2024 Eastern States Classic: Weight-by-Weight Tournament Preview

101 Pounds
The lightest weight class at the ESC is always one of the most exciting brackets to follow. In most years, many of the wrestlers entered have limited varsity experience and they are still making the adjustments needed to succeed at the high school level. This year’s ESC field, however, has several wrestlers who have already earned their varsity chops including five wrestlers who placed in their state tournaments last season. Newburgh Free Academy’s William Soto placed 3rd in NYS last year and 4th at the 2023 ESC and he is, without a doubt, one of the favorites here. Soto is undefeated this season and was the Mid-Hudson Tournament champion. Ethan Andreula from Long Beach from Long Beach placed 7th in the D1 tournament last season so he will definitely be in contention so that automatically makes Valley Central’s EJ Vass a contender because Vass defeated Andreula earlier this season. Port Jervis freshman Charlie Wylie became the first Section 9 girl to place at the NYS tournament last year when she finished 6th in the D2 tournament, two places behind 4th place finisher Jakob Lucinski from Newfane – both Charlie and Jacob will be in the mix here. The other state place winner entered here is Cole Glynn from Central Catholic who placed 4th in Massachusetts last season. Wyatt Sartori from Section 5 is currently undefeated and considered one of the D2 101-pound state title favorites this season and we should also keep an eye on Vincent Orandello from MacArthur who also sports an unblemished record. Brody DiCarprio from Burnt Hills is having a great season as are Tanner Catrabone from Williamsville NE, Trevor Patrovich from Hauppauge, Jacob Hurd from New Hartford, and Gio Tornambe from Yorktown.

108 Pounds
With five wrestlers entered who have finished in the top-5 in their state including two former state champions, as well as two other wrestlers who didn’t place in the state tournament but medaled at the ESC, 108 will be a great weight class to watch unfold! Four of the five top 2023 ESC place winners at 101 are entered in this bracket! Long Beach’s Dunia Sibomana was a state champion two years ago and finished 3rd in NYS last year and will definitely be a contender here as will NFA sophomore Cooper Merli who was your 2023 NYSPHSAA D1 state champion and 2023 ESC champion. Merli suffered a loss at the Mid-Hudson a few weeks ago to Longwood’s Anthony Lagala-Ryan. The Section 11 freshman placed 5th in the state last year and will be in the mix here as will 2023 state finalist Connor Sheridan from Hauppauge who finished 2nd at the 2023 ESC. Jaron Barrientos from Lewiston Porter is undefeated so far this season and placed 3rd at the ESC last season and will definitely contend for a high medal here as will 2X state place medalist Ralph Keeney from Ballston Spa. We need to keep an eye on Cullen Edwards from St. Francis who placed 5th at this tournament last season and let’s not overlook Wallkill’s Marco Futia or Hauppauge’s Gino Manta who are having great seasons thus far! Fairfield junior Zach Broska placed 3rd in CT last season and could also surprise a few people here. A few other wrestlers having outstanding seasons who could be in the medal hunt here are Vinny Augello from Commack, Jack Borowiec from Monsignor Farrell, and Tristan Levin from Tottenville.

116 Pounds
With ten former state place winners, five returning ESC place winners, one Fargo placer, and no clear-cut favorite, the 116-pound weight class is wide open! Let’s start with Midwood junior Evin Gursoy as one of the favorites. Gursoy placed 3rd in the state as a freshman and was the state runner-up last season. He also placed 2nd at last year’s ESC and is undefeated coming into this tournament. Evan Sanati from Brentsville placed 3rd in the VA state tournament last year and finished 4th at the 2023 ESC and will definitely contend here. Tyler Whitely from Burnt Hills is a 2X NYS place winner, and we also need to watch Austin Zimmerman from St. Joe’s who placed 5th in the state and 8th at last year’s ESC. Christian Pote from Danbury, CT placed 4th in the state last year and took 7th at the ESC. Kenna Gioffre from Newtown, CT also finished 4th in CT last year and could be in the mix. Locust Valley 8th grader Finnegan O’Brien placed 6th at last year’s ESC and will be in contention for a D2 state title this year and we need to also keep an eye on Jason Euceda from Brentwood whose only loss this season is to Dunia Sibomana. Massachusetts 4th place finisher Michael Morris is having a good season and could be in the mix as will Dale Corbin from Wyoming Seminary who placed 8th in Fargo. Others who will be in medal contention here at 116 include Brady Judd from Warwick, Ryan Cieslinski from Spencerport, Aidan Donohue from Rocky Point, Vincent Mastrianni from Colonie, Chase Morris from Oceanside, and Ryan Ball from Somers.

124 Pounds
I have been doing a preview for the Eastern States Classic for over 10 years now. The 2024 124-pound weight class may be the best weight class we have ever witnessed. Currently registered at the time of this preview being published, we have seventeen former state place winners, ten multiple state place winners, six returning ESC place winners, SIX STATE CHAMPIONS, and two 2X state champions! Without question, there will be several former state place winners who are eliminated on Day 1. The logical place to start this preview would be with Matt Marlow from Northport. He’s a 2X NYS champion, the 2023 ESC champion, and he’s been nationally ranked. Is he one of the favorites? Absolutely! Is he undefeated this season? Nope. Marlow suffered a loss earlier this season to Gavin Mangano, a freshman from Shoreham Wading River. Mangano finished 2nd in NYS D2 in 2023 and was the ESC champ at 110 last year. Oh, and Mangano is not undefeated either – he suffered a 3-2 loss to his teammate Chris Colon in an early December match. Colon, who placed 5th in NYS last season, is also entered in this bracket. Valley Central junior Luke Satriano placed 3rd at the ESC last year, 4th in the state as a freshman, and was the 2023 NYSPHSAA champion in D1. Luke will definitely be in the title hunt here as will Anthony Clem from Wantagh. Clem, who has committed to wrestle at the University of West Virginia, placed 3rd at 118 at last year’s ESC and he is a 2X state place winner taking 4th as a sophomore and 2nd as a junior! There are two CT state champs entered here – Joe Mahoney is a 2X state champ from New Fairfield and Owen Sheiman from Fairfield Warde has placed 3rd and 1st in the CT state tourney. Dillon Arrick from Arlington, Mason Mangialino from Comsewogue, Gene Edwards from Central Valley Academy, and Chris Noto from Honeoye Falls-Lima are all 2X NYS place winners and will all be in the medal hunt here! We’re not done yet! Nathan Sayers from Xavierian Brothers placed 2nd in MA in 2022 and was the 2023 state champ while Brady Oulette from Noble HS was a 2023 Maine state champion. Wyatt Fry from Wyoming Seminary is a former state place winner and should be watched here as should Caden Barrientos from Lewiston Porter, ESC placer Tomah Gummow from Indian River, and NYS place winners Ryan Munn from Carthage, and Ashten Hailey from Cobleskill-Richmondville. A few others who will likely make some noise at 124 are Shane Dobbins from Plainedge, Kole Haseley from St. Francis, Trey LeChase from Fairport, Viktor Banda from Wallkill, and Brody Franklin from Long Beach. Yeah, this weight class is loaded!

131 Pounds
Wantagh senior and University of West Virginia commit Joe Clem is definitely one of the favorites at 131 for this year’s ESC. Clem’s only two losses this season came at the Beast of the East. Clem finished 3rd in the state as a sophomore and was the state runner-up last year! Samason McKissick-Staley from Pittsford placed at the ESC last year and will likely be in the high medal hunt here. Dominick Spadaro from Fairfield Warde, CT placed 2nd in CT two years ago and was their state champion last year so he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on as is Vincent Tripaldi from Iona Prep who placed 2nd in the CSHSAA state tournament last season. Nik Massaro from St. Joe’s Collegiate placed 2nd in Albany last season and will be in the mix here and so will Andrew Spaulding from Honeoye Falls-Lima who was a state finalist two seasons ago. Matt Mercado from NFA opened some eyes by rolling through the Mid-Hudson Tournament and comes into the ESC with an unblemished record. Mercado has scored bonus points in every match so far this season. Wyoming Seminary freshman Marcus Heck is having a very good season including a 5-2 performance at the Beast of the East so he will be in the hunt here at 131. Other former state winners entered here include Deydon Soto from Danbury, CT, Esuar Ordonez from Putnam Valley, Austin Hall from Canisteo Greenwood, and Connor Hogbin from Brentsville, VA. A few other to keep an eye on her are Jake Nieto from Plainedge, Philly Provenzano from Fairport, Jacob Hanlon from Averill Park, Jacob Roger from Middletown, and Greg Greene from Shenendehowa.

138 Pounds
With fifteen former state place winners and three returning state champions, 138 will be a great weight to follow! Mt. Sinai senior Brayden Fahrbach placed 3rd in NYS as a freshman, 2nd as a sophomore, and was the 2023 state champion! He was also the 132 ESC champion last year. Wrestling up at 145, Fahrbach is undefeated this season and has scored bonus points in every match including an 8-0 major over a returning NYS place winner. Dustin Kaden from Noble, ME is a state champion and needs to be watched here and the same can be said for Aiden Gillings from Newfane. Gillings was a NYS D2 finalist last year and he also placed 3rd at the 2023 ESC. Michael Giugliano from Miller Place finished 6th in the state and 4th at the ESC last season so we can expect a good showing from him as well as Cael Raines who is sporting an unblemished record coming into this tournament. Luke Nieto from Plainedge placed 5th in NYS D1 last season and is currently undefeated with all bonus points wins this season. James Madison senior Amir Avazov placed 4th in the state last year and 7th at last year’s ESC so we can expect him to be in the mix along with Justin Shay from Iona Prep who is having a great season so far! Other former state place winners entered at this weight include Trevor Bishop from Tamarac, Ayden Buttery from Newfane, Patrick Grimsey from Lowville, Jacob McVige from Honeoye Falls-Lima, Cade Sands from Addison, Shea Morris from Haverhill, MA, and Cody Marchand from Noble, ME. We should also keep an eye on Griffin Petzold from Warwick, Wyatt Boice from Minisink Valley, Leo Mongiello from Sayville, and Colin Sherer from Marcellus-Onondaga.

145 Pounds
There are several very quality wrestlers at 145 but Herricks senior Joe Manfredi has to be considered the favorite. He finished 2nd at the ESC last but was not able to compete at the state tournament in Albany. Manfredi was a NYS finalist as a freshman and was the 2022 NYSPHSAA state champion as a sophomore. He has two losses this season, but they were both by medical forfeit at the Beast of the East where he won his first two matches prior to being injured. He has since returned to action and has pinned his last three opponents. Will Smith from Fairfield Prep is a 2X CT state place winner and he took 5th in New England last year so we can expect him to be in the hunt here along with Jared Spahn from Islip who placed 6th in NYS D1 last season. Zach Gerby from Pittsford, Joe Tornambe from Yorktown, Mason Ketcham from Washingtonville, and Anthony Tresch from Minisink Valley are all having great years and will definitely be in medal contention here and don’t be surprised if you see Jack DiMaggio from Smithtown West on the medal stand on Saturday. Kieren Cullen from Greenville, Colten Haven from Canisteo Greenwood, and Cooper Reed from Central Valley Academy are all 2X NYS D2 place winners and Reed and Havens are former ESC placers! Dino Battisti from Brockport is having a great season and will be in the medal hunt here as will Billy Tyler from Brentsville, VA who placed 3rd in his state tournament and took 8th at last year’s ESC. Others to keep an eye on here include Kyle Barber from Bayport-Bluepoint, Jayson Kline from St. Joe’s Collegiate, and Ryker Cox from Coxsackie-Athens.

152 Pounds
With no fewer than four wrestlers with legit shots at coming out on top, this is going to be another great weight class to watch unfold! Liam Carlin from Burnt Hills is a 2X NYS D1 place winner and he also placed 5th at the ESC last season and he’s a definite contended here. His only losses this season were at the ultra-tough Powerade Tournament in PA. St. Francis sophomore Griffin LaPlante was not able to compete in the NYSPHSAA tournament last year but he placed 5th in the tournament as an 8th grader and he placed 5th at the ESC last year. This year Griffin has four losses – three at the Powerade where he placed 8th and his other loss was to nationally ranked Cameron Catrabone up at 160 pounds. Jason Kwaak, a junior from Brentwood, was an ESC finalist last season and he placed 3rd in NYS D1 as a freshman. He is undefeated this season thus far and will definitely be in the title hunt here. Jesse VanOrden from Wantagh will also be in the mix here at 152. The Section 8 senior placed 3rd at the ESC and 3rd in NYS D1 last season. 2X NYS D2 place winner Vandavian Way from Gouverneur was an ESC place winner last season and will make some noise again at the tournament this year. Rush Henrietta junior Jackson Kopper cannot be overlooked here and either can Minisink Valley senior Luke Greiner who is a 2X Section 9 champion. A few others to keep our eyes on in this bracket include Greg Milone from Long Beach and Casey Liess from McQuaid Jesuit.

160 Pounds
This bracket has the potential to provide one of the most anticipated matchups of the season – PJ Duke vs Cameron Catrabone!!! Duke, who has verbally committed to wrestle for Penn State, is a junior from Minisink Valley and is regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound wrestlers in the nation. He is a 2X NYS champion, and ESC champion, Fargo champion, Ironman champion, and Super 32 champion. Catrabone, a senior from Williamsville North-East, will wrestle for the University of Michigan next year. His dad, Jeff, was a 3X All-American at Michigan. Catrabone is a 3X NYS D1 place winner including a state title, as well as an ESC title, in 2023. He was also a Powerade finalist in 2022. This matchup alone could be worth the price of admission! There are several other very tough wrestlers in this weight class who will be battling for a spot on the podium including Eric Grant from Iona Prep, Marc Maurath from Newtown, CT, Oleg Daniloff from Hewlett, Brent Nicolosi from Haverhill, MA, Beau Zeh from Canisteo Greenwood, Mason Rowley from Little Falls, Cody Quick from Pal-Mac, and Ryan Ross from Port Jervis.

170 Pounds
The 170-pound weight class could give another highly anticipated between NYS hammers if we get to see a rematch between Pal-Mac’s Braidon Woodward and St. Francis’s Gage LaPlante. Woodward, the 2023 ESC champ at 172, was narrowly defeated 3-2 by LaPlante, the 2023 ESC champ at 160, in the finals of the Linda C. Knuutila Memorial Tournament in mid-December. Despite all of their credentials, Woodward and LaPlante may have to do battle in the semifinals because another wrestler in this bracket, Nate Blanchette, from Central Catholic, MA is the #1 seed. Blanchette is a 2X New England champion, a 3X MA state champion, a Fargo AA, and was the #2 seed at the Ironman before being forced to medically forfeit out of the tournament after winning his first two matches. Sam Szerlip from Nyack who finished 3rd in NYS D1 last year and also took 6th at the 2023 ESC will be in the mix here. Charlie Foster from Vernon-Verona-Sherrill placed 7th at last year’s ESC and 5th in the D2 state tournament and let’s not forget about Johnathan Clohecy from Fulton who finished 5th in NYS D1 last season. Fisher Stites from Newtown, CT placed 3rd and 1st in the CT state tournament the past two seasons and could possibly medal here. A few others to keep an eye on are Paolo Ciatto from Iona Prep, Leo Venables from Carmel, and Mathew Rodriguez from East Meadow.

190 Pounds
This could be one of the many times where the eventual D1 NYS champ and D2 NYS champ meet at the ESC to decide who is truly the best wrestler in New York State! Hilton junior Elijah Diakomihalis was last year’s ESC champion and the NYS Division 1 runner-up at 189 pounds. He is currently undefeated and considered a heavy favorite to win the D1 states at 190 this season. On the bottom half of the bracket we have Tavio Hoose from Section 6 Southwestern HS. Hoose, who is only a sophomore this season, won the D2 state title last year and is also undefeated going into the ESC this year. One of the wrestlers in the field who definitely has the potential to prevent a Diahomihalis vs Hoose finals is Greyson Meak from Cold Spring Harbor. Meak was last year’s D2 state runner-up after losing a tough 5-4 decision to Hoose in the finals. He also placed 5th at last year’s ESC at 172. Zach Caldwell from St. Francis is a very talented sophomore who is a former ESC placer. He will definitely be a contender here as will Zack Miller from Islip. Miller was injured last season however he did place 8th in the state as a sophomore and is undefeated so far this season. Sean Kelly from Lowville and Jesse Mullis from Hudson Falls are also returning D2 state place winners and should be in the mix here as well as Wyoming Seminary’s Jonas Beakkelund who was a Hawaii state champion last season. A few others to keep an eye on here at 190 include Zachary Filip from Minisink Valley, Maddox McCormick from Port Jervis, Luke Van Gorden from PalMac, Quincy Bonville from Bethlehem Central, Ian Sutherland from Brewster, and Connor Miller from St. Francis.

215 Pounds
There is a really solid field this year at 215 but no clear-cut favorite which should make for an exciting bracket to follow. Similar to 190, the eventual D1 and D2 state champs at 215 could lock horns at the ESC. Fox Lane’s Alex Berisha is currently undefeated this season and he was an ESC placer last season. The two wrestlers who many consider the tops in the 215-pound weight class are entered here – Christian Solano from Eagle Academy – Bronx and Matt Oosterom from Port Jervis. Solano and Oosterom are both 2X D2 state place winners with Solano taking 5th last season while Oosterom finishing 4th. Orchard Park senior Jack MacDonald who placed 7th in NYS D1 and 6th at the ESC last season will definitely be in the thick of things on Saturday. Middletown’s Bryson Tibbs placed 6th in NYS D1 last season and is having an awesome year thus far so don’t be surprised if we see him high atop the medal stand on Saturday. Matthew Harrold is a MA state champ and will be in the mix here as will Churchville-Chili’s Coy Raines who was a state placer!

285 Pound
Although the 285-pound weight class may not be loaded with wrestlers who have incredible accolades, this bracket is full of talent and will certainly produce some great matches. Middletown senior Stephan Monchery is the defending ESC champ at this weight, and he placed 2nd in NYS D1 last year. Monchery, who has committed to wrestle for the University of Buffalo, is undefeated this season and is the definite favorite here. One of his biggest tests could come from his teammate Rahmiere Bradley who placed 7th in NYS last year. Newtown’s Jon Dasilva placed 6th in CT last year so we have to keep an eye on him as well as Landon Andrade from Sherburne-Earlville who is having a great season and will definitely be in the hunt for the D2 state title this year. New Hartford sophomore Chris Belmonte is having a great season and will contend here as will Jackson Schwab from Fayetteville. A few others to keep an eye on at 285 include Brandon Goldstein from Bellmore-JFK, Gael Sanchez from Churchville-Chili, Marlon Wheatly from Ossining, Vincent Petzold from Ossining, and Joe Arbitello from East Meadow.