Sectional Breakdown – Weight-by-Weight

Senior captain Danny Kornberg

Now that Sectionals is done, I figured we would give you a weight-by-weight breakdown of our tournament. We finished 2^nd in the section with 235 points, which is a new Edgemont record! 12 of our 16 wrestlers competing placed in the Top 6 of their respective weight classes. We had six finalists, also a new Edgemont record; and two champions, sophomore Tyler Aslanian (99 lbs) and junior Trey Aslanian (113 lbs).

99 lbs.
Sophomore Tyler Aslanian was an animal the entire tournament. He had the # 1 seed and proved he deserved it. In the semi-finals he took on Nick Wilt of Hastings. They had never faced each other before, although Wilt did beat Kyle Aslanian in our dual meet earlier in the season. Tyler went to work right away and ended up finishing off Wilt with the pin at 2:37.

In the finals, Tyler took on long-time foe Joe Dillon of Nanuet in their third-career meeting. Dillon had beaten Tyler in the semi-finals of last year?s Sectional Championships before Tyler came back to beat Dillon by decision in the semi-finals of the North Rockland Tournament this past December. Dillon took a quick 4-0 lead as he took Tyler down and tacked on 2 nearfall points before Tyler reversed him to end the first period 4-2 Dillon. Tyler took down in the 2^nd Period and managed to draw a clasp call, before escaping to tie the score 4-4. Dillon took down in the 3^rd period and Tyler rode him out to force overtime. As overtime began, Dillon got in deep on Tyler?s leg with a single. Tyler countered well and after a long scramble came out on top for the win and his first section title.

Tyler?s brother, 8^th Grader Kyle Aslanian, also wrestled for us at 99 lbs. Kyle has gotten better all season, and despite giving up about 10-15 pounds every time he steps on the mat, wrestled very well. He won his Round of 16 match with a 2:19 fall over Ardsley?s Adam Samolsky. He defaulted to his brother in the quarters and dropped down to wrestle backs where he won two straight matches before dropping an 8-2 decision to Croton?s Andrew Barsuch in the consolation semi-finals. Kyle ended up taking 6^th in the section, out performing his 8^th seed and gaining us valuable points. Kyle is a great natural athlete and we can?t wait to see him wrestle next year when projects to be a full sized 99 pounder.

113 lbs.
It?s safe to say he had the two best wrestlers in the section at this weight. Juniors Trey Aslanian and Sky Korek both went 113 for us. They had the 1 and 2 seeds, respectively, and that is just how they finished. It was a very quiet Sectional Championship match as we just sat in the corner and let our two guys do their thing. Trey was the more experienced victor, becoming Edgemont?s third-ever three-time Section Champion.

Korek had a great tournament, as well, scoring major decisions over Hastings? Greg Macchi in the quarters, 10-0, and Pleasantville?s Stephen Paternostro, 12-4, in the semi-finals. Trey and Sky will each have big years for us next year ? we just need to get them at different weight classes!

120 lbs.
Senior Max Abramsky took the mat for us at 120 lbs. for his final Sectionals appearance. Max capped off a great high school career, earning a 5^th place finish and becoming Edgemont?s fourth-ever four-time Sectional place finisher, ending up with 95 career victories. Enroute to his 5^th place finishes Max also recorded the most falls in the least amount of time in the entire Sectional tournament, finishing Sectionals with four falls in a cumulative 3:50 seconds! Way to go out strong!

126 lbs.
Again we had two athletes competing at this weight, both underclassmen with bright futures, sophomore Will Graybeal and freshmen Dylan Huff. Graybeal had a tremendous tournament, opening up with a pin over Kristoffer Fregil of Woodlands at 3:20. In the quarterfinals, Graybeal took on Zach Martin of Pawling. Martin took a 9-4 lead into the third period, but Graybeal would not be denied. He continued to fight from bottom and earned a reversal before securing the fall over Martin with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

Graybeal lost to eventual champion Drew Longo of Ardsley in the semi finals, before wrestling back and pinning Putnam Valley?s Charlie Gonzalez in the consolation semifinals and beating 3^rd-seeded Dan Guido of Croton 5-0 in the 3^rd place bout. Will has a great future and we can?t wait to see the improvements he makes next year.

Dylan also finished off a strong freshmen year, although Sectionals, unfortunately, was not his best outing. Dylan lost to both Gonzalez and Martin. Look for Dylan to be back strong next year and build on his solid foundation. We expect some championships in his future.

132 lbs.

Sophomores Colin Hopkins and Marc Ficuciello went at 132 for us. Colin in the more experienced of the two and was the 3^rd seed at the weight. Colin knocked off Zach Dolgetta from Westlake by 17-1 tech fall in the Round of 16 before beating two tough opponents in Pawling?s Chris Santana, 6-1, and Putnam Valley?s Chris Bruno, the number 2 seed, by 8-4 decision. Colin faced Croton?s top-seeded senior David Occhipinti in his first-ever Section Finals appearance, where he was able to score some impressive points before Occhipinti eventually came back for the win. Colin has a great future, is very driven and is getting smarter and smarter with his training as time goes by. He will undoubtedly be one of our top athletes for the next two years and I can tell you he is looking to go a lot further than a Section Title.

Marc is another one of our sophomores who really started to find his groove in the second half of the season. He is starting to make a lot of adjustments and adapt his style to most effectively utilize his tall frame. He went 1-2 in the tournament, dropping a close one to Ardsley junior Russell Kogan 6-5, before wrestling back to beat Woodlands? John Pachonte by 14-4 major decision. Marc has a great work ethic and a great attitude that really carried him through this season, and with a few more adjustments and some more experience he should continue to develop into an extremely effective wrestler for us.

138 lbs.

Our two entries here were senior Pete Berman and sophomore Sam Klein. Berman came into the tournament and had some solid matches. Pete?s biggest highlight of the tournament was his solid 7-4 victory over Woodlands? Elder Calim in the 5^th place bout. Calim had pinned Pete twice earlier in the season, in both our dual meet with Woodlands and in the quarterfinals on the first day of Sectionals. It?s always great to end your career with a win and do avenge two losses at the same time makes it extra gratifying. Pete has come a long way over his three-year career and we will miss him next year.

Sam really stepped up to help the team at Sectionals. Sam is a light 132-pounder who missed a good part of the season due to injury. He was ready to fill in where we needed him though and bumped up to 138 for Sectionals. Unfortunately his draw was rough and he ended up with an outbracket match in the Round of 32 where he lost to Ardsley?s Patrick Polintan and was knocked out of the tournament. Sam has always been incredibly resilient and I think he is now ready to make more of a commitment to making himself better this off-season. Combine these two facts, and I think Sam will be a productive starter for us next year.

145 lbs.

Junior Jack McCormack was our entry at 145 lbs. Jack came in as the number 2 seed at this weight to Irvington?s Brett Pastore who had beaten Jack twice this season. Jack looked better than he ever has this tournament. He pinned Ardsely?s Noah Kanwal in the Round of 16 at 0:38. He decisioned Nanuet?s Jazz Saguaro 7-1 in the quarterfinals, controlling the entire match; and he pinned Croton?s Andrew Horan in the semifinals at the 4:32 mark. Pastore got the better of Jack in the finals, but it was clear that Jack had really closed the gap between the two. With a little time in the off-season, I think we?ll see Jack going deep into the State Championships next February.

152 lbs.

When the seeding came out for this tournament and we saw junior Ross Kantor was in the 6^th spot, we immediately knew he would beat his seed. I?ve said it before and I?ll say it again. Ross Kantor is the most dangerous guy to wrestle on our team. One minute you think you?re in good position against him, and the next you?re on your back. Ross has really been putting it together this season and it showed at Sectionals. Ross started out with a 2:51 fall over Dobbs Ferry?s Terry Taylor in the Round of 16, before losing to eventual Runner-Up Anthony Gentile of Putnam Valley in the quarterfinals. Ross wrestled back with a 19-second pin of Hastings? Joel Fuentes, a 9-4 decision over Putnam Valley?s Dennis Kelly and a 13-1 major decision over Peter Jones of Irvington. Ross lost his final match to returning Section Champ Edgar Solis of Westlake but continued to wrestle tough and impress all who watched. Ross is another one of our wrestlers who we expect to be VERY good next year with a little work.

Also competing at 152 was first-year wrestler, sophomore Saumil Kothari. To come out for wrestling for the first time ever as a sophomore, particularly with the competition schedule we wrestle says volumes about Saumil. He spent the whole year diligently learning the sport, working hard in practice, making gains and showing a real grittiness that comes with taking some tough losses and bouncing right back. To sum it all up, when I asked Saumil why he joined the wrestling team, his answer was: ?Because someone told me I couldn?t handle it.? That says it all.

170 lbs.

Sophomore Chris Kim came into the tournament as the #3 seed and really turned some heads. In the quarterfinals he took out Dobbs Ferry?s Anthony Casamo with a 4:17 fall and one of the sweetest superducks I?ve ever seen at the high school level. In the semifinals, Chris had a chance at redemption as he took on Nanuet junior Peter Smith who pinned Chris earlier in the year. This time Chris would have the last laugh. Chris gave up a takedown to Smith in the first period and got ridden out to take a 0-2 deficit into the second. Chris took bottom where he managed an escape and a takedown of his own to take a 3-2 lead into the third. Smith took bottom and got out rather quickly to knot the bout at 3-3. Chris was undeterred and relentless in his attacks. He finally scored the winning takedown with seconds left on the clock to claim the win and punch his ticket to his first section finals. Chris ultimately lost to Putnam Valley?s John Messinger, but wrestled a great tournament and capped off a great season. The sky is the limit for Chris.

220 lbs.

Senior and team co-captain Danny Kornberg showed everyone what in the arena at Pace University the true meaning of toughness and what champions are made of. Danny was the 1^st seed and prohibitive favorite going into the tournament. In fact, Danny had more wins on the season going into the tournament, 35, than any other wrestler, at any weight class, in the entire tournament.

He made short work of Connor Driscoll of Dobbs Ferry in the quarterfinals with a 1:23 pin and took on Matt Acevedo of Pawling in the semifinals. Acevedo is a sophomore who Danny pinned in 1:30 earlier in the season. Danny was cruising to a victory with a dominant 7-0 lead in the second period when he was called by the official for an illegal crossface. As we all know, the crossface is a perfectly legal move, but in the official?s estimation, Danny hit the move ?a little too physically,? making it illegal. He was charged with a penalty point ? the only point he gave up the entire tournament ? and his opponent took recovery time, to which he is entitled. By rule, if an opponent can?t continue after an illegal move and the exhaustion of his recovery time, the opponent wins the match regardless of score or the situation. The coach of the opponent has the choice to forfeit the match or let his wrestler take a win in this manner.

It still hurts me to say it, but the Pawling coach and wrestler took the win, despite Danny?s nearly insurmountable lead and the clearly non-malicious nature of the crossface. This knocked Danny into wrestlebacks as the heavy favorite and number 1 seed his senior year, taking away his last and best opportunity to be a Section Champion. I can tell you how devastating this was to me and to our coaching staff. I?m sure you can imagine how devastating this was to Danny, who had worked so hard to achieve his goals.

Like a true champion, Danny dealt with the overwhelming waves of emotion, frustration, anger and disappointment. He gathered himself up and showed why he is the heart and soul of our team. Danny came back in wrestlebacks and pinned his next two opponents to take third place. Because of his performance and the way Danny has carried himself, we all know who the true champion here is.