This year’s state qualifying tournament will be a barn-burner…plain and simple! The 2015 Division 1 Wrestling Championships will take place on Friday 2/13 and Saturday 2/14 at Monroe Woodbury High School. We can anticipate great matches in every weight class as well as a team race that may not be decided until late Saturday! Below is a preview of each weight. Please keep in mind that “11th hour” weight class changes frequently occur so the below weight class assignments may not be 100% accurate.
99
Rarely do we so so much returning talent at the lightest weight class. Until recently, many of us in S9 had Minisink Valley’s Jarred Greiner as the favorite with Middletown’s Oscar Lainez and Monroe Woodbury’s Marco Vespa nipping at his heels. All of that changed on January 14th when Wallkill sophomore Andrew Davis cradled and pinned Greiner! Lainez has been scratched from 99 which slides Goshen’s Frank Fea into the 4 seed. All four of these wrestlers are talented! 99 pounds is always fun to watch and this year it should be better than ever!
106
With Anthony Stramiello deciding to go 113, Minisink Valley freshman Connor Greiner has to been considered the clear favorite at this weight. He has been very impressive and seems to be improving as the season has progressed. Do not discount VC’s Robert Satriano though! He is very tough and his only three losses this year have been to Stramiello (6-4), Greiner (7-0) and Davis (Satriano was winning 4-1 before getting pinned).
113
The addition of Pine Bush junior Anthony Stramiello has made 113 a very tough weight! He will likely take on the winner of Valley Central’s Tyler Lynch and Middletown’s Pedro Rosales. These two locked horns recently with Lynch coming away the victor via a 9-6 decision. Other’s to watch at 113 include Wallkill’s Brad Bonner and Saugerties’ Jamie Pulver.
120
The top two seeds at 120 have aspirations above and beyond a Section 9 title. Monroe Woodbury senior Vinny Vespa finished 3rd in NYS last year at 106 and hopes to place even higher this year. Vespa is 31-0 this season; two of his toughest matches though have been to Minisink Valley senior Gerard Daly. Daly is a 2X state qualifier who has dropped two tight matches to Vespa this season (3-1, 4-2). Assuming both wrestlers advance to the finals, this will be the most anticipated match of the evening. MW’s Cameron Wernicki, Warwick’s Paul Ginley and Wallkill’s Gus Formato have been coming on strong at the end of the season and will definitely be in the medal hunt.
126
Monroe Woodbury junior Kevin Kelly is having an awesome season and is the clear favorite at 126. Kelly is 35-1 with his only loss coming to an out-of-state wrestler. One wrestler he has not faced, however, is Wallkill senior Logan Losito. Losito is a 2X sectional placewinner who has an OT victory over another contender at 126 Minisink Valley’s Matt Lopez.
132
Da’mani Burns is one of the best wrestlers in NYS…period! The NFA senior 39-1 with bonus points in nearly every match. His only loss was to nationally ranked Vito Arujau of Section 8 Syosset. Expect Burns, who finished 5th in NYS last season, to lock horns with a familiar foe in the finals as he will likely take on Monroe Woodbury’s Evan Barczak, a returning state qualifier. These two have met twice this year with Burns getting the victory both times. The first contest was very close (3-1) but Burns won by fall in their second meeting. Warwick’s Lucas Wightman and MV’s Tyler Mayo and Andrew Neidnig are wrestlers worth watching as well!
138
Minisink Valley senior Chris Truglio is 31-0 this season including several wins over kids who will wrestle in their state tournament this year. Truglio is a 2X Section 9 champ and is looking to climb his way onto the podium in Albany this year. One of the Section 9 wrestlers standing in Truglio’s way is Wallkill senior Nick Sebesta. Also keep an eye on MW’s Matt Bracco, Saugerties’ Biko Skalla, and VC’s Dan Romano.
145
This is another weight class where Section 9 is blessed with two wrestlers who have a legitimate shot at placing in the state tournament. Warwick Valley sophomore Ryan Ferro and Minisink Valley senior Mike Raccioppi have both been to Albany before and they’ve both been very close to placing! The two have met once this year with Ferro earning the victory 6-4 SV. Washingtonville’s Brandon Bobe and VC’s Mack Phillips will also make some noise at this weight!
152
Warwick senior Thomas Wightman is 36-2 this season and is the heavy favorite at 152 in Section 9 this year. Both of his losses this year have been to Section 2 stud Jesse Porter – once by 5-1 decision, once by fft. The best chances for challenging Wightman would come from Port Jervis’ Hunter Curreri, MW’s Brandon Lewis, NFA junior Mike DeCapua, and Kingston’s Nijee Noble (lost 1-0 to Wighman this year).
160
Perhaps the heaviest favorite to win his weight class at this year’s tournament is Minisink Valley junior AJ Aeberlie. He has a 39-1 record and has a first period pin over second seeded Andrew Tully from Monroe Woodbury. Tully earned the second seed by beating Middletown’s Christian Matos 9-7 earlier in January. Port Jervis’ Nate Cohen has been coming on strong and will definitely be in contention for a high placing this year.
170
Returning state place winner Quinn Zsido from Cornwall is the solid favorite at 170 but he will not walk through this weight! Wallkill senior Alec Guevara has given Zsido all he could handle twice this year. In their most recent meeting, Quinn needed a sudden victory take down to get the win. Minisink Valley senior Nick Wentland, who lost a very close 3-1 match to Guevara in January, will also be in the hunt.
182
Arguably the deepest weight class in the tournament, 182 has at least 5 wrestlers with a legitimate chance to win. Minisink Valley senior Deonte Moore is the top seed and has narrow victories over several of the other contenders including Washingtonville’s Bruce McLee, Monroe Woodbury’s Marcello Gennaro, and MW’s second entry Kendall Elfstrum. Wallkill sophomore Mike Fekishazy will also make some noise at 182 and has the potential to win it all.
195
It is tough to argue against making Nick McShea the heavy favorite here. The Monroe Woodbury junior is a returning S9 champ and he is a perfect 35-0 for the season including some wins over highly regarded competition. McShea, however, has yet to lock horns with Washingtonville senior Bryan Beyers who is a perfect 30-0 on the season. This may be a good one! Beyer’s teammate Keyon Milner is very talented and could also get into the mix!
220
Middletown junior Joe Humphrey and Wallkill senior Brandon Mascaro are on a crash course for a third meeting this season! Humphrey won the first match 4-2 at the Eastern States Classic while Mascaro won the rematch a few weeks later at the Gene Brigham when Humphrey suffered a cut near his eye and ran out of injury time. Humphrey is 31-4 and has some impressive wins including a 6-4 win over Fargo AA Garyn Huntley. Mascaro is 28-2 with his only losses coming at the Eastern States Tournament. Also watch out for Saugerties senior Nathan Donah who is 28-2 and won the Mid-Hudson Tournament this season.
285
NFA senior Isaac Serrano has been the guy to beat all season at 285! He is 37-3 and all three losses have been to top-notch wrestlers. He also has wins over his top two challengers from Section 9, John Demy from Wallkill who is 22-4 and Jonathan Zambrano from Valley Central who is 19-7. Serrano has a legitimate chance of stepping onto the medal stand in Albany!