Author: Mike Carey

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!

99 Pounds 1. Wade Harris – Red Hook 2. John Antonelli – Marlboro 3. Logan Linaris – New Paltz 4. Matt Morris – Red Hook 113 Pounds 1. Nick Conetta – Chester 2. Chris Hiesel – New Paltz 3. Chris Canini – Highland 4. Nick Massaro – New Paltz 126 Pounds 1. Ian Houck  – RV 2. Mohammed Khan – NP 3. Mat Malhario – Highland 4. Chris McGovern – RV 138 Pounds 1. Dillon Ross – Onteora 2. Zach Chartrand – Onteora 3. Zach Babcock – Ellenville 4. James Shaw – Burke 152 Pounds 1. Noah Curreri – E/L/SW 2. Tristen Schiafo – Red Hook 3. Hayden Baker – RV 4. Larry Oliver – Highland 170 Pounds 1. Ben Cuppett – New Paltz 2. Jeff Kiluba – Red Hook 3. Brody Harris – Chester 4. Frank Cincotta – RV 195 Pounds 1. Kevin Morgans – E/L/SW 2. Darren Coon – Red Hook 3. Justin Davis – New Paltz 4. John Goodell – E/L/SW 285 Pounds 1. Travis Coon – Red Hook 2. John Avery – Ellenville 3. Will Sutherland – RV 4. Joe Potter – E/L/SW

106 Pounds 1. Nate Ross – Onteora 2. Luke Jones – E/L/SW 3. Michael Caso – Highland 4. Matt Corless – Red Hook 120 Pounds 1. Chris Massaro – New Paltz 2. Nick Curreri – E/L/SW 3. Shane Gullicksen – NP 4. Pasquale Satriano – Burke 132 Pounds 1. Mark Castellanos – Highland 2. AJ Fazio – New Paltz 3. Mike Fitzpatrick – Red Hook 4. Elijah Tuchman – Chester 145 Pounds 1. Taylor Benson – Red Hook 2. Danny Kelly – RV 3. Vaughn Donovan – RH 4. Anthony Buchanan – High. 160 Pounds 1. Liam Heslin – Chester 2. Tom Mihalics – New Paltz 3. Kyle Torre – Red Hook 4. Kelly Sherman – RV 182 Pounds 1. Theo Chazkel – New Paltz 2. River Lounsbury – E/L/SW 3. Dylan Delisi – Chester 4. CJ Benincasa – Red Hook 220 Pounds 1. Will Depaolo – E/L/SW 2. Angel Lemus – Onteora 3. Guy Soumah – New Paltz 4. Steven Snyder – RV

99 Pounds 1. Oscar Lainez – Midd. 2. Matt Romano –  VaC 3. Dylan Earl – MW 4. Hunter Brown – Warwick 5. Dylan Tierney – Goshen 6. Kevin Urena – Pine Bush 7. Christian Prokosch – Corn. 8. Jacob Lyle – Wallkill 113 Pounds 1. Connor Greiner – MV 2. Anthony Stramiello – MW 3. Avery Ellison – Wallkill 4. Austin Brock – Goshen 5. Ivan Green- Midd. 6. Ahmani Roman – Cornwall 7. Boubacar Bah – Midd. 8. Brandon Delarosa – NFA 126 Pounds 1. Kevin Kelly – MW 2. Paul Ginley – Warwick 3. Brad Bonner – Wallkill 4. Vinny Vetrano – MV 5. Giovanni Perez – Wash. 6. Steve Gazzillo – Corn. 7. Derrick Magsamen – PB 8. Caleb McCallion – Mont. 138 Pounds 1. Charlie Johnson – War. 2. Andrew Neidnig – MV 3. Ben Ulrich – Monticello 4. Mike Laruffa – Mont. 5. Tom Fini – MW 6. Shaun Burgos – PB 7. Carter Stewart – MW 8. Jason Butler – PJ 152 Pounds 1. Brian Bucci – Saugerties 2. Ryan Ferro – Warwick 3. Mike DeCapua – NFA 4. Nick Perdomo – MV 5. Justyn Kelly – Monticello 6. Lester Larkai – Wash. 7. John Vargas – MW 8. Owen Daly – PB 170 Pounds 1. Mike Fekishazy – Wallkill 2. Chris Martin – Wash. 3. Adonis Morano – Midd. 4. Demetrius Moore – MV 5. Maxx DeCapua – NFA 6. Brian Mascaro – Wall. 7. Tyler Marzarago – King. 8. Roberts Mikelsons – MW 195 Pounds 1. Garrett Betcher – Wall. 2. Andrew Covais – MV 3. Horace Duke – Midd. 4. Samson Perez – MW 5. Alex Leonty – Wash. 6. Tyler Bohenka – VC 7. John Cassidy – Cornwall 8. Mark Cresfield – VC 285 Pounds 1. Joe Humphrey – Midd. 2. Andrew Fenner – MV 3. Max Kissak – Wash. 4. Norris Gipson – Midd. 5. Frank Smith – Mont. 6. Pete Leser – Saugerties 7. Bryce Moore – VC 8. Austin Taylor – War.

106 Pounds 1. Marco Vespa – MW 2. Tyler Lynch – MV 3. James Faison – Wall. 4. Greg Fischer – NFA 5. Frank Fea – Goshen 6. Carson Sauschuck – PJ 7. Bryan McDougall – War. 8. Jimmy Heinlein – Saug. 120 Pounds 1. Jarred Greiner – MV 2. Robert Satriano – VC 3. Andrew Davis – Wallkill 4. Patrick Owens – Mont. 5. Cameron Wernicki – MW 6. Chris Bouton – Kingston 7. Devin McCormick – Wash. 8. Nick Florin – Pine Bush 132 Pounds 1. Anthony Eckerson – MW 2. Dom Vetrano – MV 3. Gus Formato – Wallkill 4. Nick Ferriera – Warwick 5. Tyler Matos – Midd. 6. Anthony Sountis – MW 7. Tyler Serafini – NFA 8. Kyle Ripa – Wallkill 145 Pounds 1. Evan Barczak – MW 2. Brandon Bobe – Wash. 3. Dan Romano – VC 4. Lucas Wightman – War. 5. Tim Ganuncio – MV 6. Will Harrison – PJ 7. Aramis Vazquez – VC 8. Jamel Wiggins – King. 160 Pounds 1. AJ Aeberli – MV 2. Ryan Sebesta – Wallkill 3. Nijee Noble – Kingston 4. Mark Ohanian – VC 5. Nate Cohen – Port Jervis 6. John Minnies – MW 7. Matt Bucci – Saugerties 8. Michael Terwilliger – War. 182 Pounds 1. Kendall Elfstrum – MW 2. Joey Yanis – MV 3. Billy Kras – Wallkill 4. Tom Kearns – Goshen 5. James Ball – Saugerties 6. Alex Miller – NFA 7. Henricus VHO – Wash. 8. Tom Kersting – Warwick 220 Pounds 1. Ryan Ellefsen – Goshen 2. Nick McShea – MW 3. Raul Martinez – Midd. 4. William McCartney – NFA 5. Andrew Slagle – MV 6. Noah Cruz – Wash. 7. Scyler Phillips – PJ 8. Julius Oquendo – Midd.

Top 8 at each weight…please keep in mind than many wrestlers have been seeded at two weight classes so these seedings can (and will) change by Friday afternoon!

99
1. Davis, Wallkill 2. Greiner MV 3. Vespa MW 4. Fea, Goshen 5. Flourin, PB 6. Fischer, NFA 7. Faison, Wallkill 8. Romano, VC

106
1. Greiner, MV 2. Stramiello, PB 3. Satriano, VC 4. Dulaney, Middletown 5. McCormack, Wash 6. Owens, Monticello 7. Brock, Goshen 8. Bah, Middletown

113
1. Lynch, VC 2. Rosales, Middletown 3. Alicea, Middletown 4. Bonner, Wallkill 5. Pulver, Saugerties 6. Wernicki, MW 7. Didonato, MW 8. Bouton, Kingston

120
1. Vespa, MW 2. G. Daly, MV 3. T. Daly, MV 4. Ginley, Warwick 5. Matos, Midd 6. Every, Saugerties 7. Gazzillo, Cornwall 8. Formato, Wallkill

126
1. Kelly, MW 2. Losito, Wallkill 3. Lopez, MV 4. Greer, PB 5. Ferriera, Warwick 6. Devito, Goshen 7. Mannion, Cornwall 8. Cummings,VC

132
1.Burns, NFA 2. Barczak, MW 3. Wightman, Warwick 4. Niednig, MV 5. Mayo, MV 6. LaRuffa, Monticello 7. Vizethann, Cornwall 8. Giacoio, Washingtonville

138
1. Truglio, MV 2. Bracco, MW 3. Sebesta, Wallkill 4. Romano, VC 5. Ulrich, Monticello 6. Burgos, PB 7. Medina-Ruiz, Monticello 8. Roman, NFA

145
1. Ferro, Warwick 2. Raccioppi, MV 3. Smith, MW 4. Bobe, Washingtonville 5. Phillips, VC 6. Bucci, Saugerties 7. Hoffmann, MV 8. Wilson, Kingston

152
1. Wightman, Warwick 2. Lewis, MW 3. Curreri, PJ 4. Decapua 5. Sebesta, Wallkill 6. Noble, Kingston 7. Citriniti, PB 8. Chapman, VC

160
1. Aeberli, MV 2. Tully, MW 3. Matos, Middletown 4. Cohen, PJ 5. Russo, Cornwall 6. Cordero, MW 7. Davis, Kingston 8. Cavalluzo, VC

170
1. Zsido, Cornwall 2. Guevara, Wallkill 3. Wentland, MV 4. McLee, Washingtonville 5. Martin, Washingtonville 6. Nieves,Middletown 7. Reilly, PJ 8. Keller, Cornwall

182
1.Moore, MV 2. McLee, Washingtonville 3. Gennaro, MW 4. Fekishazy, Wallkill 5. Duke, Middletown 6. Elfstrum, MW 7. Kelly, Monticello 8. Fayo, Cornwall

195
1. McShea, MW 2. Beyers, Washingtonville 3. Milner, Washingtonville 4. Betcher, Wallkill  5. Masterson, Cornwall 6. Ellefsen, Goshen 7. Perez, MW 8. Davoren, VC

220
1.Humphrey, Middletown 2. Mascaro, Wallkill 3. Donah, Saugerties 4. Smith, Monticello 5. Barger, NFA 7. Nelson, Kingston 7. Montolio, MW 8. Stickle, Monticello

285
1. Serrano, NFA 2. Demy, Walllkill 3. Zambrano, VC 4. Davidson, Kingston 5. Bock, PJ 6. Gonzalez, NFA 7. Gipson, Middletown 8. Mazzamuto, MW

Let’s take a quick look at each weight class for this weekend’s 2015 Section 9 Division 2 Wrestling Championships.  This year’s tournament will take place on Sunday 2/15 on the campus of SUNY Ulster in Stone Ridge, NY.

99 – Top seeded Nick Conetta from Tuxedo is 12-2 on the year and is undefeated against the field.  Conetta needs to watch for Red Hook’s Wade Harris who he narrowly decisioned 7-4 and has an impressive 25-8 record.

106 – Defending champion and top-seeded Dean Artrip has had another great year and is the heavy favorite here.  The Tuxedo sophomore is 12-0 this season and is hoping to make some noise in Albany.  Rondout Valley’s Matt Kelly is the #2 seed here.

113 – This weight class can produce one of the more anticipated matches of the tournament if Highland’s Mike Feliciano and Rondout Valley’s Ian Houck lock horns in the finals.  The two wrestled earlier in the year at the Mid-Hudson with Feliciano earning the 5-2 victory.

120 – Arguably the deepest weight class in the tournament, 120 has 4 wrestlers capable of winning the title.  To show you how even this weight is, top seeded Andrew Parete needed sudden victory to defeat 3rd seeded Christopher Massaro of New Paltz, and he narrowly beat #4 seed Finbar Stuart from Onteora 3-2.  Second seed Dillon Ross from Onteora has a wbf over Massaro.

126 – Top-seeded Red Hook sophomore Taylor Benson is 29-5 this season.  Although he will not be looking past any of his Section 9 competition, Benson’s sights are on the podium in Albany. Anthony Fazio from New Paltz is the #2 seed at this weight.

132 – Highland’s Andrew Suleiman is a returning Section 9 champ and he is our top seed here.  Suleiman is 29-6 this season and has handily defeated all other section 9 opponents at this weight.  Also keep an eye on Red Hook’s Tristen Schiafo.

138 – Marlboro sophomore Isaac Mathews is our top seed here and he sports a 16-8 record. Red Hook junior Kyle Torre has a solid 16-9 record and he has faced some great competition this year.  Two of Torre’s losses have been to D1 studs Frankie Gissendanner and Owen Bachelder.  This can be a very good final!

145 – Eldred/Liberty/Fallsburg sophomore Noah Curreri is the top seed here and he has a 29-5 record with 16 pins.  He should expect stiff competition from returning Section 9 champion Karl Linneman who dropped a 4-3 decision to Curreri back in January.

152 – New Paltz’s Ben Cuppett is 27-2 this season and he has not lost since December 13th. Only a sophomore, Cuppett has some impressive wins this year including a 9-7 victory over D1 contender Nijee Noble from Kingston.

160 –  Tuxedo junior Liam Heslin is the top seed here.  He is a returning sectional finalist and has a solid 15-4 record this season.  Second seeded Lester Sokolowski cannot be over looked though.  The Highland senior has had very close matches against some very good wrestlers!

170 – Highland’s returning state qualifier Theodore Mapes is having another strong year and is probably the favorite here.  Mapes is 23-9 and has been dominant against the field.  ELF freshman John Goodell has been impressive this year and has a 23-10 record.

182 – Kevin Morgans from Eldred/Liberty/Fallsburg is not only the heavy favorite here but he also has a solid chance to place in Albany.  One of Morgans’ few losses this year was a 5-3 decision to Ryan Marzsal who is currently ranked #1 NYS.  AJ Coolbaugh from Red Hook is the #2 seed here and he sports a 16-9 record.

195 – Top seeded Will Depaolo from ELF was a finalist at this weight last year and he has a 18-7 record this year.  One opponent he has not faced, however, is second seeded Zach Williams from Tuxedo who was a finalist at 182 last season and is an impressive 13-3 this season.

220 – Red Hook senior Stevan Chichkov is the top seed here sporting a 21-5 record with 11 pins.  One of his closest matches this year was a 10-9 victory over the #2 seed, Domenic Bellaciccio of Highland.

285 – This weight class may produce a rematch of last year’s final where Highland’s John Beal took on Red Hook’s Travis Coon.  Last year Beal was the victor however he is the number 2 seed at this year’s tournament as Coon has been dominating.  Coon sports a 16-1 record this season including a third period pin over Beal back in early January.

Congratulations to Johnson and Wales wrestler Sean Prell, a Warwick grad, who posted an impressive 5-2 victory over Dylan Foley in Saturday’s dual against Springfield.  Foley is (or was) the top-ranked 165 pound wrestler in the latest DIII polls.  Great job Sean!!!    Article

2015 HUDSON VALLEY NYWAY REGIONAL FLYER