Leading off today: Marcarlo Mannello appears to be a wrestler with a future, having now done something sooner than anyone ever in New York.
Mannello, a Westlake eighth-grader, became the youngest Division I competitor ever to win a NYSPHSAA wrestling title on Saturday, according to LoHud.com. He capped a 40-0 season -- with zero takedowns allowed -- with a 7-2 decision over Levittown Division's Ayden Delgado at 103 pounds.
P.J. Duke of Minisink Valley won the first of his four state championships as a seventh-grader in 2020 at the age of 13 years, 7 months, 22 days. Mannello won his title at 13 years, 4 months, 10 days.
He already sounds wise beyond his years.
"You could be up 14-0 and you make one mistake and it's all for nothing," he said. "All the work you put in, all the time and effort. If you really wanted to be on top, that means you were dreaming about it -- the moment that you're so focused on. The fact that it could slip away is hard."
Plenty can happen over the next four year, but Mannello has set himself up for a run at multiple state crowns by the time he graduates. Three of Long Island's finest may have shown him the path by securing their third championships.
Penn State commit Gavin Mangano, whose season-ending celebration a year ago required a wheelchair, won the 144-pound championship in Division II with a 7-5 decision vs. Ashten Haley of Cobleskill/Richmondville.
It was a rematch between 138-pound finalists a year ago, a matchup during which Mangano competed with a broken ankle suffered early in the match. He had to be wheeled to the podium ceremony.
"It feels a lot better to be standing up this time, rather than being wheeled around," he told Newsday.
Long Beach senior Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez, a native of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, earned the Division I championship in the 118-pound class with a 7-1 decision over Manhasset's Will Russell to secure the division's most outstanding wrestler award.
"I'm here because of the support of my family, my coaches and the Long Beach community," Sibomana-Rodriguez, who scored career win No. 200 earlier in the meet, told Newsday. "I came to the United States with nothing and so many people took care of me. I am forever grateful for all those people."
At the age of 6, Sibomana-Rodriguez was playing near the village of Rutshuru when chimpanzees attacked him and two family members. His brother and cousin were killed in the attack, and Sibomana-Rodriguez was left with horrific injuries to his head and the middle finger on his left hand was bitten off."
"His story is one of courage and perseverance," Long Beach coach Ray Adams said. "He's amazing in every regard. A special young man that promises to do big things in his lifetime."
Rounding out the island's trio of three-timers, Plain edge's Devin Downes pinned his way to the Division I title at 2:15 pounds. The Maryland commit scored three takedowns in the first period of the final before pinning Zach Filip of Minisink Valley in 2:43.
"I don't take anyone lightly," he explained. "As soon as the whistle blows, I'm trying to end the match as quickly as possible because everyone in this tournament earned their spot to be here."
Speaking of pinning machines, New Hartford senior Chris Belmonte surrendered no points and scored first-period falls over all four opponents in an aggregate 4:03 to dominate the Division I heavyweight division.
Belmonte finished the season with a 50-1 record, losing only to a state champion from Connecticut.
More from the boys wrestling championships
Maverick Beckwith earned his third state NYSPHSAA title against a familiar opponent. The Norwich junior, who announced his commitment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in the fall, decisioned Lansing's Owen Clark 11-1. The pair faced off in the 150-pound class of the Section 4 Division II final last week, with Beckwith securing an 11-3 victory.
Beckwith has made huge jumps, winning at 108 pounds as a freshman and 124 last winter as a sophomore.
Beyond Beckwith and the Long Island trio, six wrestlers became multi-time titlists, with four doing it back-to-back:
• Camryn Howard, Bellport, Div. I, 157 pounds.
• Griffin Laplante, St Francis, Div. I, 165.
• Declan McKee, Tioga, Div, II, 110.
• Christopher Noto, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Div. II, 132.
Andrew Juliano of Holland Patent (Div. I, 118) captured his second championship in three years, and Tavio Hoose of Southwestern (Div. II, 190) won his second title in four years.
Without a doubt, one of the hard-luck stories of the entire New York school year belongs to Jon Tuku. The Massapequa freshman, a 2025 state champion at 101 pounds, was unable to make weight after being seeded third at 110 pounds in Division I and could not compete.
Massapequa AD Matt McLees pointed out that last week's historic snow storm closed schools for several days, disrupting training ahead of the state meet.
The development prompted meet officials to re-seed the class, moving Long Beach sophomore Ethan Andreula (who dropped a 1-0 decision to Andreula in the Section 8 final) from fourth to first, bumping North Babylon sophomore Xavier Seabury down a spot. Seabury scored a 1-0 decision over Andreula in the final.
"We are devastated for Jon," McLees told Newsday. "He has represented our school and community with extraordinary dedication, discipline, and heart. This moment does not define him."
New Hartford gymnast takes top honor
New Hartford senior
Grayson Gall earned the all-around title at Saturday's NYSPHSAA gymnastics championships in Utica.
Gall piled up 38.725 points, powered by her 9.775 score for a victory on the balance beam. She came in second in the floor exercise and tied with teammate Madison Scranton for runner-up on the uneven bars.
Gall finished her scholastic career with three state all-around championships and five balance beam titles .
"I'm so grateful for my time with the gymnastics team, especially with my teammates," Gall said. "They are my best friends and I've enjoyed competing and spending time with them. I'm so blessed to call them my sisters."
Suffern junior Giselle Reda finished second in the all-around at 38.425.
Section 4 girls bring home four championships
Four Section 4 competitors became first-time NYSPHSAA champions Thursday in Albany in a
breakout performance by the Southern Tier.
Isabella Phelps (Sidney, 114 pounds), Amelia Toomey (Tioga, 138), Delaney Dixon (Windsor, 145), and Teagan McGuinness (Union-Endicott, 185) gave the section its first champions since 2023, when the meet was conducted as a season-ending invitational.
Eleven of the section's wrestlers, including a pair of runners-up, placed in the top five.
Dixon, a sophomore, and McGuinness, a senior, were second-place finishers a year ago.
Phelps finished up with a technical fall over Port Chester's Laila Builes, last year's state champion at 100 pounds, to run her record to 45-1. Dixon capped a 41-0 season by pinning Warwick Valley's Victoria Alvarado, the 2025 champion at 152 pounds, in 2:55.
McGuinness also finished the year unbeaten, running the table in 36 matches.
Charlie Wylie (Port Jervis, 107), Haley Gonzales (Hicksville, 132), and Ava Guilmette (Shenendehowa, 165) brought home championships for the second year in a row. Sara Pauls (Minisink Valley, 126) previous won at the 2023 invitational.
Section 2 boys dominate ski meet
Queensbury's competitors played a big role as Section 2 pulled off
a near sweep of top boys honors during the NYSPHSAA skiing championships Monday and Tuesday at Bristol Mountain.
The Spartans' Wesley Fuller, who finished second on Monday to Carson Cheney of Johnstown in the giant slalom, won Tuesday's slalom over teammate Liam Meilhede as Section 2 nailed down the top four spots. Fuller's two day effort earned him the combined title while Saratoga Springs was rolling to the team alpine title.
Alden Guay won the individual nordic championship and then teamed with Josh Jenkin and Johnny Luthringer to secure the relay title for Queensbury and earn the school's third consecutive team title on the cross country trails.
Linden Bellizzi of Honeoye Falls-Lima kept Section 2 from a complete sweep on the boys side by earning the nordic combined honor.
Glens Falls' Piper Dock earned her second state championship in the slalom, but i was otherwise a banner day for Pittsford in girls alpine racing. The Panthers' Kirsten Matzky won the giant slalom and alpine combined honors to spark the combined Mendon and Sutherland squad to the team championship.
Dock and Matzky flipped one-two finishes in the downhill events.
Cora Hinsdill of Adirondack, who opened the nordic meet with a win in the individual 7.5-kilometer race, skied the fastest leg in Tuesday's relay to win her fourth consecutive combined state title. Saranac Lake won the relay to wrap up a victory in the team scoring.
Long-standing county record falls
The NYSPHSAA indoor track meet is next weekend at Ocean Breeze, and you could say
Carlos Eliezer has gotten a jump on the field.
The North Rockland junior scored personal bests in the long and triple jumps Friday in the Section 1 championships at The Armory.
His mark of 23-8.25 in the long jump moved Eliezer to No. 2 in the state this season and broke the Rockland County record set in 1982 by Howie Allen of Spring Valley by a quarter of an inch.
He capped his day with a mark of 44-5 in the triple jump.
Arrest following incident during Section 3 game
Syracuse Corcoran basketball player Antawn Terry, 17, was arrested Friday following his actions in a Section 3 playoff game vs. West Genesee,
Syracuse.com reported.
Antawn Terry was charged with third-degree assault and issued a Family Court appearance ticket, according to Capt. James Nightingale of the Camillus Police Department.
Under state law, the charge is defined as intentionally causing physical injury to another person or recklessly causing physical injury to another person. It is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail.
With 2:08 to play and West Genesee comfortably ahead, Terry missed a free throw. As he headed back on defense, he hit West Genesee's Ryan Sapio in the head with what appeared to be an open hand, video shows.
The West Genesee player immediately fell to the court and Terry headed for the sidelines and left the gym, followed by two police officers, the website reported.
Sapio told the website he believed Terry thought he was “talking crap” about him while Sapio made a joke to one of his teammates.
The incident can be seen in a Hudl.com video at the 1:27:46 mark.
Retired CNY reporter Tom Vartanian passed away
Tom Vartanian, a longtime sports reporter and NYSSWA helper, passed away on Jan. 2 in Syracuse after a brief illness. He was 68.
Tom, an Afton graduate, spent two decades as a reporter and then sports editor at the Cortland Standard, covering a wide swath of the scholastic sports scene in Central New York. He also edited the state baseball rankings for several seasons in addition to assisting with weekly updates in a variety of other sports before retiring in 2020.
Still thinking about you, sir
Happy heavenly birthday to Neil Kerr. The G.O.A.T. of New York scholastic scribes would have turned 83 years old today.
