ALBANY — Varsity wrestlers across New York State traveled to Albany’s MVP Arena this past weekend for the NYSPHSAA Individual State Championships on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. A handful of wrestlers from Burnt Hills, Ballston Spa, and Saratoga Springs competed for a spot on the podium.
The state championships are set up with wrestleback brackets, which gives wrestlers who lose in the championship bracket a second chance; wrestlers who lose to championship bracket losers are eliminated.
Burnt Hills, Section 2 Class B Champions, had 6 out of 7 wrestlers advance to the second day of the tournament:
Liam Carlin, 3rd seed in the 126-bracket, made it to the semifinal round of the championship, where he fell to 2nd seed Brayden Fahrback from Mount Sinai in a 3-0 decision. Carlin took 4th overall after a 2-0 decision in the 3rd place match against Isaias Torres from Queens.
Gabriel Goss, seeded 6th, and Tyler Rossini, seeded 10th, battled back for 7th place finishes in their respective back brackets of 132 and 138. Tyler Whitley (110) placed 8th in his back bracket.
Rossini and Ryan Buthfer, who competed in the 172-bracket the first day of the tournament, are the only seniors on the team.
Three Ballston Spa wrestlers made it to the state tournament, and all placed in their wrestleback brackets:
Ralph Keeney, 4th seed in the 102-bracket, placed 5th overall. Keeney lost his first match by a 4-2 decision against Massapequa Park’s Carlos Arango. Keeney then battled back with four wins in the back bracket before falling to 2nd seed Luke Satriano from Valley Central. Keeney got a second shot against Arango in the 5th place match and was secured his spot on the podium with a 4-2 decision in his favor.
Connor Gregory, seeded 5th, and Darrien Insogna, seeded 12th, had 7th place finishes for Ballston Spa.
The Blue Streaks also sent three wrestlers to states:
Sachiel Chuckrow (16) and Gordon Murray (152) were eliminated during the first day of the tournament, but Taylor Beaury, seeded 12th, fell out of the back bracket after a 2-1 decision in favor of his opponent, Starpoint’s Griffin LaPlante who was the No. 1 seed in the 132-bracket.
The NYSPHSAA Individual State Championships conclude the 2021-2022 wrestling season for most New York high school varsity programs. The High School Nationals, where varsity wrestlers from across the country compete to become All-Americans, is the next, taking place March 25-27 in Virginia Beach, VA.
