NYS Tournament Finals 2018

NEW YORK STATE DIVISION I FINAL RESULTS

99- Stevo Poulin (Shenendehowa-2) dec. Chase Liardi (Massapequa-8) 7-1

106- Terry Adams (MFarrell-C) dec. Jayden Scott (RH-5) 3-2

113- Greg Diakomihalis (Hilton-5) dec. Dylan Ryder (Hills West-11) 3-2 OT

120- Zach Redding (ESM-11) dec. Anthony Sciotto (Rocky Point-11) 9-6

126- Adam Busiello (ESM-11) pinned Justin McDougald (Niag-Wh-6) 3:00

132- Willie McDougald (Niag-Falls-6) dec. Justin Vines (Want-8) 3-2 OT

138- Chris Gomez (Pat-Med-11) dec. Anthony Sobotker (NB-11) 11-9

145- Frankie Gissendanner (Penfield-5) dec. Kiernan Shanahan (Shen-2) 7-6

152- Jacori Teemer (Long Beach-8) dec. Matt Grippi (Fox Lane-1) 8-2

160- Jake Silverstein (Hauppauge-11) dec. Chris Barker (Fairport-5) 9-2

170- Grant Cuomo (Brewster-1) dec. Tyler Barnes (Ballston Spa-2) 13-10

182- Jake Logan (New Rochelle-1) dec. Jacob Ferreira (HG-1) 5-3

195- Jonathan Loew (Wantagh-8) pinned Jhorydn Innocent (East Ramapo-1) 1:14

220- Elijah Rodriguez (Long Beach-8) pinned Hallil Gecaj (John Jay-1) 5:19

285- Deonte Wilson (Amityville-11) dec. Joey Slackman (Commack-11) 5-1

Defending sectional team champion Section Eleven (Suffolk County) won the 56th NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships before 4,968 fans at the Times-Union Center in Albany. The navy-blue contingent won an unprecedented tenth consecutive team title and amassed 245 points to outdistance LI rival Section Eight (Nassau County). Suffolk won their state leading 26th sectional team title and crowned five Division I champions amongst their nine finalists and had a total of 23 wrestlers earn All-State honors. Suffolk was paced by four-time titlist junior Adam Busiello (47-0, 231-8 career) of ESM who posted a second period pin en route to the 126-pound championship. Also winning state crowns were Nebraska-bound Jake Silverstein (39-2, 228-19), a three-time state finalist who rolled through the 160-pound bracket, Zach Redding (43-3) who upset nemesis Anthony Sciotto (56-2) with a third period roll and near fall for a 9-6 win, Chris Gomez (39-1) who rallied for a dramatic 11-9 victory at 138 and Amityville's Deonte Wilson (31-2, 171-20) who used his patented high single leg takedown for a solid 5-1 verdict to capture the gold medal at 285.

Nassau was led by LI's fist five-time winner Jacori Teemer (32-0, 210-5) of Long Beach. Teemer cruised through his four bouts at 152 and earned the tournaments OSW Award, he will take his mat skills to Arizona State in the fall. Teemer's teammate Elijah Rodriguez (44-4, 220-26) countered a lateral drop and clamped his foe in the third period for an electrifying win at 220. Wantagh's team leader Jonathan Loew (50-1, 234-41) used his bar arm/half to secure a first period pin at 195 to punctuate his illustrious six year career. Loew, a Cornell recruit, projects as a solid 197-pound collegian and veteran Warriors coach Paul Gillespie stated: "I can see him becoming a national contender within the next four years."

Four-time state king and Rider signee Frankie Gissendanner (41-0, 267-11) of Penfield defeated national judo champion Kiernan Shanahan (46-3) for the second consecutive year. Shanahan used a late Schalles and hip toss to lead 6-5, but Gissendanner scored with a powerful double leg lift takedown in the last 20 seconds and emerged with a close 7-6 victory in the 145-pound final.

Returning LI champions Dylan Ryder (135-5) and Justin Vines (201-27) suffered heartbreaking overtime defeats in the finals. Ryder lost to Greg Diakomihalis on a ride-out and Vines was edged on an inadvertent clasp and escape within the last 14 seconds of his bout to Willie McDougald. Both Ryder (Hofstra) and Vines (LIU-Post) will continue their wrestling careers on Long Island.

In the Division Two Tournament Section Three (Syracuse area) tallied 261.5 points to easily outpoint Section Six (Buffalo area) who finished with 180. Suffolk County landed in fourth place with 154.5 points and crowned three winners: the Bokina twins from Mattituck: Luke (42-4) and Jack (46-2) won respective titles in their weight classes, along with Mike Zariff (40-3) of Division II dual champion Mt. Sinai. Three-time champion Orion Anderson (45-1,185-8) of Schuylerville posted three pins and a tech fall en route to the 126-pound title, and earned the OSW Award for the second straight year.

Mat Notes:

Suffolk County has a state leading 192 NYS champions, followed by Section Four (Binghamton area) with 156 and Nassau County has 130 individual winners. LI showed its dominance at the 2018 state meet as they garnered 11 state titles amongst their 19 finalists, and the Island group had an impressive 52 wrestlers earn All-State honors. The Empire's State top Division I dual squad was Wantagh (31-0). The Warriors are mentored by Hall-of-Fame coaches Paul Gillespie and Reggie Jones Jr. and won the triple crown in wrestling this year: Nassau Dual & Tournament Championship, state dual title and individual team honors at the state meet. The combined record of the 15 Division I champions was an unbelievable 598 victories and 24 losses.

Sectional Team Scores:

1. Section Eleven (245)

2. Section Eight (214)

3. Section Five (173)

4. Section One (169)

5. Section Six (124.5)

Individual Team Scores:

1. Wantagh (86.5)

2. Hilton (60)

3. Long Beach (54)

4. ESM (52)

5. North Babylon (51)