SEC. II SENDS FAB 5 TO STATE FINALS
Five wrestlers survived intense semifinal round
ALBANY, N.Y. >> Section II placed five local wrestlers in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship finals scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday night at the Times Union Center with only Schuylerville junior Orion Anderson as a potential back-to-back champion.
The finals were not completed by press time. For a complete recap, visit www.TroyRecord.com.
No. 2 seeded 106-pound lightweight Trent Svingala of Maple Hill advanced to his first NYSPHSAA championship match with a pin of No. 6 seeded Pleasantville’s Len Balducci (Section I) at 1:47 to set up his showdown with the defending NYS champion Central Valley Academy’s Jon Charles (Section III).
The two wrestlers met during last season’s Eastern States Classic in the 99-pound division with Svingala earning a 6-2 decision.
Schuylerville’s Anderson has a bit of familiarity heading into Saturday night’s championship final. The Black Horses junior is the defending champion at 106-pounds and a runner-up at 99-pounds the previous year.
He is also familiar with his opponent, Mattituck’s (Section I) junior Luke Bokina. Ander-
son defeated Bokina 10-7 at the Eastern States Classic earlier this year with both wrestling at 120-pounds and last year sent the Section I wrestler to the wrestle backs with an 8-3 win in the state quarterfinals.
In the Division II middleweights, Hadley-Luzerne/Lake George senior Jason Hoffman advanced to the NYSPHSAA final with a pin of No. 2 Carle Place-Wheatley senior Sean Mosca at 2:46.
He was set to take on the No. 1 seeded Alexander junior Matthew Gaiser and once again entered familiar territory for the War Eagle.
Hoffman finished second at 160-pounds during the 2014-2015 championship season and last year failed to make the finals, losing his semifinal match and then winning his next two wrestle back matches to finish third.
Shenendehowa sophomore Kiernan Shanahan was the only entry into this year’s NYSPHSAA tournament for the Plainsmen and the No. 3 seed has made the most of it. Shanahad earned a 13-4 decision over No. 7 seeded Gianno Silba from Newark Valley (Section IV) in the Division I 145-pound semifinal.
Last year Shanahan failed to advance out of Friday’s competition.
“It feels amazing, finally getting there, just all of the hard work paying off right now,” Kiernan Shanahan said. “It makes me want to get back and win, last year I didn’t do so well, but I think this year shows all the hard work I did in the off-season with Journeymen Wrestling and at my judo club, JMJC.”
Shanahan took down Silba within the first 10 seconds of their semifinal match and then gave a free release shortly after before securing another takedown with 1:03 left in the first period, followed by the same series once again.
“Right when I got that first takedown, I didn’t think I was going to kill him or anything with a lot of points, but I just feel like setting the tone like that, pushing him a little bit when you get off of him, kind of gets in his head a little bit, like he might be getting dominated the rest of the match,” Shanahan said.
Despite not seeing his finals opponent before Saturday’s finale, the Plainsmen sophomore is confident.
“I was more nervous in the beginning of the tournament than I was in the end,” Shanahan said. “After your first one or two matches, you kind of get the hang of it. I felt like I got my groove even though it was the next day I still felt like I was improving and improving the entire tournament.
“I feel pretty psyched, I don’t have to weigh-in again, which is nice,” Shanahan said. “Just getting to be a finalist in the state tournament, no one can take that away from me, you’re already there, and you already did it.”
Ballston Spa’s Tyler Barnes also made quick work of his opponent in the Division I 170-lb semifinal with a 15-4 decision over Hamburg (Section VI) senior Jacob Smeader, 14-5. The junior also used a quick takedown and free release before taking down the No. 5 seed again and putting him on his back for an early 6-1 first period lead.
“I knew I wanted to go out there and just take it to him and get it done, so it wasn’t really a surprise,” Barnes said. “I was pretty nervous, but that kind of helps, it drives you.”
Barnes finished fifth last year at the NYSPHSAA meet and didn’t place in the 20142015 tournament, finishing with a 2-2 record. A win Saturday night would make him the first state champion for Ballston Spa wrestling.
“Ever since I started wrestling, it’s been the main goal to get a state title and then keep moving on,” Barnes said. “It’s going to be really special, the first champs in Ballston Spa, and then top my dad, so that’s something nice.”
Barnes will face No. 3 seeded Zach Ancewicz from John Glenn High School (Section XI) in the 170-pound Division I finale.
Duanesburgh sophomore Zachery Lawrence lost to No. 1 seeded Tanner Cook, pinned at 2:32 of the second period in Saturday morning’s 145-pound Division II semifinal. Glens Falls heavyweight No. 8 seeded Lucas Sanders lost a 5-3 decision to Unatego (Section IV) senior Jacob Morrison in his semifinal.
In the Division II heavyweight semifinal, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake senior Jake Warren lost a 1-0 decision to Amityville (Section XI) Deonte Wilson, 1-0.
Barnes finished fifth last year at the NYSPHSAA meet and didn’t place in the 2014-2015 tournament, finishing with a 2-2 record. A win Saturday night would make him the first state champion for Ballston Spa wrestling.
The finals were scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and would not be completed by press time. Visit our web-site for a full rundown of the night’s championship bouts.