It is time to move on
-
- February
- 18
I will make this clear, right here, right now, what happened Sunday with Brian DiBetta is over. Coach Swertfager and the John Jay staff will take care of it. So, from this point on, any more references to what DiBetta did will be removed.
We just concluded a great two days of wrestling with some outstanding matches. The wrestlers deserve all of the credit in the world for their accomplishments. Let’s discuss the great matches that we saw and other positive memorable moments, starting with the 135-pound final between Udit Thakur and Joe Hauser and the 145-pound final between John Coffey and Tom Antonioli.
How about the job by North Rockland senior Cristian Garcia in winning the 285-pound title. He lost to John Jay’s Larry Pico earlier in the year and pinned him in the first period, then took down top-seeded Sawyer Solis of RC Ketcham in the final. By the way, Pico and Solis were the second and first seeds, respectively.
Let’s not forget that Dominick Oddo joined an exclusive club when he won his 4th sectional title. He is one of only 11 wrestlers to accomplish this feat.
I guess everyone missed the great moment that Bill Swertfager shared with his son, after John won the 189-pound title, as the two embraced. John missed all of last year with a shoulder injury after placing third in the section as a sophomore. The same thing went for Croton-Harmon coach Sam Occhipinti, after his son, David, won the Division II 96-pound title.
What about the Burrow brothers – Egypt and Adjoni – from New Rochelle. Adjoni Burrows secured a late takedown to win the 103-pound consolation final for third place, then older brother Egypt secured a takedown in overtime to finish third at 152 pounds.
Westlake’s Jeff Miller and Nanuet’s Kevin Chee let their emotions show after winning the Division II 189-pound and 119-pound championships, respectively.
How about giving Chris Hernandez of Yonkers credit. After the controversial loss in the semifinals, Hernandez returned to win his consolation semifinal and finish third. He could have very easily said ‘The heck with this,’ and not given 100 percent, but Hernandez wrestled hard. It was also cool to see Hernandez holding Yonkers’ assistant coach Pete Vulpone’s infant daughter while watching matches.
There were many more memorable moments that I probably forgot to mention or missed because I was typing in results or interviewing wrestlers. For that I apologize, but let’s put all of the negative discussion behind us and focus on the state championships.
Thank you.
This entry was posted
on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 10:48 pm by Tony Pinciaro. 
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wow nice post. Hernandez is such a good kid with a lot of class.
That’s nice to see Hernandez get himself back together to beat Trumm after a bad call in the semi is very hard to do and at that point Trumm still had a chance for a wild card. Just one question why did Trumm not go to recive his medal on the award stand ? At 135 only the top 3 kid show up.
I would like to congratulate all of those kids whose names never get in the paper or on the blogs. They may not be the top seeded wrestlers with the most wins, but they wrestle their hardest and give their all. Sometimes they are faced with the daunting task of wrestling someone who is undefeated or tops in the section. Deep down they may know they’ll never win the match, but they still have the guts to go out their and take on their opponent. I hope that no matter what place they finished in, they are proud of themselves for trying hard and never giving up.
Good luck to all of those wrestlers headed to the States.
To Fan:
Apparently, you are not ready to move on.
Congrats to all wrestlers for a fantastic season from the start of the first tourney, through the dual-meet tournament, to an exciting post-season. Go get em at States Section 1.
Another fan.
Also loved watching the wrestler from Dobbs Ferry, whose name I foolishly don’t recall, winning the title bout and then gettting swarmed by his friends & family at the side of the mat with high 5’s and hugs afterwards. Gave me goosebumps… The thrill of a much deserved victory and it was great to see. Hope he goes far at the States, too.
Those were some of the greatest finals I have ever seen and i hope that John Coffey redeems himself at states and places top 6.
Wrestling not for wimps,
I agree with you when Sean Paul won the title it was great to see him being swarmed by his frineds and family, it shows that hard work pays off and hopefully he can pull of some W’s in the states
I also agree. Was great to see the support of the Dobbs Ferry wrestler. Good for him! Good for their program!
In an earlier blog, someone asked what was the most NYS Champs Sect 1 has had. I believe it was 1990 with 4. Anthony Alberti Hen Hud 91 lbs won his second State title. Anthony was the only repeat champ that year. Going undefeated for the 88/89 & 89/90 seasons. At the time Alberti became only the second Sect 1 wrestler to win 2 State Championshps along with Mt Vernons Jim Davis. I believe he won in 66 &67. Then there was Juan_Carlos Garcia from Sleepy Hollow and David Hirsch from Clarkstown So, He was also the only Sect 1 wrestler ever to win a Div 1 NCAA Championship “94” while at Cornell. Then there was Emilio Collins from Tappan Zee.
david hirsch the real deal,is he the only section 1 wrestler ever to win the ncaa’s?
wow i did not know that!thats crazy,i wish i could meet him.
How about James Brundage? All American. Great kid. Great Competitor. Smart. Good grades. The real deal.
Good luck, James. I’m looking forward to seeing you win States, and much, much more.
win states at 160, your out of your mind
Hirsch is the only d1 national champ. Mike helm from rck was d3 champ in 2000, and i think chris mattioti the suffern coach was d3 champ at ithica
Along with Hirsch and Matteotti…
Bucky Smith (Mt. Vernon)- NCAA Division II Champion (Morgan State) – 1980. And same year, NCAA Division I Runnerup (Back when the DII Champions were qualified to wrestle in the D1 tournament.
USA Olympic alternate – 1980
Here’s a list and some statistics for Section 1 All-State wrestlers from 1963 to present.
http://www.sectiononewrestling.com/documents/section_one_state_placefinishers.html
1980 we didnt participate in the moscow olympics, where there still qualifiers? I wasnt even born yet lol anyone give me a story about that thanks
whats with all the useless random trivia from joe b.? someone needs a hobby.
Coach warren:
President Carter decided we should boycott the Moscow Olympics in 1980 because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Trials were held, the team was selected and ready to go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American-led_boycott_of_the_1980_Summer_Olympics
Sho E. Nuff….Somebody asked and I replied. Glad it annoys you . Annoying people like you is ny hobby.
Any idea when the wild cards will be announced and do they post them on a website?