NYS Wrestling

NYS Wrestling Championships this weekend in Albany

ALBANY — The Livingston Conference will be well represented this Friday and Saturday at the New York State Wrestling Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany.

Nine wrestlers from the LCAA will be making the trip, including eight Supersectional champions.

Perry’s Corey Hollister (106); Warsaw’s Austin Keough (113); Letchworth’s Austin Hedges (145) and Chris Nevinger (160); Warsaw’s Burke Paddock (170) and Tim Schaefer (182); Avon’s Bryce Mazurowski (195); and Hornell’s Zack Bacon (220) all captured automatic berths with their first place finishes at Supersectionals.

Letchworth’s Jeff Day, who placed third at Supers, received a wildcard entry at 182 pounds.

The junior Hollister (40-4) received the No. 4 seed at 106 pounds and will take on Michael Menzer, a junior from Center Moriches (Sec. XI) in the first round. If Hollister can get by his first two matches he would most likely take on top-seeded Lucas Malmberg, a senior from Marathon (Sec. IV).

Malmberg is the defending state champion at 96 pounds.

The junior Keough is making his fifth appearance at the state meet as he enters the 113-pound division as the No. 3 seed. Keough placed fourth at the state meet a year ago in the same weight class.

Keough will take on sophomore Laken Cook, of Illion (Sec. III) in his first round bout before a possible quarterfinal showdown with the winner of Nate Hayes (Windsor) and Ryan Kromer (Lewiston Porter). If Keough wins his first two matches his semifinal opponent would most likely be John Asianian, a junior from Edgemont (Sec. I), who placed at 103 pounds a year ago.

Hedges, a Letchworth junior, raised his record to 38-3 with his 145-pound victory at Supers.

Entering his first state meet unseeded, Hedges will take on No. 5 seeded Kyle Halladay, a junior from Chenango Valley (Sec. IV) in the first round.

Halladay is 33-1 on the season.

All eyes will be on Nevinger (45-0) this weekend as the Letchworth senior will seek his third straight state title as he will be the No. 1 seed in the 160-pound class.

The UB-bound Nevinger will take on junior Justin Kellett, of Northern Adirondack (Sec. VII) in the first round before a quarterfinal match with the winner of Mike Boyle (Dobbs Ferry) and Joe Massaro (Mineola) looming.

Nevinger’s toughest opponent might not come until the finals where he’s expected to face either Jared Soule, of Sandy Creek (Sec. III) or Aaron Dudley, of Hudson Falls (Sec. II).

Soule finished fifth at 152 pounds a year ago while Dudley was sixth at 145 pounds.

Soule, a senior is 35-2 on the season while Dudley, also a senior is 43-1 overall.

Paddock, a sophomore with a 44-2 record this year including 35 pins or technical falls, will be the No. 4 seed in a very competitive 170-pound weight class.

Paddock will meet Isaiah Blake, a junior from Baruch (PSAL) in the first round before taking on the winner of Troy Seymour (Peru) and Tomasz Fillipkowski (Mattituck) in the quarterfinals. Paddock’s much-anticipated semifinal match will most likely be against Nick Mitchell, a senior from Frewsburg (Sec. VI).

Mitchell, who took third at 160 pounds a year ago, is 42-0 on the season including a 7-3 victory over Paddock Jan. 6.

Paddock’s only other loss came to No. 3 seeded Zach Zupan, of Canastota (Sec. III) who beat him 5-3 Jan. 13. Zupan is 39-1 on the season.

Schaefer, a Lancaster (Sec. VI) transfer, will also be making his fifth straight trip to the state meet, the previous four at the D-I level.

The junior Schaefer will be the No. 3 seed at 182 pounds and will meet Section XI’s Brian Loskamp (Babylon) in his first round.

If Schaefer wins his first two bouts, his semifinal opponent will most likely be No. 2 seeded Keegan Cerwinski, a senior from Greene (Sec. IV).

Cerwinski, who is 32-3 on the season, placed sixth at 160 pounds a year ago. Cerwinski beat Schaefer 1-0 in a tournament Jan. 13.

Cerwinski’s opening match will be no easy shore as he will face Letchworth junior Jeff Day in the first round.

Day is 41-10 on the season.

Avon’s Bryce Mazurowski raised his record to 43-1 when he captured the 195-pound Supersectional title two weeks ago.

The junior didn’t get any help when the seedings committee met last Saturday as Mazurowski, despite having the most wins of any wrestler in his weight class, was only given the No. 8 seed and will meet No. 9 seeded sophomore Dustin Mackenzie, of Onteora (Sec. IX) in his first round match.

“I think Bryce should have been seeded much higher — not sure what they (seedings committee) were looking at,” said Avon coach Andy Englert. “But after the seedings came out I talked with Bryce and he doesn’t have any issue with it. He’s ready to go and is excited about anyone he faces.”

If Mazurowski wins his first round bout, he will most likely face top-seeded Ryan Todd, a senior from Lansing (Sec. IV) in the quarterfinals. Todd placed second at 189 pounds a year ago and is 28-1 on the season.

Hornell’s Zack Bacon raised his record to 28-1 on the season as the jacked up Red Raider dominated the 220-pound division at Supersectionals pinning Alfred-Almond’s Travis Harvey in just 47 seconds in the title match.

Bacon received the No. 3 seed at the state meet and will meet Matt Acevedo, a sophomore from Pawling (Sec. I) in the first round. A victory would put Bacon in the quarterfinals against the winner of Mike Silvis (Holley) and Travis Conklin (Canastota). If Bacon gets by his first two matches, a semifinal match with Tioga (Sec. IV) senior Nick Talcott looms.

Talcott is 33-4 on the season. One of his losses was to Sodus junior Jose Aquilera.

Ironically, Bacon pinned Aquilera in just 32 seconds in the Supersectionals.