Cullen maintained high level for his career
Athlete of the Year: Kieran Cullen, Greenville
When asked to reflect on his career wrestling at Greenville, Cullen said, “I would say I have been pretty consistent, which is something I strive for. My goal isn’t to go out there and have a good match and then a week later wrestle terrible. My goal is to keep improving.”
Cullen produced a scholastic resume filled with excellence. The senior posted his third consecutive campaign with 40-plus wins as he amassed a 45-3 mark this season. He advanced to the Division II state final at 145 pounds, becoming the only Section II wrestler in that classification to do so, and finished second.
“It was a little disappointing not winning the final, but overall I think I had a pretty good season. Pretty solid throughout the season,” Cullen said. “I wrestled hard and saw a lot of improvement throughout the year from the first tournament to the postseason. Overall, I thought it was a pretty great season.”
Cullen, who is set to compete in college at Bloomsburg University, believes his extensive experience competing in offseason tournaments helped him navigate things at the state tournament.
“I was pretty confident going into the state tournament. I wasn’t really nervous,” Cullen said.
During his varsity career, Cullen captured the Section II Class C title five times, reached five Division II sectional finals, won two Division II sectional crowns and placed in the state tournament three times. The senior finished with a 223-26 record.
First team
101 — Peter Filli, Fr., Ichabod Crane:
Finished fourth in the Division II sectional tournament as an eighth-grader. Filli earned his first sectional title this year after registering a trio of pins. Collected one win at the state tournament to complete his second varsity season with a 38-6 record.
108 — Luke Leblanc, So., Salem/cambridge:
Posted tournament wins at the Joe Mccabe Invitational and the Ken Baker Classic before going on to prevail in both the Class D and Division II sectional events. Went 2-2 at the state tournament to complete a 31-9 season.
116 — Kolt Wojtowecz, Fr., Galway: Earned his first sectional
title as the No. 5 seed, winning his first tournament title of the year in the Division II event after finishing third in Class D. Wojtowecz went on to go 1-2 at the state tournament to finish the season at 37-11 overall.
124 — Ashten Haley, Fr., Cobleskill-richmondville:
One year after finishing sixth in the state at 110 pounds, Haley came in fifth in the state this year to complete a season with a 41-8 mark. Haley has reached the state tournament in all three of his varsity seasons.
131 — Justin Mullis, So., Hudson Falls:
After reaching the 2023 state tournament and going 2-2 as a freshman, Mullis captured his first sectional title to return to MVP Arena for the second straight year. He advanced to the semifinals and ended up finishing fifth to complete a 41-11 campaign.
138 — Trevor Bishop, Sr., Tamarac:
Captured his third straight sectional championship and went on to finish fourth in the state tournament to finish 46-6. Bishop previously finished third in the state at 126 pounds in 2023.
145 — Kieran Cullen, Sr.,
Greenville: Collected championships at the Saratoga Invitational, King Bison Invitational and Mahopac Memorial Tournament before adding Class C and Division II sectional crowns to his extensive resume. Cullen (45-3) finished second in the state tournament.
152 — Jacob Schweigard, Jr., Duanesburg/schoharie:
As a sophomore, Schweigard came in fourth in the Division II sectional tournament. A year later, the junior won both the Class C and Division II tournaments and went 2-2 at states to finish up at 38-11 overall.
160 — Joseph Davis, Sr., Greenville:
The senior edged Cobleskill-richmondville’s Kyber Henry 3-2 to earn the Division II sectional title and defeated Henry again 8-4 at the state tournament to record his 30th win of the season.
170 — Joseph Martinez, Sr., Coxsackie-athens:
Avenged a regular-season loss against Glens Falls senior Skyler Sturdevant with a 10-8 decision in the Division II title match to reach the state tournament for the second straight year. Posted a win and finished
at 27-4.
190 — Jesse Mullis, Sr., Hudson Falls: Returned to the state tournament for the second straight year after earning his second sectional title. Mullis, who finished fifth in the 172-pound bracket in 2023, came in third in his final scholastic tournament to complete a 46-5 season.
215 — Ben Nania, Sr., Mechanicville/stillwater: A year removed from finishing sixth in the 2023 Division II 215-pound tournament, Nania produced the finest season of his career that netted Class CC and Division II sectional titles. He ended up with a 35-5 record.
285 — Jakob Pregent, Sr., Glens Falls:
The senior, who finished third in the Class CC sectional tournament in 2022 and 2023, won that event this year and went on to earn his first Division II sectional title. He went 1-2 at the state tournament to finish up at 33-9 overall.
Coach of the Year
Dan Perry, Glens Falls:
The Black Bears won the program’s first sectional title since 1976 by
capturing the Class CC championship and followed up by edging Cobleskill-richmondville by 21⁄2 points (1121⁄2-110) to secure the Division II sectional crown at Cool Insuring Arena.
Second team
101: Jonah Stevens, So., Salem/ Cambridge
108: Cameron Carpenter, Sr., Warrensburg/lake George
116: Jayden Acomb, Fr., Ravenacoeymans-selkirk
124: Neil Murphy, Jr., Coxsackie-athens
131: Scott Nicolella, Sr., Duanesburg/schoharie
138: Zachary Olden, Sr., Warrensburg/lake George
145: Ryker Cox, Fr., Coxsackieathens
152: Jaxon Torres, Jr., Granville 160: Kyber Henry, Jr., Cobleskill-richmondville
170: Skyler Sturdevant, Sr., Glens Falls
190: Chad Monty, So., Whitehall
215: Violence Sturdevant, Jr., Glens Falls
285: Dalton Cooper, Sr., Duanesburg/schoharie