Wrestling State Tournament: Breaking down the brackets
Sometimes the best workout partner you could possibly find is the guy next to you in your own wrestling room. That is the case for Norwich eighth-graders Tristan Rifanburg and Frank Garcia, who each make the trip to Albany this weekend for the New York State Division II Wrestling Championships.
Rifanburg and Garcia battled each other for years as they climbed the peewee wrestling ranks. Now as teammates, they are inseparable in the wrestling room as they set the tone in practice for the rest of the team, said NHS head coach Joe Downey. “They’re like puppy dogs going hand-in-hand,” Downey said of his two prospects. “They are the best of friends and their is a lot of mutual respect between them. They’re workout partners, and when one is down, the other one picks him up. They push each other, and it’s unbelievable to see their work in the wrestling room.”
The Rifanburg-Garcia connection is just one of many local stories. Can B-G/A senior Danny Gormley, in his fifth trip to the New York State Tournament, finally grab the brass ring and win a state championship?
Greene has a remarkable five entries in the state tournament. From 145 pounds and up, is there a deeper and more talented Division II team in the state?
Sherburne-Earlville senior, Greg DuVall, is another veteran of the state tournament stage. In five years, DuVall has won three sectional championships and earned an at-large bid a season ago.
The Times Union Arena will again host the tournament with first-round matches starting Friday at 10:30 a.m., and second-round matches to start at 2:30 p.m. Semifinals on Saturday begin promptly at 10 a.m.
Eleven Chenango County wrestlers are entered in the tournament. Below, we break down each wrestler in his respective weight class.
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Tristan Rifanburg, 112 pounds
Rifanburg’s first-round match against Eddie Hutschenreuter of Section VI could be a good indicator of the Norwich eighth-grader’s prospects. Hutschenreuter lost in the sectional finals by technical fall to 103-pound state champion Abdulqawi Mohamed. If Rifanburg is to again advance to the state finals, he will likely see Drew Longo (his state finals opponent last year) in the quarterfinals, Mohamed in the semis, and three-time defending state champion Arik Robinson of Peru in the finals. “I’m not sure if two guys who placed in the same weight class the previous year are supposed to face each other that early in the tournament,” said Norwich coach Joe Downey of Rifanburg’s potential matchup with Longo. “I think the bracket might change.”
Frank Garcia, 119 pounds
Garcia, with a 34-3 record has losses on his docket this year to a defending division one state champion, two-time state place finisher Corey Dake of Lansing, and a defeat to a Pennsylvania state place-winner in the Clyde Cole Tournament. “It doesn’t matter who they put in front of Frankie, he doesn’t care,” Downey said of Garcia and his hard-charging eighth-grader. Garcia, if he gets past his first-round match, will likely face top-seeded Noah Valastro of Hudson Falls. Valastro has 47 wins this season, and his only losses came at the prestigious Eastern States Classic.
Danny Gormley, 125 pounds
Making his fifth state tournament appearance, Gormley placed third a year ago, his best finish in the tournament. This year, Gormley is slotted as they number one seed, and faces Orpheus Rambharose of Riverdale in the first round. At the bottom of Gormley’s bracket is Tom Page of Eden, the number two seed and a third-place finisher in the state a season ago at 112 pounds.
Mike Beckwith, 145 pounds
The Greene sophomore was not able to repeat his sectional championship of a year ago, but earned a wild-card bid, and faces Steve O’Connor of Section VIII in his opener. If Beckwith wins, top-seeded Tyler Button of Phoenix is his likely opponent. Button was fourth last year in the state in this weight class. “Mike has seen (Button) before and likes his chances,” said Greene coach Tim Jenks. “He thinks he’ll be fine.”
Greg DuVall, 152 pounds
Our lone Section III entry, DuVall, who is the number four seed, makes his fourth appearance in the state tournament. DuVall won two matches a year ago, but fell one win short of placing among the top six. DuVall breezed through his sectional tournament earlier this month, and was not close to losing against Section III competition. His opening match is against Sam Patterson of Section VIII. If DuVall advances to Saturday’s semifinals, a possible matchup looms with Chris Nevinger of Letchworth, the 145-pound state champion last season.
Christian Dietrich, 152 pounds
The seventh-grade upstart only lost this season the cream of the crop outside of Section IV, and was especially impressive in the Eastern States Classic winning his first two matches against elite competition before bowing out due to injury. Dietrich missed about a month of mat time, but was near top form to win the first of what could be several Section IV championships. An interesting note: Every person in the 152-pound D-II bracket is either a junior or a senior. Dietrich will give up at least four years of age to all of his opponents. His first-round opponent is Brenden Ward of Gouverneur.
Keegan Cerwinski, 160 pounds
Cerwinski of Greene had little trouble garnering his first Section IV title blowing through his four wins without surrendering a point. A bonus for Cerwinski is that he is on the opposite side of the bracket of 2010 state champion Owen Scott of Palmyra-Macedon. Scott beat Cerwinski earlier this season at the Eastern States Classic, and didn’t give up a point. “If he gets that far (to the state finals), it’s going to be tough,” Jenks said of a potential bout with Scott
Paul Parsons, 160 pounds
After back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Section IV tournament, the B-G/A senior earned that elusive state tournament bid. He faces number two seed Nick Mitchell of Frewsburg. While Parsons has not always found himself on the top of the podium, he has typically wrestled well enough in just about every tournament he enters to find a way into the placement mix.
Vinnie Buttice, 171 pounds
The B-G/Afton grappler was not taken the distance in any of his sectional tournament wins to capture his first championship and make his foray into the state tourney. Buttice opens against Andrew Martinez of Section 10. Buttice is also on the same side of the bracket as defending state champion Craig Scott of Palmyra-Macedon. Buttice, if he wins his two matches Friday, would meet Scott in the semifinals.
Kurt Shear, 189 pounds
Shear, despite a sectional finals loss to Lansing’s Ryan Todd, earned the top seed in his weight class. The Greene senior earned seeding points during the season for beating Todd, second in the state last year, two times during the regular season. In those three meetings this season, two of them went to triple overtime, Jenks said. Shear did not fare well on the big stage last year, but gained confidence in a large tournament setting earlier this season with a fourth-place finish in the Eastern States Classic. Shear is pitted against Chris Euell of Section VIII in his opener. The potential is there for a fourth Shear-Todd meeting in the state finals as Todd is the number two seed.
Kyle Stanton, 215 pounds
Stanton, in just his second full season of varsity wrestling, is a legitimate threat to place high in the state tournament. A mistake in a tight match with Candor’s Chad Rose cost Stanton a chance to win a Section IV title. “He’s made big strides this year,” Jenks said. “He didn’t wrestle for two years, and came back last year and was second in the section.” Stanton was fifth in the Eastern States Classic earlier this season, and opens against Alex Aronovich of the Public Schools. Awaiting Stanton could be a matchup against Anthony Paratore of Section I, who was third in the Eastern States Classic. At the top of the bracket is Nick Gwiazdowski of Section II, the defending state champion at 215 pounds. Two wins on Friday for Stanton would set the stage for a likely matchup against Gwiazdowski.
Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat.
Rifanburg and Garcia battled each other for years as they climbed the peewee wrestling ranks. Now as teammates, they are inseparable in the wrestling room as they set the tone in practice for the rest of the team, said NHS head coach Joe Downey. “They’re like puppy dogs going hand-in-hand,” Downey said of his two prospects. “They are the best of friends and their is a lot of mutual respect between them. They’re workout partners, and when one is down, the other one picks him up. They push each other, and it’s unbelievable to see their work in the wrestling room.”
The Rifanburg-Garcia connection is just one of many local stories. Can B-G/A senior Danny Gormley, in his fifth trip to the New York State Tournament, finally grab the brass ring and win a state championship?
Greene has a remarkable five entries in the state tournament. From 145 pounds and up, is there a deeper and more talented Division II team in the state?
Sherburne-Earlville senior, Greg DuVall, is another veteran of the state tournament stage. In five years, DuVall has won three sectional championships and earned an at-large bid a season ago.
The Times Union Arena will again host the tournament with first-round matches starting Friday at 10:30 a.m., and second-round matches to start at 2:30 p.m. Semifinals on Saturday begin promptly at 10 a.m.
Eleven Chenango County wrestlers are entered in the tournament. Below, we break down each wrestler in his respective weight class.
–––
Tristan Rifanburg, 112 pounds
Rifanburg’s first-round match against Eddie Hutschenreuter of Section VI could be a good indicator of the Norwich eighth-grader’s prospects. Hutschenreuter lost in the sectional finals by technical fall to 103-pound state champion Abdulqawi Mohamed. If Rifanburg is to again advance to the state finals, he will likely see Drew Longo (his state finals opponent last year) in the quarterfinals, Mohamed in the semis, and three-time defending state champion Arik Robinson of Peru in the finals. “I’m not sure if two guys who placed in the same weight class the previous year are supposed to face each other that early in the tournament,” said Norwich coach Joe Downey of Rifanburg’s potential matchup with Longo. “I think the bracket might change.”
Frank Garcia, 119 pounds
Garcia, with a 34-3 record has losses on his docket this year to a defending division one state champion, two-time state place finisher Corey Dake of Lansing, and a defeat to a Pennsylvania state place-winner in the Clyde Cole Tournament. “It doesn’t matter who they put in front of Frankie, he doesn’t care,” Downey said of Garcia and his hard-charging eighth-grader. Garcia, if he gets past his first-round match, will likely face top-seeded Noah Valastro of Hudson Falls. Valastro has 47 wins this season, and his only losses came at the prestigious Eastern States Classic.
Danny Gormley, 125 pounds
Making his fifth state tournament appearance, Gormley placed third a year ago, his best finish in the tournament. This year, Gormley is slotted as they number one seed, and faces Orpheus Rambharose of Riverdale in the first round. At the bottom of Gormley’s bracket is Tom Page of Eden, the number two seed and a third-place finisher in the state a season ago at 112 pounds.
Mike Beckwith, 145 pounds
The Greene sophomore was not able to repeat his sectional championship of a year ago, but earned a wild-card bid, and faces Steve O’Connor of Section VIII in his opener. If Beckwith wins, top-seeded Tyler Button of Phoenix is his likely opponent. Button was fourth last year in the state in this weight class. “Mike has seen (Button) before and likes his chances,” said Greene coach Tim Jenks. “He thinks he’ll be fine.”
Greg DuVall, 152 pounds
Our lone Section III entry, DuVall, who is the number four seed, makes his fourth appearance in the state tournament. DuVall won two matches a year ago, but fell one win short of placing among the top six. DuVall breezed through his sectional tournament earlier this month, and was not close to losing against Section III competition. His opening match is against Sam Patterson of Section VIII. If DuVall advances to Saturday’s semifinals, a possible matchup looms with Chris Nevinger of Letchworth, the 145-pound state champion last season.
Christian Dietrich, 152 pounds
The seventh-grade upstart only lost this season the cream of the crop outside of Section IV, and was especially impressive in the Eastern States Classic winning his first two matches against elite competition before bowing out due to injury. Dietrich missed about a month of mat time, but was near top form to win the first of what could be several Section IV championships. An interesting note: Every person in the 152-pound D-II bracket is either a junior or a senior. Dietrich will give up at least four years of age to all of his opponents. His first-round opponent is Brenden Ward of Gouverneur.
Keegan Cerwinski, 160 pounds
Cerwinski of Greene had little trouble garnering his first Section IV title blowing through his four wins without surrendering a point. A bonus for Cerwinski is that he is on the opposite side of the bracket of 2010 state champion Owen Scott of Palmyra-Macedon. Scott beat Cerwinski earlier this season at the Eastern States Classic, and didn’t give up a point. “If he gets that far (to the state finals), it’s going to be tough,” Jenks said of a potential bout with Scott
Paul Parsons, 160 pounds
After back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Section IV tournament, the B-G/A senior earned that elusive state tournament bid. He faces number two seed Nick Mitchell of Frewsburg. While Parsons has not always found himself on the top of the podium, he has typically wrestled well enough in just about every tournament he enters to find a way into the placement mix.
Vinnie Buttice, 171 pounds
The B-G/Afton grappler was not taken the distance in any of his sectional tournament wins to capture his first championship and make his foray into the state tourney. Buttice opens against Andrew Martinez of Section 10. Buttice is also on the same side of the bracket as defending state champion Craig Scott of Palmyra-Macedon. Buttice, if he wins his two matches Friday, would meet Scott in the semifinals.
Kurt Shear, 189 pounds
Shear, despite a sectional finals loss to Lansing’s Ryan Todd, earned the top seed in his weight class. The Greene senior earned seeding points during the season for beating Todd, second in the state last year, two times during the regular season. In those three meetings this season, two of them went to triple overtime, Jenks said. Shear did not fare well on the big stage last year, but gained confidence in a large tournament setting earlier this season with a fourth-place finish in the Eastern States Classic. Shear is pitted against Chris Euell of Section VIII in his opener. The potential is there for a fourth Shear-Todd meeting in the state finals as Todd is the number two seed.
Kyle Stanton, 215 pounds
Stanton, in just his second full season of varsity wrestling, is a legitimate threat to place high in the state tournament. A mistake in a tight match with Candor’s Chad Rose cost Stanton a chance to win a Section IV title. “He’s made big strides this year,” Jenks said. “He didn’t wrestle for two years, and came back last year and was second in the section.” Stanton was fifth in the Eastern States Classic earlier this season, and opens against Alex Aronovich of the Public Schools. Awaiting Stanton could be a matchup against Anthony Paratore of Section I, who was third in the Eastern States Classic. At the top of the bracket is Nick Gwiazdowski of Section II, the defending state champion at 215 pounds. Two wins on Friday for Stanton would set the stage for a likely matchup against Gwiazdowski.
Follow Patrick Newell on Twitter @evesunpat.
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