“This tournament just keeps getting better every year.” I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard that comment this weekend! The 2014 Eastern States Classic was a huge success! In the end, Clovis West, who traveled all the way from California to wrestle in the Classic, was crowned team champions. They did so without crowning a single individual champion and had only one finalist. Springfield Central (MA), crowned two champions and finished in second place followed by Hauppauge and Locust Valley. Locally, Monroe Woodbury was the highest placing Section 9 team finishing 5th; Minisink Valley came in 12th. The Crusaders and the Warriors were the only two S9 teams to finish in the top 20. Section 9 had 9 wrestlers place in the top 8 of their weight class. Below is a weight by weight recap. Final Brackets
99 Champion – Kelan McKenna (NH, S3) beat Adam Busiello (ESM, S11) 3-0
Section 9 did not have any place winners at 99 but we did have one wrestler, Anthony Stramiello, make it to Day 2. Stramiello also notched an impressive 13-4 victory over Valley Central’s Tyler Lynch on Friday.
106 Champion – Parker Kropman (Pen, S5) beat Matteo Devincenzo (PJeff, S8) 3-2
Monroe Woodbury’s Vinny Vespa placed 4th at 106. Vespa lost to Kropman 3-0 in the semifinals. Former Pine Bush wrestler Chris Cuccolo, who now wrestles for St. Benedict’s Prep in NJ, finished 7th in this weight.
113 Champion – Vito Arujau (Syosset, S8) beat Kyle Quinn (Wantagh, S8) 7-4
Great match between Arujau, a state finalist at 99 last year, and Quinn who was 2013’s NYS champion at 106. Section 9 was well represented at 113. Pine Bush’s Johnny Stramiello finished in 4th place and Minisink Valley’s Gerard Daly finished 5th.
120 Champion – Nick Piccininni (WM, S11) beat Nick Casella (LV) 15-0
Port Jervis’ Dylan Booth was the only local wrestler to place in the top 8 at this weight. He finished 7th earning a hard fought 1-0 victory over Monroe Woodbury’s Evan Barczak during wrestle-backs.
126 Champ – Travis Passaro (ESM, S11) beat Mike Knoblach (CW, CA) 9-5
Passaro was voted at the lightweight MOW by the coaches and was also chosen as the Champion of Champions by his fellow competitors. To say the least, Passaro earned it! In order to win the 126 pound weight class, Passaro defeated 2 nationally ranked wrestlers (Kevin Jack, Danbury CT and Mike Knoblach, Clovis West CA) and also upended defending NYS champion Alex Delacruz along the way. Great job Travis! No local wrestlers placed at 126. NFA’s Da’mani Burns was the only S9 wrestler to advance to Day 2 in this extremely tough weight.
132 Champion – Will Koll (Lansing, S4) beat Chris Mauriello (Haup, S11) 7-5
The only local wrestler to reach the podium at 132 was Minisink Valley’s Chris Truglio who placed 7th. The MV junior knocked off previously undefeated John McHugh on his way to the medal stand.
138 Champion – Brandon Lapi (Amst, S2) beat Sam Ward (LV, S8) 4-2
Lapi navigated through an extremely tough 138 winning his matches 4-0, 3-0, 5-2, 3-1, and 4-2. Perhaps his toughest test was his 3-1 semifinal victory over Minisink Valley’s Mike Raccioppi who finished 6th. A third period Lapi takedown was the difference.
145 Champion – Jacob Restrepo (Sachem East, S11) beat Tom Dutton (Rocky Point, S11) 7-6
Dutton gets past his nemesis Butler in the semis then loses a heartbreaker to Restrepo in what may be a preview of the S11 final. Great win for Restrepo who also knocked off #1 seed Chris Garcia from Clovis West. Minisink Valley’s Frankie Hernandez had a great tournament finishing 7th in a brutal weight class. In wrestlebacks, Hernandez notched a 6-1 victory over Dave Brown from Farmingdale who earlier in the tournament defeated Warwick’s Tom Wightman 5-4. Hernandez also beat Chaminade’s Dan Jones 4-0 in the medal round. Jones scored a 5-4 win over Warwick’s AJ Aeberlie earlier in the day.
152 Champion – Richard Viruet (Spring Cen, MA) beat Blaise Benderoth (NR, S1) 3-0
This weight class became wide open when nationally ranked top seed Louis Hernandez was dq’d for an illegal slam in his R16 match. To Hernandez’s credit, he wrestled all the way back and took 3rd place. No S9 wrestlers placed at 152. Warwick’s Ryan Ferro was the only local wrestler to make it to Day 2. Ferro punched his ticket to Day 2 with a 9-8 win over Valley Central’s Osman Hasan.
160 Champion – John Viruet (Spring Cen, MA) beat Dan DeCarlo (Port Fervis, S9) 3-2
DeCarlo, the only finalist from Section 9, lost a hard fought match to the second of the Viriut brothers to win a title. This was another weight class that became more “wide open” than originally anticipated when it was learned that nationally ranked Corey Rasheed from Longwood was scratched due to a lingering injury.
170 Champion – Burke Paddock (Warsaw, S5) beat Adis Radoncic (NY Private) 5-3
Great final matchup here as two nationally-ranked, defending NYS champions locked horns with the Iowa bound Paddock earning the victory. No S9 wrestlers placed at 170 but both Tanner Sexton (Port Jervis) and Quinn Zsido (Cornwall) came within one win of doing so.
182 Champion – Christian Dietrich (Greene, S5) beat Daniel Smith (South Jeff, S3) 3-0
It was the second time this season that Smith lost in a tournament final to the Dietrich, the nationally ranked sophomore who was a state finalist last season. No S9 wrestlers placed and only Monroe Woodbury’s Nick McShea made it to Day 2.
195 Champion – Levi Ashley (Shen, S2) beat Reggie Williams (JC, S4)
In a rematch from a tournament final from earlier this season, the nationally ranked Ashley once again was able to overcome Williams earning the title. Two S9 wrestlers came within one win of placing in the top 8 at 195. Cornwall’s Erik Jessell and Middletown’s Juan Velazquez both picked up Day 2 wins but fell just short of placing!
220 Champion – Richard Sisti (Mon Far, C) beat John Hartnett (Tappan Zee, S1) WBF 1:53
Defending state champion Sisti was dominating. One of his biggest challenges however came from Monroe Woodbury’s Rob Kelly who finished 5th. Kelly made it all the way to the semis before dropping a 6-2 decision to Sisti. New Paltz’s Troy Grant and NFA’s Isaac Serrano also saw Day 2 action both coming within one match of earning a spot on the medal stand.
285 Champ – Connor Caulkin (Alf Alm, S5) beat Kamron Anderson (Sprin Cen, MA) tech 16-1
It is only a matter of time before Caulkin earns some nationally attention. He is big, tall, and very athletic for a heavyweight. His tech fall victory in the finals was his closest match of the tournament. One of his early victims was Monroe Woodbury’s Tyler Vervalin who was pinned by Caulkins early ,but then wrestled back very well coming within one win of the medal stand.