by Ryan Mosher
Hoosick Falls wrestlers Brad Burns and Luis Weierbach entered the Section II State Qualifier tournament at the Glens Falls Civic Center with hopes of extending their season by two more weeks to reach the State championship meet. The sophomore and freshman were seeded first and second heading into the meet.
Burns started with a first round pin, just :31 seconds into the second period, against Kyle Eastman of Salem. The match wasn’t close and would serve as a good warm up for the 160-pounder. Weierbach drew a bye in the first round and would face off against a familiar foe in the second round, Austin Luna of Schuylerville. The young Panther scored a major decision victory, 11-3, to advance to the semi-final round on day two. Burns faced off against Jason St. John of Duanesburg and went the distance, winning 11-4, to also advance.
On day two, Weierbach wrestled Jerome Gladney of Ravena in one of the first matches of the day. The match was scoreless until Weierbach escaped the grasp of his RCS opponent half way through the second period. But with :27 left in the third period the score was tied on an escape. The match went to overtime, and, just partially through the period, Weierbach took down his opponent, winning 3-1 and advancing to the finals.
Burns semifinal match was against Kyle Derepentigny of Cohoes and was a tough one. Most of the first period was even until Burns got a take down with :13 seconds left. The ref called a technical violation for locked hands on the Panther wrestler as time expired, so going into the second period the score was 2-1. In that period, Burns started on top and wasn’t able to stop the Cohoes wrestler from escaping and tying the score at 2-2 just seconds in. That score would last until the third period started and the roles were reversed. Burns escaped right away to take a 3-2 lead and then scored a takedown to build a 5-2 lead. Derepentigny escaped with :30 seconds left but couldn’t get a takedown, and Burns moved on in the tournament.
Two weeks ago at the WASAREN League Championships, Luis Weierbach faced off against Carter Merecki of Salem for the title, and Merecki left as the champ. As the #1 seed Merecki was facing Weierbach, the #2 seed, in the final. In the first match of the finals, the two WASAREN foes each managed just one point on an escape during regulation, and the match was sent to overtime. After no points in the first sudden death overtime, it went to the next two periods. In the first, Salem chose to start down, and Weierbach held him tight but could not turn him and get points. In the next overtime, Weierbach chose to start down. With just :10 seconds remaining, he escaped the grip of Merecki and took a 2-1 lead. One final shot by the Salem wrestler fell short, and Weierbach was crowned Section II Champion. His record now stands at 25-4.
Burns’ final matchup was against Josh Veshia of Watervliet. This match would also be a tough one as each opponent only scored one point on escapes in regulation. They also did not score any points in the first two overtimes. In the third overtime, after warning Veshia for stalling, the referee awarded Burns one point for Veshia stalling again. Being down a point with just :20 seconds to go, Veshia let Burns up in order to try to get a takedown, giving Burns a 3-1 lead. Burns would not be taken down, though, and held off a quick attack to be named 160 lb. Section II Champion.
Tom Peabody also placed for the Panthers, going 4-2 in the tournament and taking fifth place. Mike Mattat placed sixth in the 130 pound weight class. Burns and Weierbach now move on to wrestle at the New York State Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany on Friday, February 26, and Saturday, February 27.