Congratulations to Minisink Valley’s PJ Duke for finishing 2nd in the high school division at this weekend’s Super 32 Challenge. The Super 32 is generally considered the toughest high school wrestling tournament in the nation. Duke made it all the way to the finals where he dropped a razor close 4-3 decision to Michigan sophomore Caden Horwath. Duke was attempting to become only the 3rd 8th grader in tournament history to win a coveted Super 32 belt!
PJ had to navigate his way through a brutal bracket in order to take his shot at the belt. His first match was a 5-2 win in the round of 128 over Davian Guanajuato of Arizona and he followed it up with a pin in 1:47 over Daniel Hurt of Ohio. In the round of 32 the Minisink middle schooler decked Trevon Grey of Virginia at the 3:22 mark and then notched a 14-4 major decision over Michigan’s Kaden Chinavare in the round of 16. Duke started Day 2 with a bang when he pinned Kentucky’s Spencer Moore in 3:05 in the quarters – Moore is ranked #7 in the nation at 113! In the semifinals Duke picked off another nationally ranked stud when he upended #17 Jore Volk from Minnesota 2-1 in the ultimate tie breaker. PJ looked great in the finals but just fell a little short in his 4-3 loss to Horwath who is ranked 15th in the nation.
Duke was not the only Section 9 stud who laid it on the line at the Super 32. His Minisink Valley teammate Zack Ryder finished the tournament 3-2 in a loaded 145 pound weight class. Ryder notched a :41 pin in the round of 128 over Zac Cowan from Kentucky and then recorded an 8-0 major over PA state place winner Ty Cymmerman in the round of 32. In his next bout Ryder wrestled a very smart match and came away with a 5-1 victory over Kael Voinovich in a match-up of two stud freshmen! In the round of 16 Ryder dropped a 9-4 decision to CA state finalist Henry Porter and then was eliminated when he was edged 4-2 in sudden victory to Alabama’s Jaden New.
In the middle school division Section 9 had two wrestlers entered as Newburgh resident Cooper Merli went 2-2 in the 80 pound weight class and Washingtonville’s Mason Ketcham went 3-2 at 105. Merli started the tournament with an 8-0 major over Ezekiel Keel from Virginia but was then pinned in the round of 16 at the 1:04 mark by Revin Dickman from Indiana. In the consies Merli notched a 3-2 win over Ohio’s Rocco Czanecki before being eliminated by Roman Belardo of Georgia in a 4-2 sudden victory loss. Ketcham lost his opening match 4-0 to Leo Contino from California before reeling off three straight wins. He beat Cody Salomon from VA 4-0, Bradley Williams from AL by fall in 2:36, and David Perez from RI 7-4. Ketcham’s run ended when he lost by major decision to Carson Bissey from IL 9-0.
New location – same great tournament! Due to Covid-19 restrictions the Super 32 Challenge venue had to be switched from its usual location in Greensboro, NC to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, SC. The tournament takes place on October 24 & 25. Year after year the Super 32 proves to be one of the toughest preseason high school wrestling tournaments in the nation and with over 130 nationally ranked wrestlers registered, this year will be no different!
NYS Champ Zack Ryder
Section 9 Sending Three Nationally Ranked Hammers There are only three local wrestlers registered for this years high school tournament but what is lacking in quantity is is more than made up for in quality. Let’s start with Minisink Valley 8th grader PJ Duke who is entered in the high school division at 113 pounds. Last year while wrestling for Section 1 Carmel, Duke became the first wrestler in NYS history to win a D1 state title as a 7th grader when he won the crown at 99 pounds. Because PJ is still in Junior High School he is not nationally ranked by FloWrestling or The Open Mat (TOM), however he has several wins over nationally ranked high school wrestlers including a recent 7-5 win over 3X NYS champion Stevo Poulin. Duke is the #1 ranked P4P junior high wrestler in the nation according to InterMat. Nationally Ranked Wrestlers in PJ’s Bracket @ 113 Blake West (MN) #5 Flo; Billy Deckracker (VA) #5 Flo @ 106; Spencer Moore (KY) #7 Flo; Cael Keck (MO) #10 Flo; Cory Land (AL) #11 Flo @ 126; Caden Howarth (MI) #15 Flo; Cole Hunt (GA) #16 Flo; Nick Corday (GA) #17 Flo; Jore Volk (MN) #18 Flo
The Duke family has relocated to the Minisink Valley district where PJ will be teammates with another returning state champion in Zack Ryder. Ryder, who was a state champion at 126 last season as an 8th grader, has bulked up in the off season and is entered in the S32 at 145 pounds. Only a freshman, Ryder is currently ranked #19 in the nation by The Open Mat and he has a few recent wins over nationally ranked kids including a 3-2 win over Nick Vafiadis who is currently ranked #17 in the nation at 152 according to Flo. One of the wrestlers who Ryder could lock horns with at the S32 is Goshen resident Nick Fea who wrestles for Wyoming Seminary. Fea finished 3rd at Prep Nationals last year is having a busy off season and currently sits at #11 (TOM) and #17 (Flo) in the national polls at 145! Nationally Ranked Wrestlers in Zack and Nicky’s Bracket @ 145 Gavin Brown (OH) #5 Flo; Garrison Dendy (GA) #7 Flo; Rocco Welsh (PA) #8 Flo; Michael Kilic (GA) #15 Flo; Henry Porter (CA) #18 Flo; Alek Martin (OH) #19 Flo
Jordan Titus #2 in the Nation @ 126
Other Nationally Ranked NYS Wrestlers in the Field Along with the three local studs entered in this year’s Super 32, New York State has several other nationally ranked hammers registered in the high school division! Perhaps the most decorated wrestler in the NY contingent is senior Jordan Titus from Section 11 Center Moriches. Titus, a 2X NYS D2 champion, is entered at 126 where he is ranked #2 in the nation by both FloWrestling and The Open Mat. Titus will compete at D1 University of West Virginia next season. There are two nationally ranked wrestlers at 120 with NY ties that are definitely worth keeping our eyes on – Troy Spratley and Chase Liardi. Spratley is from Section 4 Bainbridge, NY but wrestles at Collinsville, OK where he was a state champion last year as a sophomore. Troy is currently ranked #4 in the nation (at 126) by both Flo and TOM. Liardi wrestles for Section 8 Massapequa and is currently ranked #19 in the nation (at 126) by FloWrestling. He is a 2X NYS finalist and is hoping his senior campaign will end with him on top of the podium in Albany. Another 2X NYS finalist, Jayden Scott, enters this year’s S32 at 138 pounds with a national ranking on his resume. Scott, a junior from Section 5 Rush Henrietta, is ranked #9 in the nation by The Open Mat and #17 in the nation by Flo at 138. Rocco Camillaci from Section 5 Hilton is not currently ranked by either Flo or TOM however he has appeared on the boards recently and should be mentioned here. Camillaci, a 3rd place finisher in NYS D1 at 126 last year, is entered at 138 pounds. Nick Sanko from Section 5 Pittsford has had a very busy off-season and it is paying huge dividends. Sanko, who finished 4th in NYS D1 last season, has picked off a few guys on the board and now sits at #16 in the nation at 152 according to FloWrestling! Another new addition to the national rankings is Kole Mulhauser from Section 3 Central Square. Mulhauser, who 3rd in NYS D1 last season, has had an incredible off season and in now ranked #14 in the nation by Flo and #20 by TOM at 170 pounds! Kole is also an outstanding student and has recently committed to continue his academic and athletic career at Princeton University!
Right On The Cusp…. Do not be surprised if you see the following hammers crack the national rankings after a strong showing at the Super 32 Challenge! Baer had an impressive 6-1 win over Ryder about a month ago…Hansen is a returning state champ and will open some eyes in Myrtle Beach…Araneo recently beat Dylan Connell from IL who is currently ranked #7 in the nation at 182! 152 – Carter Baer (Gouverneur, Jr.) – NYS D2 Champion 170 – Christian Hansen (Cold Spring Harbor, Sr.) – NYS D2 Champion 182 – James Araneo (Ward Melville, Sr.) – 4th NYS D1
All Other NYS Entries in the High School Division 106 – Gianni Silvestri (Tioga, Fr.) – NYS D2 Champion 113 – Caden Bellis (Tioga, Fr.) – 4th NYS D2 113 – Tyler Ferrara (Chenango Forks, So.) – 2nd NYS D1 120 – Ryan Eckerle (Commack, So.) 120 – Jace Schafer (Pal-Mac, Sr.) – NYS D2 Champion 120 – Chris Petteys (Hudson Falls, Sr.) – 3rd NYS D2 120 – Max Gallagher (Bayport Blue Point, So.) – 2nd NYS D2 120 – Justin Fortugno (Byram Hills, Jr.) 126 – Jamie Jarquin Duarte (Fox Lane, Jr.) 126 – Nick LaMorte (Fox Lane, So.) 126 – Jared Weinhaus (Sachem East, Jr.) – 6th NYD D1 126 – Dante Rigal (Johnson City, Sr.) – 6th NYS D1 126 – Cody Merwin (Walton, Sr.) – 4th NYS D2 126 – Cooper Rice (Chenango Forks, Sr.) 126 – Jackson Polo (Cold Spring Harbor, Jr.) – 3rd NYS D2 132 – Sean Wang (Great Neck South, Sr.) 132 – Avery Leonard (Milford, Sr.) – 2nd NYS D2 132 – Robert Horan (Iona Prep, Sr.) 132 – Chris Perry (Brunswick School, Sr.) 138 – Jordan Soriano (Clarke, Jr.) – 5th NYS D2 138 – Devlin Blanchard (Corinth, Fr.) 145 – Carter Schubert (Honeoye Falls Lima, Jr.) – 4th NYS D2 152 – Brody Oleksak (BGAH, Sr.) – 5th NYS D2 152 – Tim Bova (Arlington, Jr.) – 7th NYS D1 160 – Jack Spahn (Islip, Sr.) – 3rd NYS D1 160 – Marino Mancuso (Commack, Sr.) 170 – Gavin Bell (Cold Spring Harbor, Sr.) – 4th NYS D2 170 – Gabriel Monroe (Windsor, Jr.) – 4th NYS D2 182 – Nicky Bell (Brunswick School, Sr.) 220 – Nino Prisco (Fox Lane, Sr.) 285 – Sebastian Garibaldi (White Plains, Sr.) – 5th NYD D1 285 – Ryan Stein (Shaker, Jr.)
