“Exactly What You Want in Any Athlete”: Saratoga Wrestler 18-1 This Season

SARATOGA SPRINGS — It took around one minute for Saratoga Springs varsity wrestler Danny Dacey to pin his foe and secure a gold medal at the Windsor Christmas Tournament on Dec. 29. 

It was an especially remarkable feat considering Dacey had previously finished third at the same tournament a year ago.

Dacey’s rapid rise is attributable to dedication and hard work, said his Coach Jake Zanetti, who described Dacey as “exactly what you want in any athlete, especially in wrestling.”

“He’s a super hard worker,” Zanetti continued. “He leads by example… He’s just doing everything right. He’s super dedicated.”

Zanetti credited Dacey, who as of press time had an 18-1 record this season, with leading the charge on 6 a.m. morning lifts for his team. “He’s not afraid to put in the extra work and be that guy,” Zanetti said.

At the Windsor Tournament, Dacey faced four opponents and pinned all of them. At the Lee Van Slyke Memorial Duals on Dec. 20, he pinned three more competitors, dispatching two of them in under a minute (one in 44 seconds, the other in 25). In one event after another this season, it’s been nothing but W’s for Dacey, until he placed 2nd at the Saratoga Invitational on Jan. 3, his only loss thus far.  

But the Blue Streaks as a whole captured their third-straight team title at that home tournament. Brendan Stoutenburg won his second-straight title at 110 lbs., and Chase Matter also took the top prize at 144 lbs. 

Matter was plagued by injuries last season but has made up for lost time, earning a 19-2 record this season as of Jan. 7. Stoutenberg, a defending Section 2 champion, is 18-4.

Zanetti said that his squad struggled a bit at the beginning of the season due to some of his athletes still playing football while the wrestling program was starting. (In December, the Blue Streaks competed in a state championship football game for only the second time in program history). But since then, things are starting to mesh, and the victories are piling up.

“We definitely dropped some early team losses, but we’re doing all the right things to hopefully set ourselves up for a good team and individual postseason,” said the coach.