Four Shenendehowa wrestlers have advanced to Saturday’s semifinal round at the New York State High School Championships at the Times Union Center.
Max Miller (125 pounds), Nick Kelley (130), James Carucci (140) and Tony Fusco (189) all won their two Friday bouts to reach the Division I (large school) semifinals and a guaranteed top-six finish.
Miller scored a first-period pin against Corning’s Greg Partridge in his opening round bout and then defeated Warwick Valley’s Kyle Wierzbicki 9-4 in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis against top-seeded Anthony Abidini of Half Hollow Hills East.
Kelley recorded a pair of pins in his first day of action. He caught Brant Page of Horseheads late in the second round of their opening-round bout, and then he pinned Lancaster’s Timothy Schaefer midway through the second round to win his quarterfinal match. Kelley meets top-seeded Steven Rodriguez of Fox Lane in the semis.
Carucci took a tougher route to the semifinals. He held on for a 3-1 victory over Mark Swertfager of John Jay-Cross River in the opening round and pulled out a 5-4 win against Adam Lepkowski of Mahopac in the quarterfinals. Carucci meets top-seeded Adam Lepkowsky of Hauppauge in the semifinals.
Fusco has also battled his way into the semis. He edged Massapequa’s Conor Wetzel 4-2 and defeated John Glenn’s Joe Giarmita 11-6 to get to Saturday’s bout with top-seeded Joe Kavanaugh of Wantagh.
Shen’s David Almaviva (135) and Cole Lampman (285) both lost in the quarterfinals, while Mike Almaviva (215) fell in the opening round.
Other Section II Division I wrestlers still in the running for a state title include Amsterdam’s Brandon Lapi (103), LaSalle’s Connor Sutton (140), Queensbury’s Matt Lashway (171) and Colonie’s Joe Shell (171).
Shell has been impressive in his state tournament debut. The senior pinned Arlington’s Thor McHugh in the opening round and then defeated Pittsford’s Ian Solcz 17-7 in the quarterfinals. Shell meets Hauppauge’s Chanse Menendez in Saturday’s semifinal round.
Five Section II wrestlers advanced to the state semifinals in Division II (small schools) — two of which come from Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk.
Andy Lyman (125) had to work hard to get through to the semis for the second consecutive year. The senior defeated Eden’s Alex Smythe 2-0 in the opening round and edged South Jefferson’s Jared Crast 3-2 in the quarterfinals. Lyman seeks his first state finals appearance Saturday when he wrestles Windsor’s Colton Perry.
A.J. Rue (135) made quick work of his first two opponents to reach the state semis in his first trip to Albany. Rue pinned Mineola’s Matt Long 3:27 into his opening-round bout and caught Clifton-Fine’s Evan Popham early in the second period of their quarterfinal match. Rue meets Wesley Blanding of Chittenango in Saturday’s semifinal round.
Loudonville Christian’s Brian Walsh (152) is back in the state semifinals. Walsh defeated Onteora’s Donald Vanburen 12-1 and Greene’s Christian Dietrich 11-3 to get to Saturday’s semifinal against Medina’s Tristan Hamner.
The other two Section II representatives in the Division II semifinals are Duanesburg’s Nick Gwiazdowski (215) and Hudson Falls’ Luke Albrecht (285).`