Leading off today: A pin in the final match gave
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley an improbable 40-39 victory over two-time defending Division II champion Mount Sinai on Saturday in the NYSPHSAA dual meet wrestling tournament.
Minisink Valley captured the Division I championship with a 42-25 victory over Fulton.
Long Island was blanked in the titles column after sweeping all of the championships from the first two years of the tournament.
Trailing 4-2 late in the first period of the 106-pound bout that wrapped up the meet Division II final, Brayden Newman of Falconer/Cassadaga Valley reversed Derek Menechino of Mount Sinai and recorded the pin at the 1:49 mark to set off a celebration by teammates and fans at SRC Arena on the Onondaga Community College campus.
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley won four of the final five matches, including a fall by heavyweight Collin Mower with just 16 seconds left. Brayden Fahrbach then countered with a second-period pin at 99 pounds to restore the Mount Sinai lead.
Falconer had been seeded sixth in the tournament but tripped up No. 3 Central Valley Academy in the first-round pool and No. 2 W.T. Clarke in the semifinals. Fourth-seeded Mount Sinai had eliminated top-seeded Cold Spring Harbor in the semifinals.
"It's unbelievable. It's one of the best feelings I have had in my entire life," Falcover coach Drew Wilcox said. "To finally see all of the hard work of these kids and this coaching staff over the years pay off is really a dream come true. People might have thought we were done after losing three state representatives and eight starters last year. We proved everyone wrong, and now it's the best feeling in the world."
Minisink Valley took control of its Division I showdown with Fulton by winning five of the first six bouts, including the fourth pin of the day by Zackary Ryder 35 seconds into the 126-pound match. Ethan Gallo followed suit with his fourth pin 1:34 into the 182-pound match.
Minisink Valley had lost the 2018 final to Wantagh and was elminated by eventual state champ Massapequa a year ago.
"This was marked on the calendar as something that we really wanted to get done this year," said coach Kevin Gallagher. "They are so team-oriented. They are such good guys and such good teammates for each other. I'm really happy for them. They realized how hard it is to get it done."
Lineup change: Pitchers and catchers haven't even reported yet and the day-long tournament began with a pinch-hitter.
Section 7 dual-meet champ Saranac was forced to withdraw from the tournament mid-week due to a flu outbreak that left the team at less than full strength. Iroquois, the first team out when at-large berths were awarded in Division II at the start of the week, was summoned to take Saranac's place in the third annual championships.
First-round results, Division I: The top four seeds in order were Minisink Valley, Fox Lane, Horseheads, and Shenendehowa.
Sixth-seeded Fulton threw a monkey wrench into its pool by overwheling Horseheads to lock down a berth in the semifinals.
- Minisink Valley 57, Corning 9
- Horseheads 42, Patchogue-Medford 34
- Fox Lane 49, MacArthur 18
- Shenendehowa 52, Chenango Forks 20
- Spencerport 60, Chenango Forks 24
- Fulton 55, Patchogue-Medford 19
- MacArthur 34, Niagara Wheatfield 32
- Commack 38, Lancaster 22
- Minisink Valley 64, Lancaster 11
- Fulton 61, Horseheads 20
- Fox Lane 57, Niagara Wheatfield 12
- Shenendehowa 35, Spencerport 30
First-round results, Division II: The top four seeds in order were Cold Spring Harbor, W.T. Clarke, Central Valley Academy, and Mount Sinai.
Sixth-seeded Falconer/Cassadaga Valley defeated Central Valley Academy to move into the semifinals.
Mount Sinai staged a huge rally, winning the last six bouts to edge Tioga 31-29 in the final pool match of the afternoon. Tristan Nardi (170 pounds), Matt Cammpo (182), and Joe Goodrish (195) posted first-period pins to highlight the rally, and Gian Luca's 3-1 decision over Tioga's Jared Lamb in the heavyweight contest completed the comeback.
- Central Valley Academy 44, Palmyra-Macedon 42
- Cold Spring Harbor 47, Iroquois 21
- Mount Sinai 78, Nanuet 6
- W.T. Clarke 39, Cobleskill-Richmondville 33
- Iroquois 58, Gouverneur 24
- Tioga 72, Nanuet 13
- Falconer/Cassadaga Valley 51, Palmyra-Macedon 31
- Cobleskill-Richmondville 42, Port Jervis 39
- Cold Spring Harbor 58, Gouverneur 27
- W.T. Clarke 51, Port Jervis 27
- Falconer/Cassadaga Valley 45, Central Valley Academy 33
- Mount Sinai 31, Tioga 29
Division I semifinals results: The final eight matches ended in pins, five coming in the first period, as Fulton outmuscled Fox Lane 45-33.
Three Fulton wrestlers chalked up their third first-period pins of the day: Freddie Pagan (99 pounds) pinned Luis Diaz-Giron in 1:13, giving him three falls in a cumulative 4:35; Cuinn Burlingham (152) dispatched Thomas Prisco in :55 to make it three falls in 2:56; and Camrin Galvin (160) pinned Rony Sagastume in :30 to make it three wins in a total of 1:57.
Teammates Dominick Hofman (106) and Matthew Woodworth (190) also chalked up their third pins.
Fulton 45, Fox Lane 33
106 - Dominick Hofmann (Ful) p. John Stamatelos (FL) 0:26;
113 - Dylan Waldron (Ful) won by forfeit;
120 - Jake Hoffmann (FL) dec. Andru Walts (Ful) 7-5;
126 - Walter
