SECTION 9 WRESTLING

Nationally ranked Minisink Valley has six Seniors on this year’s roster – Adam Fenner, Scotty Geysen, Brian Lombardi, Jaccob Gonzalez, Devin Doty, and Rory Hamilton. Here are some team and individual highlights for the graduating senior class. These six seniors have put together an amazing four years of high school wrestling!

2018
Section 9 Duals Champs
Section 9 Tournament Champs
NYS Duals runner up
Division Champs
Ranked #2 in NYS
30-1 record

2019
Section 9 Duals Champs
Section 9 Tournament Champs
Division Champs
Ranked #3 in NYS
25-1 record

2020
Section 9 Duals Champs
Section 9 Tournament Champs
NYS Duals Champs
Division Champs
Ranked #1 in NYS
26-3 record

2021
Started the season Ranked #21 in the Country
Section 9 Dual Champs

Note: Career team record of 85-5 and only lost 2 matches in NYS over the past 4 years

Adam Fenner 285lbs

Adam may go down as one of the most decorated heavy weights in MV wrestling history. Aside from a little youth wrestling in his younger days, Adam really didn’t start wrestling until 7th grade. This makes his accomplishments even more impressive.

Adam is unbelievably flexible for a heavy weight and wrestles like a light weight on the mat. He can wrestle out of many positions that many kids can not.

Adam’s accolades
2018 3rd in Sections
2019 Section 9 Champion
2019 5th in NYS
2020 3rd in Eastern States
2020 Section 9 Champion
2020 3rd in NYS
2x NHSCA All-American.
Ranked in the top 20 in various high school national rankings.
110-16 career record

Some huge moments in Adams wrestling career: Pinning the Fulton kid in the NYS duals finals, pinning the Brentwood kid in NYS to reverse a loss in the ESC, and beating the Hilton kid for 3rd place in NYS.

Adam is also an All state football player as well. Adam has the potential to be a force in both football and wrestling in college.

This will end a long run of having a Fenner as the heavy weight for the MV wrestling team. The whole Fenner family has done so much for the Minisink community and will be missed. However, we know they won’t be far away.

Scotty Geysen 189lbs

Scotty is also a journeyman of the MV wrestling program. He is the typical “Blue Collar” hard working kid that exemplifies MV wrestlers. His big strong hands allows him to slap the cradle on almost anyone.His unorthodox wrestling style at times gives his coaches a heart attack but he gets the job done in big moments.

A classic moment was the NYS duals final against Fulton. Scotty got a huge win that put the team in the driver’s seat to win the NYS Duals Championship.

Scotty is a 2x Section 9 place winner. This year he would have been in position to win his first Section title.

Scotty is a two sport athlete (football and wrestling). He has been accepted at East Stroudsburg University, Oswego, and Brockport. Best of Luck Scotty!

Brian Lombardi 145lbs

Brian is the “Ultimate Warrior” of the MV wrestling program. Brian is a mat rat and always looking for someone to wrestle. At camp one year, Brian wrestled 30 matches over the 3 days. He would go to wrestling tournaments by himself just to get mat time.

Brian has an incredible record at MV wrestling but what is more valuable is his unwavering dedication to his teammates and team. Brian can always be seen helping younger wrestlers, warming up with teammates before the states, and helping with youth wrestling.

Brian has had some huge wins for the program over the years. Last year in the NYS duals semi finals, Brian had a huge pin that helped us reach the finals. Then in the finals. Brian had an overtime win that set the MV fans into a roar!

Brian does everything right. Any college wrestling program would be lucky to have him. One day, we will be calling him Dr. Lombardi!

Brian is a 2x Section 9 place finisher. Last year he was runner up to his teammate. Best of luck Brian!

Jaccob Gonzalez 152lbs

Lightning fast, strong, and slick on his feet describe Jaccob Gonzalez. Jaccob was late starting the sport of wrestling.He really only started in 7th grade. He burst onto the scene his sophomore year by going undefeated 22-0 going to the ESC. Injuries have prevented him from having the success he deserves. A tireless worker in and out of the wrestling room has Jaccob set up for a stellar senior season.

Jaccob finished 3rd in Section 9 last season. He had a heartbreaking loss in the semi finals but showed his guts and character wrestling back for 3rd.

Last year, Jaccob battled with some of the best kids in the country out at the Clash. Jaccob has yet to hit his potential in the sport of wrestling.

Jaccob has committed to East Stroudsburg University to wrestle next year. Best of luck Jaccob!

Devin Doty 160lbs

Devin has been in the MV wrestling program since the 7th grade. He is the type of kid that every coach wants in his program. He can often be seen helping his teammates get in some extra reps and volunteering his time with the youth wrestling program over the last 4 years.

Devin’s work ethic in the classroom and upstanding character has afforded him the opportunity to apply to the United State Military Academy at West Point. He has also applied to Wilkes College.
Wherever Devin decides his future is, they will not be disappointed.

Devin’s academic accomplishments have earned him a spot in the National Honor Society. Best of luck Devin!

Rory Hamilton 152lbs

Rory has been in the MV wrestling program for six years. Rory has quietly improved over the years to one if the BEST kept secrets on this team. He is always doing the right thing in the room (working hard). His killer cradle is a match ender.

Rory has also applied to the United State Military Academy at West Point. He has also applied to Boston University, Notre Dame, and Maryland.

Along with his wrestling, Rory is a standout baseball player. At the same time, he has been taking college classes and will graduate with more than 12 college credits. All the best in the future Rory!

Edwin Price
Edwin wrestled at 170 pounds and was the only senior wrestler on the Ellenville roster this season. He has been wrestling with the program for 5 years, this season would have been his sixth but the school opted out of wrestling this year to to Covid-19. Price placed 4th at the NYWAY Regionals in 2019. He has also volunteered in the Ellenville Youth Wrestling program for two years. Congratulations Edwin and best of luck in your future!

Cornwall had four seniors on this year’s team…let’s meet them.

Gabriel Giumarra
Gabe was a three year starter for Cornwall with over 50 career wins. He went 4-0 in this very abbreviated season in which he served as one of the team captains. Giumarra placed 2nd in Section 9 at 113 pounds as a junior and went 1-2 in the S9 tournament as a sophomore at the same weight!

Ryan Raby
Ryan was a team captain this year and a 3 year starter for Cornwall. He was 2-2 this season and has notched over 20 wins in his career. Raby has made two appearances in the Section 9 championships wrestling at 132 last year and at 126 during his sophomore season. Ryan was wrestling at 145 this season!

Joe Castelonia
Joe was a spot starter for the Dragons as a sophomore before cracking the starting lineup full time as a junior. Wrestling mostly at 182 pounds, Castelonia picked up 15 wins in 2019-2020 and had 4 wins at the very tough Mid-Hudson Tournament.

Robert Sierra
Robert was a 4 year team member of the Cornwall wrestling program. He wrestled over 50 varsity matches for the Dragons and was one of the most dedicated and hard working kids in the room!

Congratulations Gabe, Ryan, Joe, and Robert and best of luck in your future endeavors!

In our final days of our 2021 season we will highlight each of our 3 Seniors to thank them for the time they have given to our program. None of us saw this year going the way it has, but it does not change that each of these young men have gone to extraordinary lengths to help our program accomplish the feats it has during their time with us.

Some of the program highlights which our Class of 2021 has helped us accomplish:

Back to Back OCIAA Division 1 Champions
3x NYSPHSAA All-Scholar Team
Ranked top 20 by the NYSSWA in 2020 and 2019
3x ECSDM Superintendent’s Team Sportsmanship Award
Elk’s Lodge Fundraising Champions
OCIAA Student Athlete Community Service Award
65-17 Dual Meet record

Middletown Head Wrestling Coach
Jason Lichtenstein

102 lbs – Manny Saenz

Manny is one of the few remaining members of our original youth wrestling group, The Mighty Middies! He has been a mainstay in our lineup since he came out for the team. Manny has been our 99/104lber each of the 3 years he was a starter for us. Through his dedication to his class work Manny has helped the team earn the NYSPHSAA All-Scholar Award by being an All-Scholar Athlete himself! In the 2019-2020 season Manny took home the Somers Wrestling Tournament Championship, was one of the top ranked 99lbers in Section IX and helped lead our team to a 21-3 overall ranking, and OCIAA title and a Top 15 ranking by the New York Sports Reporters! Coming into the 2021 season Manny had his goals set on winning his first Section Title and continuing to add to his All-Scholar Awards! Manny had a career record of 62 wins and 29 losses.

The Coaches from within our program would like to thank Manny for his commitment to our program and wish him the best of luck as he graduates and moves forward in life.

118lbs – Kenny Santiago

Kenny has been a key part of our line-up since his freshman year of High School, he has stepped up on multiple occasions to help the team when and where we needed him in the line-up. Sometimes Kenny would be put in difficult situations where we needed him to go out and battle for the team, we knew we could depend on him to step on the mat and give us 100%. Kenny has an ever growing desire to be the best he can and it shows in his efforts! As a sophomore Kenny won the JV Section Championship, during the 2020 season he was our starting 113lber and was a huge piece of our team’s success. Coming into his Senior year he had set goals to qualify for the NYS Wrestling Championships and even through the Covid lockdowns was finding ways to get mat time and train towards this goal! In our shortened practice season Kenny has been a leader in the room and a great role model for our younger athletes. This season has been very tough mentally and for the younger Middies to see his attitude and efforts in the room will assuredly help them in their own developments! Kenny had a career record of 61 wins and 28 losses.

The Coaches from within our program would like to thank Kenny for his commitment to our program and wish him the best of luck as he graduates and moves forward in life.

160lbs – Justin Santiago

Justin has been a part of our program since Jr High and has routinely been seen as one of our hardest working Middies! His positive attitude and no nonsense work ethic have been admired by all of the coaches who have had the privilege of coaching him. Last season Justin set a goal to win the JV Section Championships and did just that! It is always great to see a young man set out to reach his goals and then have the opportunity to do so. Justin was a Captain of our 2020 JV team which won the JV Championship for the first time in team history! It is clear that his leadership and work ethic helped lead our young JV squad to these accomplishments! Our JV team had never won a tournament until 2020, having won the Jeff Cuilty Duals and the JV Championship made it a banner year for them, Justin’s leadership was clearly a huge factor in this! Entering the 2021 season Justin had set a goal to medal at the Section IX Championships and we know his efforts would have led him there! Justin had a career Varsity record of 8 wins and 0 losses.

The Coaches from within our program would like to thank Justin for his commitment to our program and wish him the best of luck as he graduates and moves forward in life.

Perennial state power Monroe Woodbury was not able to compete this season so let’s take a moment to recognize the seniors who missed out on their last opportunity to wrestle for the Crusaders.

Marcus Brown – 2nd S9 2020
Dan Downs – 3rd S9 2020
Luis Paulino – 4th S9 2020
Jack Kohrs – 6th S9 2018 & 2019; missed 2020 due to injury
Justin Rosenblum
Joe Heady
Richley Rabil
Connor Collopy
Nasir Thorne

Congratulations to Eldred graduate Noah Curreri for qualifying for his second Division 2 NCAA Championships. Curreri wrestles at 174 pounds for Queens University in Charlotte, NC. Noah punched his ticket to the NCAA’s by placing 2nd at 174 in the Super Regional II Tournament on Saturday in Franklin Springs, GA. Curreri made it to the semis where he dropped a 10-4 decision to the eventual champion Caleb Spears from Newberry and then wrestled back to take true second. Only the top two finishers qualified for the NCAA’s which take place on March 12-13 in St. Louis, MO. Curreri, who is now a senior at Queens University, was a 2X state place winner in high school and was a state finalist in his senior year. Congrats Noah!

Section 9 had two other wrestlers in the field at the tournament. Pine Bush graduate Nick Florin, who wrestles for Coker College, went 1-2 at 174 and his teammate Matt Shields, a graduate of Onteora, went 1-2 wrestling at 184 pounds!

Congratulations to Minisink Valley for winning the Section 9 Duals title for the 4th consecutive year. The Warriors defeated Port Jervis by a score of 64-6 to capture the title. This year’s tournament was abbreviated due to coronavirus. With only 8 team able to compete, the tournament consisted of two pools of 4 and then a crossover for the placement round. Minisink Valley won their pool and they took on Port Jervis who captured their pool. Below are the results for all of today’s medal matches.

Section 9 Duals Placement Round
1st Place: Minisink Valley 64 Port Jervis 6
3rd Place: Warwick 34 Cornwall 34 Warwick wins by criteria – wins 7-6
5th Place: Washingtonville 42 Goshen 30
7th Place: Valley Central 48 Pine Bush 15

Red Hook 33 Roy C. Ketcham 32 (not part of the S9 Duals)

Congratulations to Monroe Woodbury graduates Vinny Vespa and Evan Barczak for qualifying for the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 18-20 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, MO. Competing at the EIWA Conference Championships, Vespa, who wrestles for Hofstra, placed 5th at 141 pounds while Barczak, a junior at Drexel, placed 4th at 165. Vespa and Barczak were both 3X NYSPHSAA place winners while in high school. Warwick graduate Ryan Ferro also wrestled at the EIWAs. Ferro, a redshirt junior who competes at 165 pounds for Long Island University, went 2-2 and took 7th place. Ferro was a 3X place winner and a 2X state champ in high school.

Vinny Vespa (Hofstra, 141)
Quarterfinals: Vespa (Hofstra) dec 8-1 Witham (LIU)
Semifinals: Peters (Army) maj 10-2 Vespa (Hofstra)
Consi Semis: Flores (Drexel) dec 3-0 Vespa (Hofstra)
5th/6th: Vespa (Hofstra) dec 6-1 Witham (LIU) …Vinny takes 5th!!!

Evan Barczak (Drexel, 165)
Quarterfinals: Barczak (Drexel) dec 5-0 Cassella (Binghamton)
Semifinals: Hartman (Bucknell) dec 5-2 Barczak (Drexel)
Consi Semis: Barczak (Drexel) dec 3-2 Stamm (Hofstra)
3rd/4th: Meyer (Lehigh) dec 6-3 Barczak (Drexel)…Evan finishes 4th!!!

Ryan Ferro (Long Island University, 165)
Round 16: Fielder (Army) dec 5-4 Ferro (LIU)
Consi 8: Ferro (LIU) wbf 4:44 Schmidt (Sacred Heart)
Consi 4: Stamm (Hofstra) dec 5-2 Ferro (LIU)
7th/8th: Ferro dec 3-0 Cassella (Binghamton)

Army Crowns 2 Champs; Finish 3rd in Team Race
Congratulations to the Coach Kevin Ward and the Army West Point wrestling program for their outstanding finish at the EIWAs. The Black Knights had 5 finalists and crowned 2 champions in PJ Ogunsanya (149) and Ben Pasiuk (174). The team finished 3rd in the team race with 119.5 points finishing behind Lehigh (158.5) and Navy (129).

125 – Ryan Chauvin – 8th
133 – Mark Montgomery – 5th
141 – Lane Peters – 2nd (NCAA qualifier)
149 – PJ Ogunsanya – 1st (NCAA qualifier)
157 – Markus Hartman – dnp (medical fft)
165 – Clayton Fielden – 6th
174 – Ben Pasiuk – 1st (NCAA qualifier)
184 – Taylor Brown – 4th (NCAA qualifier)
197 – JT Brown – 2nd (NCAA qualifier)
285 – Robert Heald – 2nd (NCAA qualifier)

Matt Martinelli
Matt Martinelli has been a continuously positive presence on the mat for Burke Wrestling. His hard work is only out matched by his mental toughness. Starting wrestling as a sophomore takes a lot of bravery and Matt has never backed down from a challenge. It has been a pleasure having him on the team. We wish him luck with his future plans in the Merchant Marines.
– Burke Wrestling Coach Bryan Welsh

2021 Section 9 Duals – AKA Covid Duals

Pool A
Minisink Valley, Cornwall, Goshen, Valley Central

Pool B
Warwick, Washingtonville, Port Jervis, Pine Bush/Burke

Day 1 – Saturday 2/20 @ 10:00 AM
Pool A: Minisink Valley 69 Goshen 0
Pool A: Cornwall 51 Valley Central 18
Pool B: Washingtonville 41 Pine Bush 24
Pool B: Port Jervis 37 Warwick 31

Day 2 – Tuesday 2/23 @ 7:00 PM
Pool A: Minisink Valley 51 Valley Central 13
Pool A: Cornwall 60 Goshen 12
Pool B: Port Jervis 48 Washingtonville 20
Pool B: Warwick 51 Pine Bush/Burke 18

Arlington 56 Red Hook 9 (not part of S9 Duals Tournament)
Washingtonville 52 Burke 0

Day 3 – Thursday 2/25 @ 7:00 PM
Pool A: Minisink Valley 50 Cornwall 18
Pool A: Goshen 36 Valley Central 29
Pool B: Warwick 39 Washingtonville 31
Pool B: Port Jervis 47 Pine Bush 18

Red Hook 51 Pawling 21 (not part of S9 Duals Tournament)

Pool Results
Pool A
1st Place – Minisink Valley 3-0
2nd Place – Cornwall 2-1
3rd Place – Goshen 1-2
4th Place – Valley Central 0-3

Pool B
1st Place – Port Jervis 3-0
2nd Place – Warwick 2-1
3rd Place – Washingtonville 1-2
4th Place – Pine Bush 0-3

Day 4 – Medal Rounds 2/27 @ 10:00 AM
1st Place: Minisink Valley vs Port Jervis
3rd Place: Cornwall vs Warwick
5th Place: Goshen vs Washingtonville
7th Place: Valley Central vs Pine Bush