Mike Carey – Page 60 – SECTION 9 WRESTLING

Section 9 Division 2 Seeds

Take a look at the top 4 seeds in every weight for this year’s Section 9 Division 2 Championships. The tournament takes place on Sunday February 12 at SUNY Ulster. Wrestling will begin at 12:15 and finals are slated to begin at 5:30.

Please note that some of these seeds may, and likely will, change. Best of luck to everyone competing!

99 Pounds
1. Nikko Walsh – Rondout Valley
2. Matt Morris – Red Hook
3. Aiden Cuppett – New Paltz
4. Anakin Luna – Highland

106 Pounds
1. Wade Harris – Red Hook
2. Pat Ross – Onteora
3. John Antonelli – Marlboro
4. Timmy Rereira – Rondout Valley

113 Pounds
1. Liam Bullock – Chester
2. Nick Ross – Onteora
3. James Long – Chester
4. Dan Adams – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West

120 Pounds
1. Nick Conetta – Chester
2. Justin Quiles – Chester
3. Mitchell – Gibson – New Paltz
4. Montana Wells – Red Hook

126 Pounds
1. Nate Ross – Onteora
2. Chris Massaro – New Platz
3. Nick Curreri – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West
4. Nanuk McBride – Red Hook

132 Pounds
1. Ian Houck – Rondout Valley
2. Brad Acevedo – Highland
3. Chris Hiesel – New Platz
4. Ceaser Luna – Highland

138 Pounds
1. Shane Gulliksen – New Platz
2. Matt Malherio – Highland
3. Brendan Douthit – Burke
4. Brian Reilly – Red Hook

145 Pounds
1. Hayden Baker – Rondout Valley
2. Zach Chartrand – Onteora
3. Joe Decker – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West
4. James Deaveiro – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West

152 Pounds
1. Dillon Ross – Onteora
2. Tristen Schiafo – Red Hook
3. Andrew Salerno – Chester
4. John Miller Highland

160 Pounds
1. Noah Curreri – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West
2. Brayan Duque – New Platz
3. Mike Kenny – Red Hook
4. Austin Harris – Red Hook

170 Pounds
1. Matt Shields – Onteora
2. Larry Oliver – Highland
3. Ryan Hobson – Red Hook
4. Tyler Sooknanan – Chester

182 Pounds
1. Brody Harris – Chester
2. Ben Cuppett – New Paltz
3. Jeff Kiluba – Red Hook
4. River Loundsbury – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West

195 Pounds
1. John Goodell – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West
2. Austen Eighmey – Ellenville
3. Chris Benincasa – Red Hook
4. Dany Ruiz – Tuxedo

220 Pounds
1. John Perez – Highland
2. Mahmoud Hefnawy – Red Hook
3. Dean Trevisano – Chester
4. Brandon Cox – Ellenville

285 Pounds
1. Angel Lemus – Onteora
2. Colin Canfield – Highland
3. Will Sutherland – Rondout Valley
4. Liam Dietrich – Red Hook

SUNY Ulster Update

The Senators split their final two dual meets of the season falling to Mt. St. Vincent and defeating Farmingdale. Mohammed Khan, Lakell Martin, Patrick Carroll and Alex Munoz all picked up wins on the day for Ulster.

The Senators finish their first season back since 1979 with a record of 4-3. The team travels to Mercyhurst NE to compete in the Eastern District Championships on 2/12.

2017 JV Championships Results

Congratulations to Monroe Woodbury for winning the team title at the 2017 JV Championships which took place at Warwick on Saturday. The Crusaders had 14 wrestlers place in the top 6 including 5 champions. Minisink Valley had 3 champions and edged out Middletown for 2nd place followed by Valley Central and Newburgh Free Academy.

2017 JV Championships Brackets

2017 JV Championships – Team Scores

Section 9 Rankings #5

With the Section 9 Championships less than two weeks away, things are really starting to get interesting! Kendall Elfstrum from Monroe Woodbury and Connor Greiner from Minisink Valley have returned to action and it looks like they have no signs of rust! Several wrestlers have still yet to decide which weight class they will enter for sections – and if history is any indication of what to expect, we won’t know until the 11th hour!

As always it’s worth mentioning that these rankings are just for fun and their purpose is to create conversation, “a buzz,” about our sport. Please keep in mind that rankings are not the same as seedings. Rankings are merely the opinions of a small group of people and they are subjective. Seedings for the Section 9 tournaments are done by a formula and they are completely objective. Respectful comments and suggestions are always welcomed at sectionixwrestling@gmail.com. Enjoy!

99 lbs.
1. Justin Morales – Middletown, freshman
2. Nick Picariello – Minisink Valley, freshman
3. Jordan Suarez – Pine Bush, freshman
4. Colby Amell – Saugerties, sophomore
5. Christian Prokosch – Cornwall, junior
6. Jacob Chenier – Kingston, freshman
I feel like a broken record but I truly believe that this is the deepest, most talented 99 pound weight class we have seen in Section 9 in quite some time! Morales is your new #1 with his 6-4 win over Picariello while Picariello has a close win over Suarez. Amell is definitely worth watching here. He seems to be improving every week and recently pushed state ranked Dennis Robin from Section 1 to the limit before losing 11-8. Prokosch and Chenier are both having great seasons as are D2 favorites Nikko Walsh from Rondout Valley and Matt Morris from Red Hook. We also need to keep our eye on MW freshman Nicky Scancarello who went in the utb before dropping a heart breaker to #2 Picariello.

106 lbs.
1. Dylan Earl – Monroe Woodbury, junior
2. Ryan Burgos – Monroe Woodbury, sophomore
3. Greg Fischer – NFA, junior
4. Kevin Urena – Pine Bush, sophomore
5. Cameron Green – Middletown, freshman
6. Ethan Palanca – New Paltz, 8th grade
Earl is still our #1 and it looks like his closest competition may come from his teammate Burgos who is our new #2 after defeating NFA’s Fischer. Urena won the title at the Big 10 and has looked tough. Middletown freshman Cameron Green defeated Wade Harris at the Gene Brigham and becomes out new #5 one spot over New Paltz 8th grader Palanca who has also defeated Harris but has been inactive of late. The D2 race should be very fun to watch with four legit title contenders in Palanca, Harris, Marlboro’s Antonelli, and Onteora’s Pat Ross!

113 lbs.
1. Marco Vespa – Monroe Woodbury, sophomore
2. Matthew Romano – Valley Central, freshman
3. Jimmy Heinlein – Saugerties, sophomore
4. Liam Bullock – Chester, junior
5. Avery Ellison – Wallkill, senior
6. Lucas Fischer – NFA, freshman
Vespa notched his 2nd win over Lynch this season in dramatic fashion by winning a 3-1 sv decision in the final match to give his team the win over MV at the inaugural “Brawl for the Belt.” The match took place at 120 which is where Lynch will now be ranked. VC freshman Romano recently won the Beacon Bulldog and he’s yet to lose to a S9 opponent at 113; he’s your new #2. Heinlein took 3rd in Beacon and his only local loss at 113 has been by decision to Romano. Bullock lost a 11-10 decision in the finals of the Big 10 for his first defeat of the season and moves up to #4. Ellison has been steady and strong all year and just went 5-0 at the NFA Duals. Lynch’s departure opens the door for NFA freshman Lucas Fischer to return to the board at #6.

120 lbs.
1. Tyler Lynch – Minisink Valley, senior
2. James Faison – Wallkill, freshman
3. Nick Conetta – Chester, senior
4. Patrick Owens – Monticello, senior
5. Joe McGinty – Monroe Woodbury, freshman
6. Tommy Askey – Pine Bush, freshman
This was definitely the most difficult weight class to rank. Lynch is a returning Section 9 champion and he placed 6th at the Eastern States Classic. He did however suffer a recent loss to Owens at the Gene Brigham. Owens has losses to #2 Faison and #3 Conetta who both look very strong right now! It looked like Lynch was nursing an injured elbow so we’ll keep him at #1 for now but this weight will definitely be interesting to follow. MW’s McGinty has been very tough all year as has PB frosh Askey. Bouton from Kingston and Savacool from MV aren’t in the top 6 here but definitely have the potential to finish high on the medal stand at sections! This is a great weight to follow.

126 lbs.
1. Connor Greiner – Minisink Valley, junior
2. Robert Satriano – Valley Central, senior
3. Andrew Davis – Wallkill, senior
4. Cameron Wernicki – Monroe Woodbury, senior
5. Nick Albornoz – Minisink Valley, sophomore
6. Nate Ross – Onteora, freshman
2X defending Section 9 champ Greiner returns to action and debuts at #1 followed by VC senior Satriano. Andrew Davis from Wallkill has been solid and is at #3 followed by Wernicki from MW at #4. MV sophomore Albornoz has looked great at 126 and came in 2nd at the Gene Brigham with his only loss coming to Greiner in the finals. Nate Ross has looked very good all year but has not wrestled much since ESC so we have him at #6.

132 lbs.
1. Vinny Vetrano – Minisink Valley, junior
2. Ian Houck – Rondout Valley, junior
3. Brad Bonner – Wallkill, senior
4. Anthony Sountis – Monroe Woodbury, senior
5. Robert Estevez – Monroe Woodbury, sophomore
6. Tyler Matos – Middletown, senior
Vinny Vetrano has been on fire! Within the past two weeks he has posted victories over Houck (5-0), Sountis (7-3), and Satriano (7-1…who may be going 132) so he is our new #1! Houck, Bonner, and Sountis are all having great seasons and are at 2, 3, and 4. Estevez does not have a great record however most of his matches have been outside of S9 against very tough kids! He does have a 7-0 win over #6 Matos from Middletown.

138 lbs.
1. Dominic Vetrano – Minisink Valley, junior
2. Louis Libutti – Monroe Woodbury, senior
3. Dylan Greer – Pine Bush, junior
4. Robert Randall – NFA, senior
5. Kyle Ripa – Wallkill, senior
6. Mat Malherio – Highland, sophomore
Dom Vetrano has looked very tough at 138 and he remains our #1. Libutti had a nice win over #4 Randall and came in 3rd at the Ridgefield CT tournament and is at #2. Greer posted a win over Matos plus he finished 3rd at the Big Ten up in Albany and remains #3. Randall looked good at NFA Duals going 4-1 and Ripa went 3-2 at the same event so we’ll keep them at 4 and 5. Malherio is having a great year and looks to be the favorite at 138 for D2.

145 lbs.
1. Brandon Bobe – Washingtonville, senior
2. Shaun Burgos – Pine Bush, junior
3. Tom Fini – Monroe Woodbury, senior
4. Tyler Serafini – NFA, sophomore
5. William Harrison – Port Jervis, sophomore
6. Mike Kubik – Goshen, senior
Bobe has been rolling right along! He notched a few very impressive wins including one over former state placer Zach Lawrence and he pushed state ranked Kiernen Shanahan from Shen to the limit before losing 5-2. Harrison suffered a loss to Cornwall’s Gazzillo and drops a few spots. Gazzillo has a few very nice wins this year (Harrison, Pushman, Randall) and is definitely one to watch. Burgos pinned Fini in a dual and is now #2 with Fini right behind him at #3. Serafini went 5-0 at NFA Duals. Kubik looked good at the Gene Brigham finishing 3rd with his only loss being a 9-7 decision to the eventual champ from Guilderland.

152 lbs.
1. Evan Barczak – Monroe Woodbury, senior
2. Lucas Wightman – Warwick, senior
3. Nijee Noble – Kingston, senior
4. Dillon Ross – Onteora, junior
5. Nathaniel Garcia – Middletown, senior
6. Tristen Schiafo – Red Hook, junior
Barczak has been a buzzsaw this year and has his sights set on nothing less than a state title. Wightman backed up his ESC placing by going 5-0 at NFA Duals. Noble still looks very tough at 152 and will definitely make some noise here. Ross notched another win over Schiafo in a recent dual and stays at #4 but Garcia beat Schiafo in a great match at the Gene Brigham so they flip spots.

160 lbs.
1. Ryan Ferro – Warwick, senior
2. Noah Curreri – Eldred/Liberty/Sullivan West, senior
3. Timmy Ganuncio – Minisink Valley, junior
4. Owen Daly – Pine Bush, senior
5. Zachary Beam – Valley Central, senior
6. Lester Larkai – Washingtonville, senior
Ferro has pinned his last 10 opponents and still sits firmly at #1 in Section 9 at 160. Curreri beat Ganuncio in the finals of the Gene Brigham so he returns to #2 and the MV junior is now #3. Daly has picked up a few nice wins over Garcia (#5 at 152) and MW’s Vargas so he stays at #4 while Beam and Larkai are right behind him at #5 and #6.

170 lbs.
1. Mark Ohanian – Valley Central, senior
2. Adonis Morano – Middletown, junior
3. Maxx DeCapua – NFA, freshman
4. Brian Mascaro – Wallkill, junior
5. Jason Butler – Port Jervis, junior
6. Jeffery Kiluba – Red Hook, senior
This definitely going to be one of the most interesting weights to follow for the Section 9 D1 tournament. Earlier in the year is seemed as though Ohanian and Morano were the clear top 2 however there are several others who have recently shown that they can contend for the title. DeCapua, Mascaro and Butler keep rolling along and we definitely need to watch for MV’s Moore who recently lost a 5-4 nailbiter to top ranked Ohanian in a dual. Moore actually drops out of our top 6 here due to his loss to Kiluba at the Gene Brigham. Kiluba seems to be the favorite on the D2 side.

182 lbs.
1. Kendall Elfstrum – Monroe Woodbury, senior
2. Mike Fekishazy – Wallkill, senior
3. Joey Yanis – Minisink Valley, junior
4. Brody Harris – Chester, senior
5. Ben Cuppett – New Paltz, senior
6. Kyle Strauss – Monroe Woodbury, senior
2X Section 9 champion Kendall Elfstrum has made his return and debuts at #1. Although he finished 4th in NYS at 182 last year, placing him at #1 was not a “no-brainer” because our #2 ranked wrestler here is Mike Fekishazy from Wallkill. Fekishazy finished 6th in NYS at 170 and has several very impressive wins this season including two over Evan Frank who defeated Elfstrum for 3rd in NYS last year in Albany. MV junior Joey Yanis is a pinning machine and should not be overlooked here. Cuppett is a 2X Section 9 D2 champ and is having another good year however he was beaten by Brody Harris from Chester at the Big Ten…we definitely need to watch Harris! Strauss from MW and VHO from Washingtonville are also having strong seasons! Cornwall’s Leonard is also having a nice year and will contend for a medal here.

195 lbs.
1. Andrew Covais – Minisink Valley, senior
2. Samson Perez – Monroe Woodbury, senior
3. Billy Kras – Wallkill, senior
4. James Ball – Saugerties, senior
5. Tom Kearns – Goshen, senior
6. Alex Leonty – Washingtonville, senior
Covais has been wrestling very well and is looking like the #1 at 195. He defeated #2 Perez in the “Brawl for the Belt” by a score of 7-1 and defeated #5 Kearns 9-2 at the Gene Brigham. Kras is the new #3 after an impressive win over #4 Ball who hung hight with state ranked Davis from Beacon. Ball also notched a win over Phillips form PJ who is #3 at 220. Leonty looked good at the Wizard Duals with his only loss coming to Davis from Beacon. Cornwall has two wrestlers who may compete here – Keller and Cassidy. We have ranked Cassidy at 220 for now.

220 lbs.
1. Ryan Ellefsen – Goshen, senior
2. Horace Duke – Middletown, senior
3. Scyler Phillips – Port Jervis, senior
4. John Cassidy – Cornwall, senior
5. Andrew Slagle – Minisink Valley, senior
6. Tyler Bohenko – Valley Central , senior
Ellefsen has looked awesome! He pinned #2 Duke in the Gene Brigham finals and #3 Phillips in a dual. We have moved Cassidy to #4 at 220 for now but he may end up at 195. MV’s Andrew Slagle enters the rankings. He has been looking great recently including a pin over #6 Bohenko. Harrison Parrelli from Warwick has been wrestling tough too and needs to be watched here!

285 lbs.
1. Andrew Fenner – Minisink Valley, junior
2. Norris Gipson – Middletown, senior
3. Will McCartney – NFA, senior
4. Austin Taylor – Warwick, senior
5. Max Kissack – Washingtonville, junior
6. Will Sutherland – Rondout Valley, senior
Fenner keeps winning. Since our last ranking he has recorded a pin over Gipson, and wins over Kissack, Moore, Sutherland, and Havison. Gipson took 4th at a tough weight at the Peter Caruso in Mahopac and stays #2. McCartney has been wrestling well and slides up to #3 while Taylor is right behind him at #4. Kissack has now beaten Leser 2X and enters the rankings at #5 and Rondout Valley senior Sutherland is our new #6! Leser from Saugerties, Moore from VC, Smith from PB, and Havison from MW are all capable of placing in the D1 tournament.

Week 10 Schedule & Results

Monday 1/30
Port Jervis 48 Goshen 39

Wednesday 2/1
Chester 39 E/L/SW 38   Cornwall 58 Monticello 18
Rondout Valley 48 Ellenville 30 Wallkill 66 Goshen 12
New Paltz @ Highland Middletown 52 Kingston 23
Minisink Valley 60 VC 13   Monroe Woodbury 56 Pine Bush 21
NFA 39 Washingtonville 32   Red Hook 42 Onteora 27
Port Jervis 37 Saugerties 36

Thursday 2/2
Monticello 49 Chester 30
Minisink Valley 72 Burke 3

Friday 2/3
Middletown 41 Valley Central 21

Weekend Schedule and Results

Friday 1/27
“Brawl for the Belt”

Monroe Woodbury 39 Minisink Valley 34

The Crusaders from Monroe Woodbury have won the innagural “Brawl for the Belt”…this one definitely lived up to it’s hype! The dual was decided on the final match of the evening when MW’s Marco Vespa decisioned MV’s Tyler Lynch in sudden victory! The energy in the gymnasium at Minisink Valley was palpable all night and it came to head prior to the final match of the evening pitting the two state qualifiers against each other. Minisink won 8 of the 15 matches but it was Monroe who was able to pick up the necessary bonus points and notched a 39-34 win! There were no losers last night – just two great programs laying it on the line! Great job by both teams! This event has provided Section 9 wrestling with a much needed “shot in the arm”…Hopefully there will me many more duals like this in the future! Go S9!!!

Saturday 1/28

Newburgh Duals – NFA, Wallkill, Port Jervis, Valley Central, Warwick
** VC senior Robert Satriano picked up career win #100**
Team Records:
1. John Glenn 5-0
2. Wallkill 4-1
3. Natick, MA 4-1
4. NFA 3-2 (higher point differential)
5. Valley Central 3-2
6. Warwick (tie) 2-3
6. Shoreham Wading River (tie) 2-3
8. Port Jervis (tie) 1-4
8. Beekmantown (tie) 1-4
10. Port Chester 0-5

NFA 40 Shoreham WR 31 NFA 87 Port Chester 0
Natick 55 NFA 18 John Glenn 46 NFA 31
NFA 57 Beekmantown 21 John Glenn 41 Wallkill 26
Wallkill 87 Port Chester 0 Wallkill 36 Natick 30
Wallkill 49 Beekmantown 28 Wallkill 58 Shoreham WR 20
VC 41 Shoreham WR 30 Shoreham WR 50 Warwick 27
John Glenn 49 Warwick 24 John Glenn 52 VC 22

Big Ten Tournament – Chester, New Paltz, Pine Bush
Pine Bush finished tied for 1st place in the team race with Averill Park at the Big 10 Invitational at Albany High School on Saturday. Kevin Urena took home the title at 106 and Jordan Suarez came in 2nd at 99 pounds. Take a look below at all of the top-6 placewinners from the Section 9 teams that competed in the tournament. Great job guys!!! 2017 Big 10 Invitational brackets

Placewinners from Section 9
Champions:
106: Kevin Urena (Pine Bush)
120: Nick Conetta (Chester)
2nd Place:
99: Jordan Suarez (Pine Bush)
113: Liam Bullock (Chester)
220: Dean Trevisano (Chester)
3rd Place:
138: Dylan Green (Pine Bush)
4th Place:
132: Nick Flourin (Pine Bush) 5 match rule
145: Shawn Burgos (Pine Bush) 5 match rule
182: Brody Harris (Chester) 5 match rule
5th Place:
126: Derrick Magsamen (Pine Bush)
6th Place:
113: Austin West (Pine Bush)
120: Tommy Askey (Pine Bush) 5 match rule
182: Ben Cuppett (New Paltz)

Wizard Duals – Washingtonville, E/L/SW, Highland, Saugerties
Arlington won the team title at the Wizard Duals followed by 2nd place Washingtonville and 3rd place Saugerties. Bandon Bobe (145) and Nick Solek (170/182) both went 5-0 for Washingtonville.

Washingtonville 66 E/L/SW 11 Washingtonville 78 Highland 12
Washingtonville 66 Beacon 12 Washingtonville 46 Saugerties 33
Arlington 59 Washingtonville 19 Saugerties 60 Beacon 24
Saugerties 48 E/L/SW 26 Saugerties 78 Highland 9
Arlington 63 Saugeties 21

Mahopac Tournament – Middletown, Rondout Valley
Middletown finished their final regular season tournament with a team title at the Peter J. Caruso Tournament in Mahopac. The Middies finished well ahead of Section XI’s Smithtown East (255-163.5) to earn the title. Rondout Valley finished in 11th place with 77.5 points. 2017 Peter Caruso – brackets

Top 6 place winners for Middletown and Rondout Valley:
Champions:
170 – Tajh Ali (Middletown)
182 – Adonis Morano (Middletown)
220 – Horace Duke (Middletown)
Runners Up:
106 – Cameron Green (Middletown)
138 – Tyler Matos (Middletown)
195 – Julius Oquendo (Middletown)
3rd Place:
99 – Nikko Walsh (Rondout Valley)
152 – Zakair Artis (Middletown)
4th Place:
99 – Justin Morales (Middletown)
120 – Dalton Howell (MIddletown)
126 – Ishmael Alicea (Middletown)
145 – Hayden Baker (Rondout Valley)
152 – Nate Garcia (Middletown)
5th Place:
120 – Boubacar Bah (Middletown)
132 – Ian Houck (Rondout Valley)
160 – Brennan Gary (Middletown)
170 – Fank Cincotta (Rondout Valley)

Ridgefield Challange – Monroe Woodbury
Monroe Woodbury crowned 3 champions and won the team title at the Ridgefield Challange. The Crusaders scored 197.5 team points despite sitting a few regulars. St. Anthony’s (CHSAA) crowned 4 champs and took 2nd in the team race and they were followed by Newtown, CT with 153 team points. Earning titles for Monroe Woodbury were Evan Barczak at 160, Kyle Strauss at 182, and Kendall Elfstrum at 195. Also placing in the top 4 for the Crusaders were Nick Scancarello (2nd @ 99), Dylan Earl (3rd @ 106), Emanuel Ward (4th @ 126), Anthony Sountis (2nd @ 132), Louis Libutti (3rd @ 138), Tom Fini (2nd @ 145), and Sam Santander (4th @ 170).

Edgemont Tournament – Monticello
Patrick Owens won the 120 pound title for Monticello at the 2017 Edgemont Tournament. Other placewinners for Monticello were Najee Shakelford (2nd @ 126), Justyn Kelly (3rd @ 145), and Mike Buscemi (5th @ 152). The Panthers finished 10th out of 18 teams. 2017 Edgemont Tournament Brackets

Ken Baker Classic – Red Hook
Tristen Schiafo was the champion at 152 pounds for Red Hook! Other placewinner for Red Hook included Jeffrey Kiluba (3rd @ 182), Liam Dietrich (3rd @ 285), Matt Morris (4th @ 99), and Chris Benincasa (4th @ 195). Great job guys! Red Hook Results

Minisink Valley vs Monroe Woodbury – “Brawl for the Belt”

Perennial State Powers to Lock Horns for Friday Night Dual

Minisink Valley, currently ranked #4 in NYS, and Monroe Woodbury, #6 in NYS, will wrestle in a much anticipated dual meet on Friday at 7:00 PM at Minisink Valley High School in Slate Hill. The two storied programs are fixtures in the state rankings every year. The Crusaders have finished 2nd in the polls for the past two seasons and they were ranked #1 in NYS in 2014. The Warriors finished 7th last year, #1 in 2015, and #6 in 2014.

There is quite a bit at stake at this dual, but for these two programs, it’s all about pride! MV coach Gallagher and MW coach Gartiser have agreed to make this an annual event and the winner will get to hold onto “The Belt” until the next year’s event. The belt will resemble a UFC title belt. The idea behind the event is to grow interest in the sport. These two programs are the embodiment of what a true rivalry should be. Dual meets between MV and MW are always intense but respectful – and the atmoshere in the gym is always electric!

The two teams met earlier this year in the finals of the Section 9 Duals where Monroe Woodbury prevailed 45-28. Both line-ups look quite a bit different now so it will be very interesting to see how the match-ups shake out. Minisink Valley will now have Connor Greiner and Sean Savacool in the lineup – both wrestlers were out with injuries until recently. Greiner is a 2X Section 9 champion. Monroe Woodbury was without the service of Kendall Elfstrum until recently. Elfstrum is a 2X Section 9 champion who finished 4th in NYS at 182 last season.

We could potentially see several other match-ups that will not only have play a huge role in deciding who gets “The Belt,” but their outcome could also have seeding implications for the upcoming Section 9 tournament. There will likely be some moving around and jockying for favorable match-ups, but take a look at some of the key bouts we can potentially see on Friday…

Lynch (MV) and Vespa (MW) split matches last year and have wrestled once this year with Vespa coming out on top. Could we see Round #4???

99 – Picariello (MV) vs Scancarello (MW)
113 – Lynch (MV) vs Vespa (MW)
120 – Savacool (MV) vs McGinty (MW)
132 – Vinny Vetrano (MV) vs Sountis (MW)
138 – Dom Vetrano (MV) vs Libutti (MW)
170 – Moore (MV) vs Santander (MW)
182 – Yanis (MV) vs Elfstrum (MW)
195 – Covais (MV) vs Perez (MW)

Weekend Schedule and Results

Friday 1/20 and Saturday 1/21
Beacon Bulldog – Final Brackets

Valley Central crowned 4 champions, placed 12 in the top-6, and finished 2nd in the team race. Winning titles for VC were Matt Romano (113), Robert Satriano (126), Mark Ohanian (170), and Tyler Bohenko (220). Saugerties did not crown a champion however they placed 9 in the top-6 and finished 4th as a team. Kingston placed 5th as a team with 7 place winners. They had 2 champions in Chris Bouton (120) and Nijee Noble (152). Noble recorded his 100th career victory with a tech in the semifinals. Highland had 4 wrestlers place and also had a champ in Matt Malherio who won the crown at 138. Washingtonville had 6 placewinners while Marlboro had 1.

Saturday 1/21
Gene Brigham Invitational at Minisink Valley
Minisink Valley had 10 finalists and crowned 6 champions on their way to the team title! Winning titles for MV were Connor Greiner (126), Vinny Vetrano (132), Dom Vetrano (138), Joey Yanis (182), Andrew Covais (195), and Andrew Fenner. Vinny Vetrano recorded an impressive 5-0 victory in the finals over Ian Houck from Rondout Valley. Middletown had 3 champions and finished 2nd in the team race. Taking home titles for Middletown were Justin Morales (99), Cameron Green (106), and Nate Garcia (152). Monticello’s Patrick Owen defeated Minisink Valley’s Tyler Lynch in the semis and Sean Savacool in the finals earning him the 120 pound title and also the MOW award! Other Section 9 titles went to Noah Curreri (E/L/SW, 160), Jeffrey Kiluba (Red Hook, 170), and Ryan Ellefsen (Goshen, 220).

Wallkill Duals Team Results
Wallkill defeated North Rockland 52-18 in the final to capture their 4^th consecutive Wallkill Duals Title. Avery Ellison-113, James Faison-120, Andrew Davis-126, Brad Bonner-132, Kraig Thomas-152, Brian Mascaro-170, and Billy Kras-195 all went 5-0 for the Panthers. Cornwall took 3rd place in the team race and saw undefeated performances by Christian Prokosch (99), Steve Gazzillo (145), and Will Leonard (182).

Wallkill 81 North Rockland-B 6 Wallkill 63 Warwick 18
Wallkill 58 Cornwall 22 Wallkill 68 Archbishop Stepinac 13
Wallkill 52 North Rockland 18

Kohl Invitational
Monroe Woodbury had 5 finalists and crowned 3 champions om their way to the team title at the Kohl Invitational. Marco Vespa was champion at 113 and he was chosen as MOW of the tournament. Also taking home titles for the Crusaders were John Minnies (160) and Kendall Elfstrum (182). Jonathan Vargas (170) and Samson Perez (195) also made it to the finals for Monroe. Port Jervis had 3 finalists and crowned 1 champion taking 4th as a team. Jason Butler was the champ at 170 while Carson Sauschuck (120) and Scyler Phillips (220) also made it to the finals.