#1 Seed at 175
The NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships take place on Friday and Saturday, 2/27 and 2/28, at the MVP Arena in Albany, NY. Section 9 is sending their champions from all fourteen weight classes to compete against the best small school wrestlers in the state. Since 2004 when New York separated wrestling into two divisions, Division 1 (large school) and Division 2 (small school), Section 9 has struggled in the small school division. The highest our Division 2 squad has finished in the team race is 8th place, and we have never had a small school state champion. That could change this year. Section 9 D2 has a handful of wrestlers who can find their way on to the podium and we have one wrestler, Connor Wilson from Our Lady of Lourdes, who is the #1 seed and could become our first Division 2 state champion! Let’s take a look at our Section 9 Division 2 team!
103 Pounds – Landon Hotaling (Red Hook, 8th Grade)
Landon enters the state tournament with a 23-7 record. He has been steadily improving all season and will definitely benefit from competing on the big stage. Hotaling is only an 8th grader, and this will likely not be his only trip to the state tournament.
110 Pounds – Carmello Massey (Red Hook, junior)
Massey is having a great season and has the potential to surprise a few people this weekend. Carmello has a 28-5 season record with all five of his losses coming at 118. He is the #12 seed in this year’s tournament and in the opening round he will take on the #21 seed, Parker Jackson from Tioga.
118 Pounds – Bryce Reilly (Our Lady of Lourdes, senior)
Reilly is making his third trip to the state tournament and has the potential to finish on the podium. Last year he made it to the blood round (wrestling with a broken hand) and finished 2-2 in Albany. This year he has a 37-8 record and begins the tournament as the #14 seed.
126 Pounds – Justin Jones (Port Jervis, freshman)
Jones is shaving a great season and had earned the #15 seed for the state tournament. In his opening round bout, he will take on the #18 seed, Liam Harte from Section 10. If he wins, he will run into the #2 seed from Section 3. Justin is only a freshman. Regardless of his results he will benefit from this experience.
132 Pounds – Everrett Giorgio (Red Hook, junior)
Everrett is making his second trip to the state tournament, and he is primed to improve upon is 0-2 performance last season. Giorgio has a 31-6 record this season and he will face the #16 seed, Evan Wright from Pioneer, in the opening round. If victorious, he’ll see top-seeded Chris Noto from Section 5.
138 Pounds – Trent Edwards (Chester, junior)
Edwards has a 17-2 record this season and has earned the #16 seed for this year’s state tournament. He will take on the #17 seed, Mason Starke from Peru, in the opening round. If he wins, Trent will lock horns with the #1 seed Landyn Shaffer from Section 4 in the Round of 16.
144 Pounds – Markus Ferrara (Port Jervis, junior)
Ferrara, a 2X Section 9 champion, rolled through the sectional tournament this year and is making his second appearance to the state championships. He is 30-8 this year and has received the #17 seed for the tournament. In his opening round match, Markus will wrestle the #16 seed Ciam Gaughan from PSAL. If he wins, he’ll take on # 1 seed Gavin Mangano from Shoreham Wading River.
150 Pounds – Jacob DeClair (Highland, junior)
Jacob, who is 40-5 this season, enters the tournament as the 15th seed. In his opening round match, DeClair will take on Section 7 champion Nathan Beattie from Peru HS. The winner of that bout takes on Section 4 runner-up Owen Clark from Lansing.
157 Pounds – Amato Natale (Port Jervis, sophomore)
Natale looked very tough in the Section 9 tournament and will benefit greatly from competing at this level. Amato is 25-9 this season and has earned the #15 seed. His first opponent is the #18 seed Frank Perlleshi from Pleasantville.
165 Pounds – Grady Collins (Our Lady of Lourdes, junior)
Collins, quietly, had a very impressive junior season for Our Lady of Lourdes. He enters the state tournament with a 29-7 record and he’s the #11 seed in his bracket. His opening round opponent is Connor Fabian from Section 11. If he wins he’ll see the #6 seed, Cadin Creeley, who is the Section 4 runner-up.
175 Pounds – Connor Wilson (Our Lady of Lourdes, senior)
As mentioned earlier, Wilson has the potential to make Section 9 history by becoming our first ever small school state champion in wrestling. Connor, the #1 seed, has a 44-1 record this season with his only loss coming at the Eastern States Classic finals to fellow Section 9 hammer, Wyatt Boice from Minisink Valley. Wilson, who made it to the blood round in Albany last year, has a win this season over the #2 seed here, Gabe English from Section 2.
190 Pounds – Benjamin Rivera (Port Jervis, freshman)
It’s not often that we see a freshman win a Section 9 title at 190 pounds! Rivera has posted a 26-11 record so far this season and he may be peaking at the right time. Ben is the 21st seed here and will meet Sam Fabian from Section 11 in his opening round match.
215 Pounds – Emanuel Celaya-Lavariega (Red Hook, senior)
Celaya-Lavariega is having a great senior campaign. He enters the state tournament with a 24-4 record and has earned the #13 seed. His first-round opponent will be the 20th seed Nolan Boyles who is the Section 4 runner-up.
285 Pounds – Nick Oosterom (Port Jervis, junior)
Nick returns to Albany for his second trip to the state tournament. Last season, Oosterom went 2-2 and did not place. This season, Nick comes in with an impressive 38-3 record and the #5 seed in his bracket. All three of his losses have been to Division 1 wrestlers.