by Ryan Mosher
For the second year in a row Brad Burns and Luis Weierbach highlighted their wrestling seasons with hard earned trips to the New York State Wrestling Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany this past weekend. After neither of them placed last year, the goal this year was to end the weekend on the podium.
Weierbach’s first round match at 99 lbs. pitted him against Section XI (Suffolk County) champion Lucas Webb from Mattituck. The Hoosick Falls sophomore overwhelmed Webb from the beginning and earned an 11-0 major decision, moving him on to the quarterfinals. There he met Section I’s Tyler Aslanian of Edgemont. Weierbach won that match 4-1 to advance to the semifinals on day two of the championships.
In the semifinals he met Nick Casella of Locust Valley in Section VIII. Casella was able to take Weierbach down three times during the match but wasn’t able to hold him after the takedown. Unable to return the favor of a takedown on Casella, Weierbach lost 7-2, sending him to the consolation side of the bracket. The bright side of making it to the semifinals was that he had advanced far enough to reserve a spot on the podium. Now it was just up to him to figure out which spot.
In the consolation semifinal Weierbach lost a very close match to Andrew Flanagan of Section V, sending him on to wrestle for 5th place. That match brought him up against Alex Herringshaw of Holland Patent in Section III. For six minutes the two wrestlers battled, each scoring two points. In the first overtime, a one minute sudden death period, neither wrestler was able to score. The second overtime, consisting of two thirty second periods, started with Weierbach on bottom. He was able to escape, taking a 3-2 lead heading into the second period. On top this time, he was able to ride his opponent out, clinching the win and 5th place.
Burns, wrestling at 170 lbs. took on Watkins Glen’s Adam Hughes in the first round. Burns topped his Section IV opponent 8-2 to advance to the quarterfinal round. There he lost a very tough match to Marcus Dwaileebe of Section VI. This sent him to the consolation bracket. Still needing a second victory to guarantee him a return trip for day two of the tournament, Burns scored a 13-4 victory over Mike Rauch of Red Hook. On Saturday
Burns won a thrilling overtime match, 3-1, with a takedown of Tomasz Filipkowski of Mattituck in Section XI.
In the consolation semifinals Burns wrestled Troy Seymour of Peru. Seymour scored on an escape and held off a hard charge by Burns in the closing seconds to secure the 1-0 win. Wrestling for 5th place Burns once again faced Dwaileebe. This time the match was closer, but the outcome was the same. Dwaileebe won 3-2 to take 5th place, giving Burns 6th place.
Weierbach finished the championship tournament with a 3-2 record, while Burns finished with a 3-3 record. With both wrestlers returning next year, there is little doubt that they will be back at the tournament again.
Weierbach makes no secret of his goals for next season. “This year on the podium, next year at the top of the podium,” he said.
Wasaren League Wrestling All-Stars Announced
Wasaren League Champion Hoosick Falls placed six of its wrestlers on the All-Star team this year. Leading the way are State place finishers Luis Weierbach at 99 lbs. and Brad Burns at 170 lbs. Also representing the Panthers are All Stars Tom Peabody at 133 lbs., Bryan Sherman at 138 lbs., Mike McGuire at 160 lbs. and Jeremy Barss at 195 lbs.