Six CSC, TVL wrestlers advance to state tournament semifinals

ALBANY – A handful of the area’s top high school wrestlers remain alive in the state championship hunt, having advanced to the semifinals in their weight classes during the first day of competition Friday at MVP Arena.

Holland Patent sophomore Andrew Juliano, Sherburne-Earlville junior Landon Andrade, Cooperstown/Milford senior TJ O’Connor, Little Falls Mason Rowley, Vernon-Verona-Sherrill senior Charlie Foster and Mt. Markham senior Dom Jones have all reached their Final Four in Division II competition.

The semifinals will be contested along with wrestlebacks to start the day in Saturday’s morning session. The semifinal winners will compete for championships in the second session of the day with the doors opening at 5:15 p.m.

Sherburne-Earlville Marauder Jackson Moore battles Maverick Beckwith from Section IV Norwich in a 108-pound quarterfinal match during the first day of the NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships at Albany’s MVP Arena.

More: Seeds released for 2024 NYSPHSAA Division I, II championship wrestling tournament

Juliano, seeded fifth at 101 pounds, earned a spot in the semifinals with a 5-2 quarterfinal decision against Colin LoGalbo, the No. 4 seed from Little Falls, in a rematch from Section III’s Division II final two weeks ago. The pair had also met at the Leo J. Sammon Jr Memorial Tournament in Ilion in January with Juliano winning that match.LoGalbo had pinned Juliano for his sectional title.

Juliano’s semifinal opponent will be No. 1 seed Declan McKee, a freshman from Section IV Tioga. Mason Tanner, a freshman from Section III Jordan-Elbridge/Port Byron/Union Springs/Cato-Meridian, and senior Jakob Lucinski, the No. 2 seed from Newfane, are the other semifinalists.

O’Connor also has a No. 1 seed from Tioga next, 2023 138-pound champion and 2022 132-pound finalist Caden Bellis. O’Connor, seeded fifth, pinned No. 4 Henry Martin from Croton-Harmon early in the third period of his quarterfinal.

O’Connor broke Packy Burke’s Cooperstown record with his 193rd career victory Friday.

The other semifinal at 152 pits Section III champion Tavian Camper of Copenhagen, the third-place finisher last year at 145, against Vadavian Way of Gouverneur.

Camper’s teammate Chase Nevils, a state champion last year at 118 pounds, is also a semifinalist as the No. 2 seed at 124, having pinned Gene Edwards from Central Valley Academy in a quarterfinal rematch from the Section III finals.

Rowley, the No. 2 seed at 160, held his seed with a major decision in his first match and a 3-0 win over Ryan Ross from Port Jervis in the quarterfinals. His semifinal opponent will be Jacob Stephenson from Wilson, the sixth seed who pinned No. 3 Beau Zeh from Canisteo-Greenwoood in his quarterfinal. Ousmane Duncanson, an unbeaten No. 1 seed from Tioga and two-time state champion (160 last year, 152 in 2022), wrestles teammate Drew Macumber in the other semifinal.

Rowley missed last season with an injury but won three state tournament matches at 152 pounds as a sophomore sectional champion in 2022.

Foster, a fifth-place Division I finisher at 152 last year, is the third seed at 170 in Division II and advanced with a technical fall and a second period pin of Neves Hoose from Southwestern Friday. His semifinal opponent is Tavyn Macdonell, the No. 2 seed from Bolivar-Richburg and the runner-up to Duncanson at 160 last year. The other semifinal features Braidon Woodward, the No. 1 seed from Palmyra-Macedon, and Jack Lamson from Jordan-Elbridge/Port Byron/Union Springs/Cato-Meridian.

Mt. Markham Mustang Jones recorded one of Friday’s bigger upsets. After pinning his first opponent in less than one minute, he pinned No. 2 seed Matthew Oosterom from Port Jervis at the end of the first period in the Round of 16. He followed that with a 47-secod pin of in the quarterfinals, earning a spot in the class’s Final Four after starting as the No. 18 seed.

Oosterom finished fourth at 215 last year.

Jones’ semifinal opponent will be Mason Maring from Chautauqua Lake, the No. 6 seed who advanced with a win over South Lewis Falcon Matthew Marks who had previously eliminated the third seed.

The other semifinal features No. 1 seed Sean Kelly, another Section III wrestler from Lowville Academy, and Matt Trim from Maple Grove. Kelly was a 6-4 winner over Jones in the sectional title bout.

Sherburne-Earlville’s Andrade, the No. 1 seed at 285, pinned both of his Friday opponents in the first period, including a quarterfinal win over Central Valley Academy’s Jeremy McRedmond in a sectional final rematchAndrade’s semifinal opponent is Troy Beeman from Waverly. The other semifinal pits Gabe Sounderaraj from Windsor against unbeaten William Wortkoetter from Wilson, the No. 2 seed.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Six CSC, TVL wrestlers advance to state tournament semifinals