by Ryan Mosher
Three local high school wrestlers competed at the New York State Wrestling Championships this past weekend with one of them ending his weekend standing on the top podium at the Times Union Center in Albany. LaSalle Junior Connor Sutton of West Hoosick won the Division 1, 140 pound championship after entering the tournament as the number three seed. Brad Burns and Louis Weierbach of Hoosick Falls competed in the Division 2 tournament.
Weierbach
Weierbach entered the tournament as the top seed and started his tournament off very well. In his first match against an opponent from Section 8, he recorded a pin in 3:24. Unfortunately, his chase for a State Championship would end in the quarterfinals. Weierbach dropped a very tough 3-2 match to Ryan Snow of Section 3 to send him into the consolation round. To advance on to day two of the tournament, Weierbach needed to win his first match, and to place in the tournament, he needed to win two matches. In the consolation second round Weierbach took on Ryan Kramer of Section 6. Toughing out a 4-3 win sent the Panther freshman on to day two. His day two would be short though, as he lost his first match 7-0 to Section 5’s Sean Peacock.
Burns
Burns entered the tournament unseeded in the 160 pound weight class. His first match lined him up with the seventh seed, from Section 4. Burns gave him a very tough match, going scoreless in the first two periods. In that third period, Burns started on top but could not hold his opponent down, giving him a 1-0 lead on an escape. Then Burns was taken down and lost the match 3-0. He moved on to the consolation round. In his first match there he faced off against Paul Parsons from Section 1. After a scoreless first period, Burns got an escape point in the second period, and Parsons returned the favor in the third, sending the match to overtime. As the one minute overtime wore down to under ten seconds, Burns took Parsons down to earn the victory. In his second consolation match, he faced off against Section 1’s Rich Berkery. This match was not even close as Burns took an initial 2-0 lead and then ran away with a 9-2 victory. That win would send him on to day two. Like Weierbach, Burns’ day would end in the first round on day two as well. There he matched up against fourth seeded Jerrold Roosa of Section 6. Roosa scored a 3-0 victory to end the season for Burns.
Sutton
Sutton’s road to the final started with a 3-0 win in the first round, and then a win by fall in 2:31 in the quarterfinals. On day two he won 6-4 in the semifinals over Section 5’s Lewis Cucchiara sending him to the finals. It was there that Sutton faced off against Adam Lepkowsky of Section 11, giving the fans at the Times Union Center the most exciting match of the finals.
The three periods of regulation went back and forth before heading into overtime.
The first overtime left the two still tied at 4-4. The second overtime, consisting of two thirty second periods, is wrestled to completion no matter the score. This worked out for Sutton, as Lepkowsky scored an escape point in the first period to take a 5-4 lead. In the final period, it was up to Sutton to determine if he would be the State Champion or the runner-up, and that determination would not be made until the very last second. Sutton made his move with just seconds left, fighting off Lepkowsky and moving around behind him. As time expired the referees conferred quickly and awarded Sutton two points, giving him his first State Championship. The crowd in the Times Union Center went crazy, partially cheering for the LaSalle junior, while partially cursing the referees. Connor’s father, and coach, Jim Sutton raised both arms in the air in excitement and celebrated along with assistant coach Carlo Ferrandinio. Sutton finished the season 41-1, winning his first State Championship in his third trip to the State tournament.
