SARATOGA SPRINGS — This season marks an important milestone in the legacy of Saratoga Springs High School sports: it is the 50th anniversary of the Blue Streaks wrestling team winning the program’s first-ever Section II team title in 1973.
Coming into the season-ending crowning tournament from a two-and-a-half year run that included just one loss and two conference championships, the Blase Iuliano-coached grapplers entered the Class A division showdown in Burnt Hills as one of three favorites to take the crown.
After two days of single elimination action, Saratoga’s undefeated team captain - and future All American - Jay Mulligan was joined in the final round by fellow seniors Bob Millis and Keith Potter, along with underclassmen standouts Kevin Mulligan, Jay Winchester and Korey Dismus.
Three champions emerged, with the elder Mulligan also taking the tourney MVP award.
Additional team points from earlier rounds were contributed by Tom Evans, Bob Perkins, Roy Lusk, Todd Henning and John Greenleaf.
The result was a narrow win over the competitive teams sent from Mount Pleasant, Shenendehowa, Scotia-Glenville and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
This breakthrough title achievement set the standard and paved the way for the local wrestling program, as succeeding classes repeated the accomplishment on several occasions and put even more hardware into the Blue Streak trophy case in the decades since.
