| By Jim & Tony Nordland 96 pounds- The slight favorite here is an 8th grader, Jamie Franco(29-1) of Monroe Woodbury-9, he will face the winner of Peter Capone(33-4) of JCity-4 and Nathan Skiba(28-4) of KenWest-6, also lodged in the upper bracket is sophomore John Oschmann(32-0) of Hauppauge-11. Look for the winner of the semifinal battle of Franco-Oschmann to advance to the finals. The lower half of the bracket has Shaun Bohn(35-4) of Watertown-3, TJ Popolizio(33-4) of Shenendahowa-2 and Mike Daly(35-6) of MacArthur-8. 103 pounds- Tough opening prelim has PJ Gillespie(36-2) of Long Beach-8, who finished third last year, facing Tyler Mashkow(32-1) of Islip-11. The victor should advance to the semifinals to face either Mark Lewandowski(32-4) of Lancaster-6 or unbeaten Austin Mays(38-0) of Shenendahowa-2. The winner of that loaded upper bracket should prevail and possible finals opponent could be Marc Zurla(32-2) of NRockland-1, Matt Draper(32-5) of Fulton-3 or Dan Morreale(35-8) of Canandaigua-5. 112 pounds- Perhaps the toughest weight class in the tournament as three defending state champions are here. In the upper bracket state king Shaun Farnham(34-2) of Baldwinsville-3 faces the winner of an opening bout between Paul Cervini(35-3) of Plainedge-8 and Shawn Brown(19-10) of Canton-10. Also to watch for is tough Dan Mandara(32-2) of Canandaigua-5 who should face Mike Piccirillo(32-3) of Commack-11 in a quarterfinal clash. Lodged in the lower bracket are defending state champion, Lou Ruggirello(35-1) of Valley Central-9 and Division II titlist Trevor Franklin(26-1) of Unadilla Valley. Look for them to meet in a semifinal battle, with the victor advancing to the championship bout. 119 pounds- Three-time state finalist Tom Magnani(34-0, 123-8) of Islip-11 is the prohibitive favorite and should captured the state crown. Also in the lower tier with Magnani are four outstanding grapplers; Dave Colagiovanni(20-0) of Mahopac-1, Steve Valastro(9-1) of Valley Central-9, Ryan McCormick(35-2) of Johnson City-4 and Kyle Borshoff(43-1), from Pittsford-5. McCormick and Borshoff meet in an opening prelim bout with the winner to most likely face Magnani in the semifinals. The top bracket has two state runners-up; Matt Mariacher(37-2) of Iroquois-6 and Kevin Smith(41-2) of Mexico-3. Mariacher will meet Chris Siraco(36-1) of Lev. Division in a quarterfinal bout, with the victor advancing to face Smith. Another tough weight class with many quality wrestlers that will all vie for the state title. In Division II, it is much the same, as there are three undefeated wrestlers and two returning state runners-up, in the top tier is Mike McInally(35-0) of Byron Bergen-5 and in the bottom bracket is Corey Janzten(29-0) of SWRiver-11, along with state medalist Anwar Goeres(50-0) of Phoenix-3. Look for a Jantzen-Goeres semifinal battle and that winner to most likely face McInally in the finals. 125 pounds- Troy Nickerson(31-0, 27 pins, 4 technical falls) of Chenango Forks-4 has been untouchable this season and hasn't wrestled in the third period, he should capture his fifth state title. Nickerson(208-6 career) will face Jeff Grobsmith(28-4) of Solvay-3 in his opening prelim and then Jason Chimon(33-2) of Syosset-8 in a quarterfinal bout. Looking to survive the lower bracket will be Louis Kleman(38-0) of Niskayuna-2 and Chris Iorio(35-1) of Sachem North-11, look for them to meet in a quarterfinal brawl. The winner of that bout should face either Brian Marmo(26-1) of Starpoint-6 or Sean Bauer(29-6) of Valley Central-9 in the semifinals. That semifinal winner will have the inevitable task of facing Nickerson in the championship finals on Saturday. 130 pounds- This weight class features two state champions; reigning state titlist sophomore Kyle Ingraham(32-4) of Canandaigua-5 will face Tim Higgins(32-5) of Chaminade in the quarterfinals. In the other upper bracket quarter will be Andre Harrison(33-2) of Freeport-8 and highly-touted Andrew Stella(36-1) of Sweet Home-6. Lodged in the lower bracket are freshman Hunter Meys(37-1) of Shenendahowa-2, a returning bronze medalist, along with returning state king JP O'Connor(36-0) of Oxford-4 and Matt Scott(33-0) of Riverhead-11. If O'Connor can get past opening round foe, Brandon Gentile(36-3) of Watertown-3, he will face Scott in a quarterfinal skirmish of unbeatens. Look for Ingraham to face O'Connor in an frenetic final. Click here for 135-275 |
| 2005 NEW YORK STATE TOURNAMENT PREVIEW WEIGHT BY WEIGHT BREAKDOWN |