| NEW YORK STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT By Jim & Tony Nordland Section Eleven won their 15th state team title at the 42nd annual NYS Intersectional Championships before an announced crowd of 7,446 at the Alumni Arena in Buffalo. The Suffolk contingent won the Division I title (large schools) with 234.5 points and crowned three champions among their ten finalists. Winning titles were Ken Torres (35-1, 94-9 career) of Brentwood, Shawn Riley (35-0, 112-6) of Huntington and junior Alton Lucas (41-2, 131-11) of West Babylon. Torres posted a solid 6-4 decision over Mexico's Kevin Smith (47-4) as used his overall quickness and snap-spin takedowns to capture the 112-pound title. Riley dominated his four opponents and in the finals used a shrug to a back heel trip for the initial takedown against tough Steve Brown (Canton) for a 2-0 lead. Brown (34-4) rallied in the third period to bring the score to 4-3, when Riley countered a takedown attempt with a five-point pancake and a 9-3 victory to claim the 130-pound crown. Lucas displayed his freestyle expertise with a series of bear hug-inside trip takedowns and cruised to a 9-4 win over Steve Johnas (39-1) of Niskayuna en route to the 152-pound title. Rounding out the team scoring were Section Two, with four winners and 199 points, Section Four (189), Section Five (184.5) and Section Three (163). Section Eight (Nassau) finished in eighth place with 91 points and one champion, Sewanhaka's Tom Daddino. Daddino (35-0, 236-19) won four bouts including an 8-4 decision over NYS placewinner Zach Zerniak (41-2) of Malone in the finals to garner the 215-pound crown. Section Two had a strong showing at the state meet as they emerged with four champions among their six finalists. Earning gold medals for the purple cladded squad were Justin Hellwig (47-1, 190-50) of Columbia at 135, tough Mike Roberts (47-0, 167-20) of Colonie at 140, Matt Riddle (48-1) of Saratoga Springs at 189 and Justin Tougas (34-3, 100-14) of Glens Falls at 275 pounds. Hellwig, Roberts and Riddle all defeated Suffolk opponents in the championship finals to win their titles. Hellwig pinned East Islip's Trevor Baney (35-3) at 3:32 and Roberts edged sophomore Ryan Patrovich (33-2), 3-2, of Islip, as he kicked free of a late takedown attempt and held on for the win. Riddle faced Huntington junior Jack Sullivan (38-2) in the final and after a 1-1 tie in regulation the bout went into overtime. In the overtime period, Sullivan appeared to snap and spin behind for the decisive takedown but was not awarded the points and as Sullivan relaxed, Riddle stepped over and placed him to his back for a fall at 6:49. Tougas defeated defending state champion Arthur Jones (27-1) of Union-Endicott, 5-2, in a rematch of the 2003 finals. Section Four's reigning champions won gold medals as junior Troy Nickerson (41-0, 173-6) of Chenango Forks won his fourth state title and Chris Hand (37-0, 207-15) of Whitney Point won his third state crown. Nickerson pinned Islip's Tom Magnani (33-2) at the 1:24 mark of the first period to claim the 119-pound crown and was voted the tournament's outstanding wrestler. Nickerson commented on winning his fourth title,"This one was definitely the biggest, each year it gets more and more important." Nickerson is on pace to become the first ever five-time state champion. Hand met former NYS medallist David McCarty (38-6) of LaSalle in the 160-pound final. Hand, a three-sport athlete, used his uncanny ability to control the match as he countered a granby roll and converted it into a reversal for a 11-6 victory. The other defending champion that successfully defended their title was Trevor Chinn (42-0, 226-22) of Canandaigua. Chinn used his patented low single takedowns and snap-spins for a 7-4 decision over Huntington's Shaheim Bradshaw (29-3) to captured the 145-pound championship. Chinn's teammate freshman Kyle Ingraham (29-1) won the 125-pound class as he flattened Ryan Beckhorn (CForks) in 3:35. Section Three's lone champion was junior Shawn Farnham (35-1) of Baldwinsville as he decisioned Matt Mariacher (Iroquois), 5-2, at 103 pounds. Section Nine power Valley Central crowned two champions, sophomore Lou Ruggirello (47-5, 86-7) at 96 and junior Ricky Scott (46-3, 154-29) at 171 pounds. Ruggirello posted an 8-0 major decision over freshman Corey Jantzen (24-1) of Shoream-Wading River and Scott edged junior John Barone (30-1) of William Floyd. In the Scott-Barone final, Barone held the lead, 4-2, with less than thirty seconds remaining, when Scott executed a perfect merkel for three near fall points and eked out a come-from-behind 5-4 victory. In the Division II (small schools) championship Section Four dominated as they amassed 264.5 points and crowned five champions, including two returning state kings. Earning their second state titles were Tyler Mumbolo (38-1, 129-8) of BGA at 112 and sophomore J.P. O'Connor (44-1, 154-12) of Oxford. Mumbolo scored a tech fall in the finals over Mike McInally (Byron-Bergen) and was voted the Division II OSW Award. O'Connor nipped NYS placewinner junior Pat Hagerty (41-3) of Attica, 3-2, to claim the 119-pound title. Other champions for Section Four were sophomore Trevor Franklin (33-1) of Unadilla Valley at 96, John Leech (40-1, 183-36) of Unatego at 130 and sophomore Eric Decker (39-1, 147-13) of BGA at 152 pounds. In the finals at 103 pounds, two NYS placewinners were involved in a battle that saw Nick Price (29-2) of Pembroke edged Dan Bishop (39-1) of Whitehall , 2-1. Both are juniors and could return for a heated rematch at next year's state meet.Taylor Malone (46-3, 245-33) of Lowville defeated Kevin Rosplock (39-2) of Cassadaga Valley, in an exciting 5-3 overtime victory, to captured the 125-pound class. Returning state runner-up John Minckler (30-4, 118-27) of Gouverneur found redemption as he won the 140-pound title. Kane Smith (43-0, 157-37) of Salamanca won four bouts en route to the 189-pound title. Rounding out the team scores were Section Five with 234.5 points, Section Three (222), Section Six (213) and Section Two with 193 points. Click here to continue... |
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| SECTION ELEVEN WINS DIVISION I |
| Alton Lucas (West Babylon) on top, defeats Steve Johnas (Niskayuna), 9-4, en route to the 152-pound state crown. |