WRESTLING: Velez rallies to place third at state tournament

By Mike Wertman

ROCHESTER — Bouncing back strongly from a narrow semifinal round loss, Medina High senior Eric Velez (125 pounds) scored a pair of consolation bracket victories to earn third-place honors over the weekend in Division II (small schools) of the state wrestling championships for the second year in a row.

Medina also had senior Richard Dawson (189) place sixth, as senior Nick Joy (160), sophomore Dominic Montesanti (130) and freshman Dylan Duncanson (135) rounded out the Mustangs’ large five member contingent to the state championships held at the Blue Cross Arena.

Dropping into the consolation bracket via a 3-2 semifinal setback to Garrett Morabito (Susquehanna Valley, Section IV), Velez battled back to edge Bucky Hendrickson (Letchworth, Section V) 6-4 in overtime and Genta Murayama (Edgemont, Section I) 7-5 to take third place.

“It was hard to come back but I had to. My coaches said keep going,” said Velez, who outlasted Hendrickson with a takedown in overtime and then nipped Murayama with a third period takedown that snapped a 4-4 tie.

“It’s hard mentally to come back after a tough loss and Eric was devastated by the semifinal loss but he showed his character in coming back like that,” Medina coach Eric Gross said. “I’m very proud of him for coming back like that. He showed what he is made of.”

Velez opened the tourney strong building to a 7-2 lead after two periods in route to a 9-6 win over Mark Creedon (Locust Valley). He registered takedowns in each period and a near fall in the second.

Keeping the momentum, Velez then scored an 11-4 quarterfinal win over Brett Sewalt (Waverly, Section IV) who placed second at 103 last year. He registered three takedowns to build up a 6-2 lead after two periods and clinched the win with a reversal and a takedown in the third.

“I just kept moving, kept my hands moving,” Velez said. “Getting those early takedowns were very important.”

“Eric wrestled his style on his feet and his confidence grew,” Gross said. “Those early takedowns took the other guy out of his game plan.”

However, in the semis, Velez could score only one takedown, in the first period, and Morabito rallied for a third period takedown and a 3-2 win dropping Velez into the consolation bracket.

“He just relaxed for a second,” Gross said of the third period takedown given up by Velez. “He needed to get another takedown, to score again, that’s what he needed but he couldn’t get it.”

Velez, though, rebounded with two narrow wins to claim third place honors and finish the season at 46-3.

Dawson places sixth

Dawson likewise got off to a strong tourney start by decisioning Dan Fruscella (Holland Patent, Section III) 8-3 with takedowns in both the second and third periods.

“That’s the way to get the day rolling,” Dawson said.

However, the quarterfinals saw Dawson drop a 7-2 decision to Nate Schiedl (Caledonia-Mumford, Section V) who placed third at 171 last year. Schiedel scored a takedown in each period.

“Richard wrestled hard,” Gross said.

Dawson rebounded with a pair of consolation round victories, 7-0 over Lou Emden (Johnstown, Section II) and 8-1 over Neil Newton (Falconer).

Back-to-back losses of 7-2 to Chris Nocchi (Waverly, Section IV) and 3-1 to Rob Piscitello (Locust Valley) though saw Dawson finish in sixth place.

“I gave it my best shot and it’s been a great experience,” Dawson said.

“Richard has come a long way,” Gross said. “The way he battled back to place shows what a good wrestler he has become. He just never quits.”

Joy goes 2-2

Joy opened the tourney in high gear pinning Nick Carlisi (Locust Valley) in 3:42.

“I came out ready to go, got the first points and got the momentum rolling,”Joy said.

However, Joy was then pinned himself in the quarterfinals by Ryan Leblanc (Morrisville Eaton, Section III).

Rebounding, Joy scored a 3-1 overtime win over Eddie Koziel (Ripley) in the consolation bracket before being eliminated by Pat Carter (Attica) by an 8-2 decision.

“It’s great to have made it this far and have the opportuity to compete at the states,” Joy said.

Montesanti, Duncanson

face defending champs

Both Montesanti and Duncanson lost opening round matches to defending state champions.

Montesanti lost 10-0 to Ian Paddock (Warsaw, Section V) and Duncanson was pinned in 3:58 by Alex Ekstra (Palmyra-Macedon, Section V).

Both wrestlers rebounded to score a consolation-round win before being eliminated. Montesanti decisioned Andrew Manor (Northern Adirondack, Section VII) 4-0 before being pinned by Trent Johnston (Ripley) in 2:32.

Duncanson decisioned Gerald Keegan (Port Jefferson, Section XI) 8-2 before bowing 8-3 to John Gochenour (Galway, Section II)

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