Wrestling: Nanuet takes team title, Putnam Valley's Carano sets record; sectional winners

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MONTROSE - In wrestling, it's really isn't about how you start, but how you finish.

The old adage has been thrown around numerous times, but it couldn't be more fitting to describe Nanuet's season. The Golden Knights missed out on the Section 1 Division II Dual Meet Tournament finals after making it back-to-back years, then got dethroned as team champs at the Rockland County championships, all frustrating moments that fueled them to get better.

It culminated in a strong team-wide showing at the Section 1 Division II championships at Hen Hud on Saturday, where they captured the team title.

"Beginning of the season, we didn't win the sectional (dual meet) tournament, and weren't happy with that," Nanuet 118-pound section champ Ethan Badillo said. "Since then, we have not lost a single dual meet, because we worked our butts off and we know what we're worth. We earned that."

Results: Full round-by-round results for the Section 1 Division II tournament

Large-school sectionals: Round-by-round results for the Section 1 Division I tournament

Small-school preview: Full class-by-class preview for the Section 1 Division II championships

Led by three Section 1 Division II champs, Badillo, John Parisi (110) and Bobby Hardwick (138), plus a whopping tournament-best 14 place-finishers, including nine in the top three, the Golden Knights amassed 269.5 team points, which was 7.5 more than second-place finisher and rival Pearl River.

Putnam Valley (191), tournament host Hen Hud (187) and Pleasantville (160) rounded out the rest of the top five in team standings.

"We worked really hard for this," Parisi said. "With our two great captains, Chris Russo and Joe Parisi, they really carried our team throughout the whole season."

To make matters sweeter, it is Nanuet's first sectional team title since 2013. Their team total of 269.5 points in the second-most in school history, with only the 2012 championship team scoring more at 277.

"We owe it all to our coaches," Hardwick said. "Best coaches I've seen in any sport I've played. We really just work hard every day in the room and we know we're the most physical team by far, and best conditioning in the section."

Putnam Valley coach Will Carano sets historic record

Everyone dreams of finishing on top as a section champ, but only a select few get the highly-esteemed title. After more than two decades of coaching, Putnam Valley coach Will Carano has gotten to see his wrestlers get crowned as champion 35 times.

While it's an amazing accomplishment, Carano is more proud about the connections he's been able to build over the years, and yes, he can rattle off the names of all 35 champions, including his latest champ, 126-pounder Esuar Ordonez.

"I remember all of them, and I still keep in touch with most of them," Carano said. "I have really good relationships with them, and I think that's what makes it extra special. You make these bonds with these men and you have them for life, I think that's the part I love and appreciate the most.

With Ordonez's title-winning moment, Carano set a Section 1 record for most all-time section champs, surpassing the previous mark set by hall of famer and former Fox Lane coach Joe Amuso Sr., who trained 34 section champions.

"Joe Amuso Sr. is a special person in my life, I met him in ninth grade," Carano said. "He was an opposing coach, so we were combative with his guys, but he was always supportive to me. One of the greatest men I've ever met, so what a real honor to reach this point and surpass a guy like that. He was one of the greatest coaches ever, so it's a tremendous honor."

To add to the excitement and celebratory fanfare, Ordonez was named the Lightweight Most Outstanding Wrestler after pinning his way to the title.

"I wasn't sure what was happening, but then they handed it to me, and now I'm just super grateful for it," Ordonez said. "But Coach Carano, I think it's his drive and his mentality to make us work hard every single day, make us the best versions of ourselves."

O'Sullivan brothers pace Pearl River

The Pirates may have taken second in team scoring, but they put together another strong display. They had six Section 1 champions, the most out of any team.

Eighth-grade 102-pounder Brendan O'Sullivan was named Champion of Champions.

"It's really awesome," he said. "There's a lot of people I look up to, especially my older brother Kevin O'Sullivan. He's been a huge inspiration."

The older O'Sullivan also took home some extra hardware, topping his 160-pound title with Most Outstanding Heavyweight wrestler honors.

"That was even better honestly," said the elder O'Sullivan about getting MOW honors. "In terms of goals, I don't even know the word to describe it, but it was very cool."

In addition to the O'Sullivans, Aidan Veirun (145), Mike Malfitano (152), Mike McCarvill (172) and Nick Espinal (215) were also Section 1 title-winners.

Winner's circle

Aside from Pearl River's batch of section champs, Nanuet's trio, and Putnam Valley's Ordonez, Hen Hud's Kyle Peske (189) and Mason Dietz (285) won championships for the home crowd.

Dietz dedicated his championship moment to his grandmother, who passed away over the last year and was also a longtime member of the Hen Hud school district.

Pleasantville's Luke LaMagna also won his first section title, capturing the 132-pound crown. He won all of his matches with first-period pins.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Wrestling: 2023 Section 1 Division II championship storylines