Nine local wrestlers head to state tournament
There are wrestlers who are single-minded at the state wrestling tournament, then there are those who are just happy to be there. Chenango County’s wrestlers fall into the former category.
Greene head coach, Tim Jenks, has guided wrestlers to the state tournament the past two-plus decades, and has four young men heading to the mats at the Times Union Arena Friday when preliminary action begins at 10 a.m.
“We’ve said all year that we don’t want to just be there,” Jenks said of his team philosophy. “We’re not there just to place, we’re there to win it. As a junior, of course placing is great. But if you’re a senior, you have to be thinking about winning it. Nobody remembers the runner-up, and it’s something you can always look back on if you can win it.”
Norwich coach Joe Downey has his kids thinking the same thing. Downey himself was a four-time Section IV champion who was a runner-up after his junior season. Downey was a clearcut favorite his senior year, but following his final sectional title, suffered an injury in practice a few days before his final state tourney that kept him from realizing his dream. He knows better than most that second chances are not always a given, and you must believe you can win the tournament before stepping on the mat.
“There are people who walk into the arena (for the state tournament), and they are overwhelmed,” Downey said. “You can’t have that attitude. You have to go in knowing you’re the best and that no one can beat you. You can’t let anyone intimidate you, and if you have that mindset, you’ll do just fine.”
Chenango County sports a nine-man contingent from Greene, Norwich, Oxford, and B-G/Afton with better than half of the wrestlers with state tournament experience. Greene’s Mike Beckwith (160), Keegan Cerwinski (182), and Kyle Stanton (220) are making either their second or third trip to the D-2 championships, while Norwich’s Tristan Rifanburg (126) and Frankie Garcia (132) are veteran returners.
Rifanburg, just a freshman, is clearly the most decorated of all local wrestlers. He won a state title as a seventh-grader, and was the 112-pound state runner-up a season ago. The NHS plebe is the number two seed in his bracket with 2011 state champion Nick Tighe of Phoenix at the top of the bracket.
Rifanburg is part of what is possibly the deepest and most talented weight division in the tournament. Also featured in the weight class are three-time state place-winner Corey Dake of Lansing, and Ardsley’s Drew Longo. Rifanburg edged Longo in the state tournament in 2010 and 2011, the first of those wins for the 96-pound state title.
With Longo the third seed, a pair of Friday wins may lead to a third meeting with Longo. “It seems like we keep meeting up with (Longo),” Downey said. “Tristan could also have a really tough quarterfinals match. We just need to take each match as they come. (Tristan’s) really focused. He’s been there, done that, and is mentally ready.”
Rifanburg and Cerwinski are number two seeds in their respective divisions. Stanton, though, is one of two local grapplers earning the top seeds. The other, Oxford sophomore Joe Nelson (99), is making his first appearance in the state tournament.
Stanton’s battles with injuries since he was in middle school have conspired against his wrestling progress. He didn’t wrestle for several years due to a birth defect in his vertebrae, but was eventually cleared by doctors to return to the sport as a sophomore. In his third full season, he is now considered the person to beat. “He has proved a lot to himself, and eking out some close wins over tough kids have given him a lot of confidence,” Jenks said of Stanton. “He’s smart and he’s mat savvy. He’s been in every wrestling competition I can think of. He’s primed for it and he’s ready.”
Nelson has taken a divergent path from the typical wrestlers of today. He didn’t participate in pee wee and junior tournaments, and only switched to the sport from basketball in middle school at the urging of the Oxford wrestling coaching staff. Too small to meet the minimum weight standards until his freshman year, Nelson is 31-1 this year and is 63-6 over his two varsity seasons.
“We’re trying to treat it like any other tournament,” said Oxford coach Craig Tefft, a two-time state meet participant during his high school career at Oxford. “Being the number one seed is nice, but at this weight class, you never really know what you’re going to get.”
A year-long wrestler, Nelson has not shied away from competition and has not taken one forfeit among his 31 wins this year. He is also training with returning state champions Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks) and Lucas Malmberg (Marathon) in preparation for his first state tourney appearance. “Wrestling with those guys keeps Joe on an even keel,” Tefft said. “He’s had some great workouts, and those workouts (with Kelly and Malmberg) have kept him humble. It’s good to know that just 30 miles down the road there are guys that are just as good as you are. It keeps you motivated.”
Just like Rifanburg, Beckwith is a three-time state tourney qualifier. Beckwith (17-0) has missed at least half the season due to injury, but after a month off the mat, powered his way to his second sectional title. Cerwinski, sixth in the state last year, is joined by teammate Dan Dickman (152), who is the lone “green” Greene wrestler. Dickman toiled much of the year at 145 pounds before moving up to 152 after Beckwith decided to stay at 160. “(Dan) was sucking a lot of weight and feeling tired all of the time,” Jenks said. “He was having trouble getting through practices. It made no sense to do that, and I told him to go to the weight where he was most comfortable.”
Greene’s four champions, Nelson, and Rifanburg earned automatic bids to the state tournament with sectional championships. Earning at-large berths were Garcia, senior Kegan Levesque of Norwich and B-GA’s Mark Viviano. Levesque and Viviano finished second and third respectively in the 195-pound division. Each had multiple sectional tournament placements, and amassed enough qualifying points to make the 16-person bracket.
Following preliminaries, quarterfinals are scheduled Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and semifinals are slated for a 10 a.m. start on Saturday.
Greene head coach, Tim Jenks, has guided wrestlers to the state tournament the past two-plus decades, and has four young men heading to the mats at the Times Union Arena Friday when preliminary action begins at 10 a.m.
“We’ve said all year that we don’t want to just be there,” Jenks said of his team philosophy. “We’re not there just to place, we’re there to win it. As a junior, of course placing is great. But if you’re a senior, you have to be thinking about winning it. Nobody remembers the runner-up, and it’s something you can always look back on if you can win it.”
Norwich coach Joe Downey has his kids thinking the same thing. Downey himself was a four-time Section IV champion who was a runner-up after his junior season. Downey was a clearcut favorite his senior year, but following his final sectional title, suffered an injury in practice a few days before his final state tourney that kept him from realizing his dream. He knows better than most that second chances are not always a given, and you must believe you can win the tournament before stepping on the mat.
“There are people who walk into the arena (for the state tournament), and they are overwhelmed,” Downey said. “You can’t have that attitude. You have to go in knowing you’re the best and that no one can beat you. You can’t let anyone intimidate you, and if you have that mindset, you’ll do just fine.”
Chenango County sports a nine-man contingent from Greene, Norwich, Oxford, and B-G/Afton with better than half of the wrestlers with state tournament experience. Greene’s Mike Beckwith (160), Keegan Cerwinski (182), and Kyle Stanton (220) are making either their second or third trip to the D-2 championships, while Norwich’s Tristan Rifanburg (126) and Frankie Garcia (132) are veteran returners.
Rifanburg, just a freshman, is clearly the most decorated of all local wrestlers. He won a state title as a seventh-grader, and was the 112-pound state runner-up a season ago. The NHS plebe is the number two seed in his bracket with 2011 state champion Nick Tighe of Phoenix at the top of the bracket.
Rifanburg is part of what is possibly the deepest and most talented weight division in the tournament. Also featured in the weight class are three-time state place-winner Corey Dake of Lansing, and Ardsley’s Drew Longo. Rifanburg edged Longo in the state tournament in 2010 and 2011, the first of those wins for the 96-pound state title.
With Longo the third seed, a pair of Friday wins may lead to a third meeting with Longo. “It seems like we keep meeting up with (Longo),” Downey said. “Tristan could also have a really tough quarterfinals match. We just need to take each match as they come. (Tristan’s) really focused. He’s been there, done that, and is mentally ready.”
Rifanburg and Cerwinski are number two seeds in their respective divisions. Stanton, though, is one of two local grapplers earning the top seeds. The other, Oxford sophomore Joe Nelson (99), is making his first appearance in the state tournament.
Stanton’s battles with injuries since he was in middle school have conspired against his wrestling progress. He didn’t wrestle for several years due to a birth defect in his vertebrae, but was eventually cleared by doctors to return to the sport as a sophomore. In his third full season, he is now considered the person to beat. “He has proved a lot to himself, and eking out some close wins over tough kids have given him a lot of confidence,” Jenks said of Stanton. “He’s smart and he’s mat savvy. He’s been in every wrestling competition I can think of. He’s primed for it and he’s ready.”
Nelson has taken a divergent path from the typical wrestlers of today. He didn’t participate in pee wee and junior tournaments, and only switched to the sport from basketball in middle school at the urging of the Oxford wrestling coaching staff. Too small to meet the minimum weight standards until his freshman year, Nelson is 31-1 this year and is 63-6 over his two varsity seasons.
“We’re trying to treat it like any other tournament,” said Oxford coach Craig Tefft, a two-time state meet participant during his high school career at Oxford. “Being the number one seed is nice, but at this weight class, you never really know what you’re going to get.”
A year-long wrestler, Nelson has not shied away from competition and has not taken one forfeit among his 31 wins this year. He is also training with returning state champions Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks) and Lucas Malmberg (Marathon) in preparation for his first state tourney appearance. “Wrestling with those guys keeps Joe on an even keel,” Tefft said. “He’s had some great workouts, and those workouts (with Kelly and Malmberg) have kept him humble. It’s good to know that just 30 miles down the road there are guys that are just as good as you are. It keeps you motivated.”
Just like Rifanburg, Beckwith is a three-time state tourney qualifier. Beckwith (17-0) has missed at least half the season due to injury, but after a month off the mat, powered his way to his second sectional title. Cerwinski, sixth in the state last year, is joined by teammate Dan Dickman (152), who is the lone “green” Greene wrestler. Dickman toiled much of the year at 145 pounds before moving up to 152 after Beckwith decided to stay at 160. “(Dan) was sucking a lot of weight and feeling tired all of the time,” Jenks said. “He was having trouble getting through practices. It made no sense to do that, and I told him to go to the weight where he was most comfortable.”
Greene’s four champions, Nelson, and Rifanburg earned automatic bids to the state tournament with sectional championships. Earning at-large berths were Garcia, senior Kegan Levesque of Norwich and B-GA’s Mark Viviano. Levesque and Viviano finished second and third respectively in the 195-pound division. Each had multiple sectional tournament placements, and amassed enough qualifying points to make the 16-person bracket.
Following preliminaries, quarterfinals are scheduled Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and semifinals are slated for a 10 a.m. start on Saturday.
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