by Steve Bradley
Two Panther wrestlers qualified for state competition Saturday at the Section 2 – Division 2 event held at the Glens Falls Civic Center. [private]Matthew LaPorte (33-5 record), wrestling at 113 pounds, defeated Corinth’s Scott Nappi with a 4-2 decision. Jake Pine, wrestling at 195 pounds, upset Duanesburg’s Ryan Harper with a 5-1 decision. Harper came into the match 32-1.
HFCS placed fifth as a team in the tournament with 88.5 points. Warrensburg finished first with 129, Hadley-Luzerne/Lake George placed second with 118, Mechanicville/Stillwater was third with 100 and Ravena/Coeymans/Selkirk was fourth with 91.5.
At 106 pounds, Gabe Fisher finished third, losing to Maple Hill’s Trent Svingala in a 4-0 decision. Other Panthers who competed were Aiden Smith, Alex Hull, Bryan Thomas, Lucas Brogue and Sam Richard.
The wins for LaPorte and Pine qualify them for the New York State Public High Schools Athletic Associations Wrestling Championship at the Times Union Center in downtown Albany. The event will be held Friday and Saturday, February 24-25, beginning at 9:30 am Friday. There are two sessions on Saturday, with qualifying events beginning at 10 am and the championships beginning in the second session which begin at 6:30 pm.[/private]