‘These guys get up for every single match’: Saratoga Wrestling Continues Strong Start

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga varsity wrestling team ended the 2022 calendar year on a strong note, cruising to a 66-4 win over Guilderland in the Blue Streaks’ final Suburban Council match before the new year.

The Blue Streaks improved to 3-1 in the Suburban Council with the victory, their second straight league win. Head coach Jake Zanetti was encouraged by the result, praising the squad for its ability to maintain their intensity from one match to the next.

“These guys get up for every single match,” said head coach Jake Zanetti. “We find some reason to get up for things, and make things personal, and go after anybody that we’re going to step on the mat with as a team.”

The Blue Streaks won 12 of 13 matches against the Dutchmen, and saw major contributions from several young wrestlers. Saratoga freshmen Luke Stoutenburg, Taylor Beaury, Danny Dacey, and Trey Edwards all wrestled above their typical weight classes in the win, Zanetti said.

“Those are all ninth-graders right there, all going up weight classes to try to do what’s best for the team,” Zanetti said. “For ninth-graders to go up weight classes and do what they did, winning three out of four of those, that’s a beautiful thing.”

Wrestling at 126 pounds, Stoutenburg pinned Guilderland’s Ryan Conklin at 0:35. Beaury, wrestling at 132 pounds, pinned Emerson Nezaj at 0:51, while Dacey wrestled at 138 pounds and pinned Jack Upton at 1:21. Edwards, at 145 pounds, lost an 8-0 decision to Daniel Ralston.

Saratoga junior Patrick McKinley pulled out a big victory at 215 pounds, with Zanetti saying he “probably had the match of the night,” in defeating Guilderland’s Antonio Cipollo by a 6-5 decision in the ultimate tiebreaker.

“For Pat to be in control of that match going into the third period, then go into overtime and then go into ultimate tiebreaker and still ride him out, showed some toughness and some fitness out of Pat, which we love to see,” said Zanetti. “He’s only been wrestling for two years.”

Zanetti also highlighted senior Vito Spadafora, who capped off the night with a strong victory over Dillon O’Brien, pinning the Guilderland senior at 5:12.

“He was battling all the way to the third period there,” Zanetti said. “For Vito to get six out of him, that was awesome. We’ve got some really great senior leadership out of those guys, and they know we want to gobble up every single point we can as a team. For them to set that tone and get after it was pretty sweet.”

Gordon Murray, Lorenzo Paleschi, and Gianni Delgado all earned wins via pinfall for the Blue Streaks. Senior Jack Dacey, wrestling at 285 pounds, earned a 1-0 decision over Guilderland’s Billy Pokeda. Benjamin Przedwiecki, Christopher Johnson, and Chase Matter each earned wins by forfeit for Saratoga.

The Blue Streaks had a short break for the holidays following the Dec. 21 victory, competing in the Windsor Christmas Tournament on Dec. 28, which Zanetti referred to as “one of the toughest tournaments in the state.”

Saratoga finished 7th out of 39 teams at the Windsor Tournament, with a team score of 91 points. Beaury, Paleschi, and Spadafora each advanced to the semi-finals in their respective weight classes, while Delgado advanced to the consolation finals at 160 pounds. 

“We’re basically just ramping up for January. I’m really selling January as a tough, grinder month,” said Zanetti. “Our tournament’s tough, we’re going to Schenectady, Shaker is tough. Then it’s just prepping us for championship season. Class As, sectionals, all that.”

Zanetti said the team’s strong start has been helped by their commitment to practicing with intensity.

“Just the level and intensity of our practices are way, way up there,” Zanetti said. “You can see we’re in good shape. We want to own the third period. We want to have that third period energy that other teams don’t have.

“We work hard, and we really try to hammer our fitness, day in and day out, whether it’s warmups or conditioning. Even drilling is fast-paced.”

The Blue Streaks’ start has garnered recognition throughout the state, with New York Wrestling News ranking the team 19th in Division 1 as of Jan. 2. However, Zanetti said the team will simply look to focus on what’s in front of them.

“(Rankings are) fun to look at, but we want to just wrestle whoever we’re wrestling that day, that night,” said Zanetti. “We want to get the results we want to get, and we want to put as many guys on the podium at sectionals and get into states as possible. If a ranking comes along with it, that’s cool. 

“But we know there’s a lot of really good teams out there. We’ve got to keep improving and working to get up to their level.”

Saratoga (3-1 Suburban Council) battled Niskayuna (0-4 Suburban Council) on Wednesday, in a match that ended after press time.