by Ryan Mosher
The Hoosick Falls wrestling team kicked off its post season by hosting the 2013 Section II Division 2 Class 2 (Class C) tournament last weekend. Wrestlers from sixteen schools packed into the Panthers’ gym and competed for the top four spots in each weight class and to move on to the Section II State Qualifiers.
[private]The Panthers’ main competitor all day for the team title was Corinth. The Tomahawks led the team score much of the day. By the time the semi-finals came to an end, seven Corinth wrestlers had reached the evenings finals, while six Panthers had done so. The score was still close though, and the consolation semi-finals and finals would play a large role in deciding the championship.
Nick Schrom bounced back from a tough loss to the #1 seed in the semi-finals to record two straight pins and take 3rd place to kick it off for Hoosick Falls. Next came Tyler Randall at 126 pounds. Randall had fallen to the eventual champion in the semifinals but came back strong, sticking out a 4-3 win in the consolation semifinals before picking up a pin in the final to earn 3rd place. Colby Davendonis wrestled back from a tough loss to Logan Brunick of Tamarac to pick up three wins in the consolation bracket and take 3rd place as well. And finally, Mike Matatt wrestled back from a semi-final loss to reach the consolation final. Matatt dominated that final match against Brannon Lambert of Corinth, winning by tech fall (15-0) and helping propel the Panthers past Corinth in the team scoring. Nolan Foster picked up 4th place, and Tom Peabody picked up 6th place for Hoosick Falls.
With just the finals remaining, Hoosick Falls led Corinth 210-197. With just a thirteen point difference, it seemed as if anything could happen. And, remarkably, the thirteen wrestlers from the two schools that reached the finals, were in thirteen different weight classes, so there would be no more head to head battles.
Corinth struck first at 99 pounds, with Garon LeClair recording a pin in the second period to win the first championship. Hoosick Falls fired right back though with two time Class C Champion Luis Weierbach at 106 pounds. Facing off against Nico Riccio of Galway, Weierbach scored a takedown, took him to his back and pinned him just 1:42 into the match.
Corinth had the advantage of having wrestlers in five of the next six weight classes. Unfortunately for the Tomahawks, they dropped the first three matches before salvaging wins in the next two. It was too late though. The Panthers smelled blood and knew, with the next five matches featuring Hoosick Falls wrestlers, the title was theirs to win.
It started at 152 pounds with Bryan Sherman. Sherman brought his high energy to the mat against Ryan Park of Fonda. Sherman jumped out to a 5-0 lead with two takedowns and an escape in the first two periods. In the third, Park started on bottom and quickly reversed, cutting the lead to 5-2. Sherman had no problem with that though as he quickly escaped and held on for the win.
Next up was Garrett Wright facing off against Brad Perry of Granville. Perry had pinned Wright the previous week in the semi-finals at the Ken Baker Classic, which Perry went on to win. After a Perry takedown and a Wright escape in the first period, the score was 2-1. Wright tied the scored at 2-2 with an escape after starting down in the second period. In the third period Perry started down, and Wright was able to get him on his back to take a 4-2 lead. It almost slipped away as Perry escaped with little time left, but Wright held on for the Panthers’ third championship of the day. The win also clinched the team title for Hoosick Falls as well.
Billy Pine picked up the next championship at 170 for the Panthers. After taking an early lead, Pine took Frank Capone of Watervliet down right onto his back for a quick pin. Brad Burns followed suit at 182 pounds for Hoosick Falls. Up against Zeby Gokey from Tamarac, Burns recorded a quick takedown and then worked Gokey onto his back for another quick pin.
The last finalist for the Panthers was Shane Barss at 195 pounds. The sophomore came into the tournament with a 5-14 record but had two huge wins to propel him to the finals, a 9-8 decision in the first round and a pin with twelve seconds left in the semifinals. Unfortunately for Barss, his final opponent ended the match by pinning him just thirty two seconds in.
The Panthers successfully defended their Class C title, beating out Corinth 236-218. This was their 15th total Class C title. Eleven Hoosick Falls wrestlers will advance on to the Glens Falls Civic Center to participate in the Section II State Qualifiers. Nine of those wrestlers have received top 8 seeds. Those seeds are Luis Weierbach (1, 106 lbs.), Nolan Foster (8, 113 lbs.), Tyler Randall (8, 126 lbs.), Colby Davendonis (2, 132 lbs.), Mike Matatt (7, 138 lbs.), Bryan Sherman (3, 152 lbs.), Garrett Wright (3, 160 lbs.), Billy Pine (3, 170 lbs.) and Brad Burns (2, 182 lbs.).
The Section II State Qualifiers meet is all day Friday and Saturday, February 8 and 9, at the Glens Falls Civic Center.[/private]