! A few others to keep an eye on at 170 include Nick Patterson from NFA, Gabe Gutierrez from Pine Bush, and Justin Lyle from Wallkill.
NFA senior Tyler Serafini
182 Pounds One of the surprises of the of the post season has been the decision of returning Section 9 champion Tyler Serafini from NFA to enter the post season at 182 rather than 170! Serafini won at 152 last season and is looking to finish his career on the medal stand in Albany. His top competition in S9 will come from Cornwall’s Luke Wojehowski and Middletown’s Elijah Babb. This weight class has some solid depth too! Wrestlers like Joe Russell from NFA, Scott Geysen from Minisink Valley, Mike Paravati from Monroe Woodbury, Zavier Bennet from Kingston, and Mike Cassidy from Cornwall are all looking to place here!
195 Pounds Top seeded Sam Santander from Monroe Woodbury was the Section 9 D1 champ at 195 last season and he’s looking to make a return trip to Albany! Santander is having a great year and is a great finisher…this year he is hoping to place at the state tournament! The surprise second seed at 195 is Minisink Valley sophomore Carson Henry! Henry missed all of last season and is having a very good 2018-2019 campaign as is third seeded Hayden Barley from Kingston. MV’s second entry here is Tyler Castro and he is the forth seed. Cornwall also has two solid entries here in Colin Cassidy and Joshua Keller.
ESC Champ Will Leonard from Cornwall
220 Pounds All that can be said is “WOW!” This weight class boasts two returning state place winners and promises to provide us with a classic final match up if the seeds hold true! The #1 seed is Cornwall’s Will Leonard. Leonard placed 6th in NYS last season and last month he became Section 9’s first ESC champion in 5 years! The #2 seed is NFA’s Maxx DeCapua. DeCapua placed at the states last season and the ESC this season – at 195! He has decided to bump up to 220 and challenge Leonard in what will potentially be the match of the night! And this by no means is a two horse race! Other contenders at 220 include Valley Central’s Mark Crisfield who was a finalist at 220 last season and Middletown’s Armel Duke who is having a great season! Let’s not forget about 5th seed Devin Dixon from New Paltz who was the D2 champ at 220 last season!
285 Pounds Last year’s Michael DeCapua Award for the most exciting match of the Section 9 finals was awarded to Fenner and Havison at 285. This may happen again,but this year it could be Adam (not Andrew) Fenner and Preston Havison. Fenner, a sophomore at Minisink Valley, and Havison, a Monroe Woodbury senior, have already met three times this season. Havison pinned Fenner in their first meeting up at the Wrangle on the Plains but Fenner has won the last two meetings via 6-0 and 4-0 decisions! There are others in the hunt here as well! VC’s Bryce Moore and NFA’s Caleb Williams are both dangerout and we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Middletown 7th grader Stephan Monchery. The 285 weight class has provided S9 wrestling fans with plenty of excitement over the past few season and this weekend will be no different!
Take a look at the top 8 seeds in every weight class for this year’s Section 9 Wrestling Division 1 Tournament!
99 Pounds 1. Colby Amell – Saugerties 2. Andrew Marchese – Washingtonville 3. Jackson Merli – NFA 4. Richie Toledo – Monroe Woodbury 5. Nicolo Ricciuto – Valley Central 6. Alex Greco – Warwick 7. Rey Ortiz – Pine Bush 8. Kevin O’Rourke – Cornwall
106 Pounds 1. Zack Ryder – Minisink Valley 2. Justin Morales – Middletown 3. Jaden Hansen – NFA 4. Dylan Winters – Monroe Woodbury 5. Tyler Reed – Cornwall 6. Erik Nilson – Warwick 7. Robert Drost – Saugerties 8. Jackson Brady – Goshen
113 Pounds 1. Jacob Chenier – Kingston 2. Elliot Crocco – New Paltz 3. Joe Habert – Minisink Valley 4. Andrew Filip – Minisink Valley 5. Santos Ocasio – Monroe Woodbury 6. Austin Maddox – Washingtonville 7. Drew Greco – Warwick 8. Kenny Santiago – Middletown
120 Pounds 1. Marco Vespa – Monroe Woodbury 2. Nick Picariello – Minisink Valley 3. Joe Ferro – Kingston 4. Chris Zappolo – Washingtonville 5. Jack Kohrs – Monroe Woodbury 6. Moises Diaz – Middletown 7. Sofia Macaluso – Minisink Valley 8. Jacob Poppe – Washingtonville
126 Pounds 1. Jordan Suarez – Minisink Valley 2. Brandon DeLaRosa – NFA 3. Kevin Urena – Pine Bush 4. Travis Phillips – Valley Central 5. Ryan Burgos – Monroe Woodbury 6. Julian Rodriguez – Middletown 7. Gavin Richter – Kingston 8. Eli Weinstein – Goshen
132 Pounds 1. Tommy Maddox – Washingtonville 2. Matt Romano – Valley Central 3. Josh Sam – Middletown 4. Aiden Cuppett – New Paltz 5. Luke Fischer – NFA 6. Brian Lombardi – Minisink Valley 7. Jerome Futia – Wallkill 8. Miguel Mora Tejeda – Pine Bush
138 Pounds 1. Sean Savacool – Minisink Valley 2. Ethan Palanca – New Paltz 3. James Heinlein – Saugerties 4. Robert Estevez – Monroe Woodbury 5. Logan Schmalfuhs – Warwick 6. Jeremy Jenkins – Middletown 7. Alex Burns – Cornwall 8. Colin Aleci – Cornwall
145 Pounds 1. Nicholas Albornoz – Minisink Valley 2. Tommy Askey – Pine Bush 3. Robert Giumara – Cornwall 4. Myles Gordon – Kingston 5. Levi Wyns – New Paltz 6. Jacob Lyle – Wallkill 7. Evan Gibbons – Warwick 8. Anthony Manzi – NFA
152 Pounds 1. Joe McGinty – Monroe Woodbury 2. Nick Florin – Pine Bush 3. Dan Heffner – Cornwall 4. Vincent Gennaro – Washingtonville 5. Logan Michael – New Paltz 6. Kraig Thomas – Wallkill 7. Jeremy Mazzella – Warwick 8. Sean Costello – Saugerties
160 Pounds 1. Steve Gazzillo – Cornwall 2. Joe Velazquez – Middletown 3. Ethan Gallo – Minisink Valley 4. Destin Morano – Middletown 5. Connor Leggett – NFA 6. Doug Doherty – Monticello 7. Lukas Pennell – Pine Bush 8. Alden Hathaway – Wallkill
170 Pounds 1. Matt Bucci – Saugerties 2. Pasquale Satriano – Valley Central 3. William Noteboom – Warwick 4. Justin Lyle – Wallkill 5. Gabe Gutierrez – Pine Bush 6. Nick Patterson – NFA 7. Chris McLaughlin – Minisink Valley 8. Steve Felice – Monroe Woodbury
182 Pounds 1. Tyler Serafini – NFA 2. Luke Wojehowski – Cornwall 3. Elijah Babb – Middletown 4. Joe Russell – NFA 5. Scott Geysen – Minisink Valley 6. Mike Paravati – Monroe Woodbury 7. Zavier Bennet – Kingston 8. Mike Cassidy – Cornwall
195 Pounds 1. Sam Santander – Monroe Woodbury 2. Carson Henry – MV 3. Hayden Barley – Kingston 4. Tyler Castro – MV 5. Colin Cassidy – Cornwall 6. Darwin Banegas – NFA 7. Josh Keller – Cornwall 8. Shane Hoffman – Valley Central
220 Pounds 1. Will Leonard – Cornwall 2. Maxx DeCapua – NFA 3. Mark Crisfield – Valley Central 4. Armel Duke – Middletown 5. Devin Dixon – New Paltz 6. David Strauss – MW 7. Stephon Holmes – Kingston 8. Jorge Cruz – Pine Bush
285 Pounds 1. Adam Fenner – Minisink Valley 2. Preston Havison – Monroe Woodbury 3. Bryce Moore – Valley Central 4. Caleb Williams – NFA 5. Stephan Monchery – Middletown 6. Kenny Fanning – Washingtonville 7. Jackson Fakler – Wallkill 8. Logan Hickey – Warwick
Congratulations to the Minisink Valley JV wrestling team for winning the 2018-2019 JV Championships at Warwick on Saturday. The Warriors placed 13 wrestlers in the top 6 including 5 finalists and 4 champions! Winning titles for Minisink were Luke Greiner at 99, Sofia Macaluso at 120, Mia Macaluso at 126 and Pat Habert at 138. Minisink took the team title with 270.5 points edging out Monroe Woodbury who finished with 256.5 points. Middletown, Warwick, and Pine Bush finished 3rd through 5th respectively to round out the top 5! Let’s take a look at all of this year’s JV champions! All place winners, brackets, and team scores are linked below! Congrats to everyone who competed…great job!!!
2018-2019 JV Champions 99: Luke Greiner (Minisink Valley) 106: Devran Bautista (Cornwall) 113: Kenny Santiago (Middletown) 120: Sofia Macaluso (Minisink Valley) 126: Mia Macaluso (Minisink Valley) 132: Dan Downs (Monroe Woodbury) 138: Patrick Habert (Minisink Valley) 145: Justin Orlando (Warwick) 152: Marcus Brown (Monroe Woodbury) 160: Ty Quatch (Kingston) 170: Jakoy Harvey (Middletown) 182: Alfredo Mazariego (Wallkill) 195: Joe Parker (Cornwall) 220: Jorge Cruz (Pine Bush) 285: Logan Hickey (Warwick)
Cornwall’s Hall of Fame Head Wrestling Coach Don Blaine
The 2018-2019 season marks the end of an era. Friday night’s 57-20 victory over Washingtonville was the last dual meet for Cornwall head coach Don Blaine. A NYSPHSAA and National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, Blaine has coached wrestling for 36 years and has never had a losing record! More than the wins and losses, Coach Blaine is the embodiment of what high school sports should be. Throughout his career Blaine has led his teams with integrity and has emphasized the importance of hard work, sportsmanship, and fair play. Apparently the formula has worked – Blaine finishes his dual meet career with an incredible record of 529-182-1. Blaine will coach in his final Section 9 Tournament next Friday and Saturday, 2/8 and 2/9, and then will wrap up his career two weeks later up in Albany at the NYSPHSAA Championships on 2/22 and 2/23.
An Email From One Legend to Another The following email was sent to Coach Blaine from former Minisink Valley AD and wrestling coach Frank Carrozza.
Don,
Just read article on Section 9 site! It is hard to believe you have been coaching for so many years! I can remember when you were in the Dragon line up on those tough Cornwall teams. I was a rookie coach then at MV.
You have affected many young wrestlers at Cornwall. You have taught them many things not just how to wrestle, but how to be a gentleman as well. You were a fine example for all the young grapplers you have coached along the way.
You will be missed, but I am sure you will be now watching matches from the bleachers and cheering on the Green and White. You are truly one of Cornwall’s treasures!
Still Bridging, Frank PS- Regards to your family.
Congratulations “Donnie” on an absolutely remarkable career and thank you for all you have done for the sport of wrestling!
