7 area wrestlers have state titles in their sights this weekend in Albany

Jon Rathbun, Times Telegram
·6 min read

Top wrestlers from across the state of New York are in Albany this weekend, pursuing the top honor the New York State Public High School Athletic Association has to offer their sport.

Competition starts in two divisions Friday morning at what is currently MVP Arena. Individual champions will be crowned in a Saturday evening session with the finals scheduled for a 6:05 p.m. start.

Several area wrestlers qualified for the state tournament as Section III champions, five from the Center State Conference and Tri-Valley League in Division II and two in Division I.

Holland Patent Golden Knight Jordan Koenig throws Lowville Academy's Sean Kelly to the mat during Division II's 172-pound final at the Section III championship meet Feb. 11 at SRC Arena. Koenig enters the state tournament this weekend as a No. 1 seed.
Holland Patent Golden Knight Jordan Koenig throws Lowville Academy's Sean Kelly to the mat during Division II's 172-pound final at the Section III championship meet Feb. 11 at SRC Arena. Koenig enters the state tournament this weekend as a No. 1 seed.

Jordan Koenig, Section III's 172-pound champion from Holland Patent, is the No. 1 seed in Division II while several other locals earned high seeds.

The reward for a top seed is a bye to the second of five rounds of competition leading to the state championship. Joining Koenig with a pass through the round of 32 are Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 152-pounder Charlie Foster and New Hartford/Sauquoit Valley 285-pounder Chris Belmonte in Division I, and the following Division II competitors: Koenig's Holland Patent teammate Trent True at 160 pounds, Central Valley Academy's Gene Edwards, Cooper Reed and Sixx Cook at 118, 138 and 152, Canastota's Culley Bellino at 132, Camden's Sean Seymore at 152, Dolgeville's Jared Bilinski at 189, and Adirondack's Colin White at 285.

Owen Hicks, Section II's Division 11 champion at 145 pounds, has a first round bye as a No. 3 seed. Hicks placed fourth in the state at the same weight last year. Teammate Jonathan Cranker, a wild card at 172 pounds, has a bye as the ninth seed and meets Sean Kelly from Section III as his first opponent with the winner advancing to the quarterfinal spot opposite Koenig should he win his first match.

Two other No. 1 seeds from Section III are undefeated returning 215-pound champion Sam Sorenson from Homer, and Copenhagen 118-pounder Chase Nevills in Division II. Nevills placed third last year.

Unbeaten Homer senior Sam Sorenson (right) competes with Adirondack Wildcat Isaac Croneiser during the 215-pound title bout at Section III's Division II tournament. He will defend the state championship he won last year this weekend.
Unbeaten Homer senior Sam Sorenson (right) competes with Adirondack Wildcat Isaac Croneiser during the 215-pound title bout at Section III's Division II tournament. He will defend the state championship he won last year this weekend.

More:Section 3 sends 26 to state wrestling: Here are the Mohawk Valley top performers

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Here is a look at the early schedules for local wrestlers, by division from the lightest weights to the heaviest.

Foster went to states at 145 pounds last year and has a No. 4 seed this year. He awaits the winner of an opening round match between No. 20 Anthony Lofaro from Section I Ossining and No. 13 LJ Welcome from Section II Averill Park.

Belmonte, a Section III champion as a freshman, follows graduated New Hartford/Sauquoit Valley teammate Charles Tibbitts' state championship into the top weight class. Like Tibbitts last year, Belmonte enters the state tournament unbeaten. As the No. 7 seed, Belmonte knows his first opponent will be junior Vincent Petzold from Section VIII Plainedge who also has a bye as the 10th seed among 21 Division I entries at 285.

Central Valley Academy eighth-grader Jacob Hurd is seeded 12th in Division II at 102 pounds and meets No. 21 Kevin Cusker from Section VIII Island Trees. Beaver River's Derek Walseman, the Section III champion, is seeded 11th and opens up against No. 22 Antonio Faldetta from Section XI Mt. Sinai.

Adirondack Wildcat Cole Croniser is No. 20 at 110 pounds and meets No. 13 Zachary Samuel from Section VIII Wheatley in his first match. Brock Frederick, the Section III champion from South Jefferson/Sandy Creek, is seeded ninth and meets No. 8 Dominjick Callara from Section VI Medina in the second round.

Croniser finished third at the Section III tournament and received a forfeit from Cazenovia's Evan Rutecki, the runner-up to Freguson, in a true second match to determin the section's second state tournament representative.

Central Valley Academy's Gene Edwards (top) and Copenhagen's Chase Nevills compete in the 118-pound Division II final at the Section III championship meet at SRC Arena. Both wrestlers are in Albany this weekend for the state tournament. Nevills is the No. 1 seed; Edwards is No. 5.
Central Valley Academy's Gene Edwards (top) and Copenhagen's Chase Nevills compete in the 118-pound Division II final at the Section III championship meet at SRC Arena. Both wrestlers are in Albany this weekend for the state tournament. Nevills is the No. 1 seed; Edwards is No. 5.

Edwards, beaten by Nevills in his sectional final, is the No. 5 seed at 118 and gets the winner of a match between Justin Mullis, the 12th seed from Section II Hudson Falls, and Victor Cusatis, the 21st from Section VI Wilson. Edwards finished fifth at 102 pounds at last year's state tournament.

Camden Blue Devil Kolten Kelley is the 11th seed at 126 and has a first round bout against No. 22 Joseph Rafferty from Rye Country Day. Section III champion Colin Scherer from Marcellus/Onondaga has the 10th seed and a bye to his match with No. 7 Jordan Joslyn from Section VI Chautauqua Lake/Westfield.

Bellino is seeded sixth at 132 pounds, one spot behind Section III champion Patrick Grimsey of Lowville Academy, and both have byes. Bellino opens against the winner of a bout between No. 11 Evan Shriberg from Section VIII Locust Valley and No. 22 Tim Boyce from Section IV Windsor.

Reed is seeded sixth, two spots behind the Section III champion, Jack Lamson from Jordan-Elbridge/Port Byron/Union Springs/Cato-Meridian. Reed, a wild card at the same weight last year, awaits the winner between No. 11 Martin Ohlsson from Section VI Chautauqua Lake/Westfield and No. 22 Thomas Palumbo from Section XI Shoreham-Wading River. Reed pinned Palumbo at the state dual meet tournament last year and Aden Mead pinned him at the Mountain Duals this season while Reed competed at 132.

Cook, a third-place finisher at 145 last year and sixth-plac finisher at 99 pounds in 2019, is seeded third this year at 152. He will wrestle either No. 14 Liam Rogers from Section XI Port Jefferson or No. 19 Gage Burgess from Section V Palmyra-Macedon. Seymore, seeded 10th, meets No. 7 John Watson who also has a bye from Section VI Chautauqua Lake/Westfield.

True is seeded eighth at 160 and squares off against No. 9 Luke Schirmacher from Section II Mechanicville/Stillwater who also has a bye. Adirondack's Raymond Hennessey, the winner of another true second match after his third place finish at sectionals, is seeded 15th and has a first round match against No. 18 Nicholas D'erasmo from Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy.

Koenig's second round opponent will be either No. 16 Marcus Colon from Section IX Chester or No. 17 Cayden Carter from Section X Malone.

Dolgeville's Jared Bilinski lifts Chittenango Bear Andrew Bailey (left) Feb. 11 during their 189-pound title bout at Section III's Division II championship meet. Bailey is seeded second with Biinski third for the state tournament this weekend.
Dolgeville's Jared Bilinski lifts Chittenango Bear Andrew Bailey (left) Feb. 11 during their 189-pound title bout at Section III's Division II championship meet. Bailey is seeded second with Biinski third for the state tournament this weekend.

Bilinski is the No. 3 seed at 189 with Section III champ Andrew Bailey from Chittenango ahead of him at No. 2. Bilinski gets the winner of a first round match between No. 14 Mason Maring from Section VI Chautauqua Lake/Westfield and No. 19 Maddox McComick from Section IX Port Jervis.

Bilinski finished fifth as a semifinalist at the same weight last year.

White is seeded sixth at 285 and gets the winner between No. 11 Logan Jamison from Section IV Marathon and No. 22 Will Rac from Hackley. Sherburne-Earlville Marauder Landon Andrade, yet another true second who placed third in the section, is seeded 18th and has a first round match against No. 15 Melkin Alfaro-Chavez from Section XI John Glenn.

The doors open for the early rounds Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. with competition slated to run until approximately 8 p.m. Saturday's early session - the tournament semifinals and consolation matches - also starts at 8:30 a.m. with the doors reopening at 5:15 p.m. for the finals.

Tickets must be purchased online through Ticketmaster at https://www.mvparena.com/events/detail/nysphsaa-wrestling-championships

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: 7 Section 3 wrestlers have state titles in their sights in Albany