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Locals Fall Just Short

Colom Finishes Second, Page Third, Ingrao Fourth In Albany

Falconer’s Cameron Page wrestles Eldred’s Noah Curreri during the 160-pound semifinals Saturday at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Wrestling Championships at the Times Union Center in Albany. Photo by Joe Conti

ALBANY — Fredonia’s Hector Colom came within one match of reaching any wrestler’s ultimate goal Saturday at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division II Championships at the Times Union Center.

Colom worked his way into the into the final match of the 132-pound weight bracket, but was the victim of a tough 7-3 decision at the hands of Alexander’s Dane Heberlein, who is now a three-time state champion.

“(Heberlein) is ridiculously strong,” Fredonia coach Joe Santilli explained. “And he trains to be the best. … He’s a four-time finalist, a three-time champion. He’s tough on top. I thought maybe we might be able to score some points in neutral, get some points there. I think he proved that he was a little bit ready and prepared for us as well. … Our goal was to create some scoring in space, get some movement, some action. … I’m extremely proud of (Hector) and pleased for him as well. He’s come a long way. He’s been a joy this season to work with.”

Colom, a junior who was already making his third appearance at the state tourney, locked up a berth in the finals after his 1-0 decision over Locust Valley’s Hunter Dusold.

“We were pretty prepared for that particular match,” Santilli said. “We had a really good feeling that’s how it was going to line up. We identified (Dusold) as the No. 2 seed and we figured Hector was going to be the No. 3 (seed). We weren’t looking too far ahead, but we were preparing, we were aware. And we knew Dusold’s tendencies, we knew what he was going to come with early on. We knew what he was going to try during the match. And Hector wrestled a really smart match, stayed in great position, he trusted his instincts … scored when he needed to and didn’t give up any points.”

Falconer’s Dylan Ingrao wrestles South Seneca’s Adam Wagner during the 145-pound semifinals. Photo by Joe Conti

All four Falconer Golden Falcons who earned their way into the state tourney placed.

Senior Cameron Page (160 pounds) fell to Eldred’s Noah Curreri, 7-3, in the semifinals, but was victorious in his next two matches, eventually wrestling his way to a third-place finish.

First, Page recorded a convincing 13-3 major decision over Tamarac’s Fritz Scheffler and he followed that up with a tightly contested 2-1 decision in the third-place bout against South Jefferson-Sandy Creek’s Caleb Beach.

“He finished third in New York state, that’s a great weekend,” Falconer head coach Drew Wilcox emphasized. “I’m really proud of Cameron. He’s put a lot of time in. He works really hard. He works in the offseason. He does everything right. And for him to finally get here and to finish third is a tribute to all the work he’s put in.”

Page’s teammate, Dylan Ingrao (145 pounds), came out on the losing end against South Seneca’s Adam Wagner in semifinal action, but earned a spot in the third-place match following a pin in 4:12 against Daniel Bogie of the Eagle Academy (Bronx).

Fredonia’s Hector Colom wrestles Alexander’s Dane Heberlein during the Division II 132-pound final Saturday at the Times Union Center in Albany. Photo by Joe Conti

Despite then falling to Pearl River’s Jack Chesman, the Falconer junior will come home with a fourth-place finish, becoming a two-time state-place finisher after coming in sixth last season.

“He finished sixth last year and he improved on that this year,” Wilcox stressed. “His goal was to be a state champion. He fell a little short of the goal. But I think he realizes he’s right there with the rest of the state and he’s got to have a good offseason. … I don’t see any reason why he can’t be a state champ next year.”

Dan Torres (152 pounds) was able to walk away fifth in his weight class following his pinfall victory in 4:12 over Norwich’s Cole Rifanburg. Saturday, the junior also decisioned Duanesburg’s Charlie Grygas, 5-2, and came up just short against Marathon’s Shvunte Searcy, 4-3.

“I’m extremely happy for Dan,” Wilcox said. “Him and Dylan (Ingrao) have drilled together all year and just worked extremely hard. … As you watched the season progress and how he got better, basically daily, we definitely thought this was possible and I’m proud of him.”

Corey Keefe (182 pounds) ended up sixth in his weight class thanks, in part, to his hard-fought 2-1 decision over Whitney Point’s Dylan Dunham. Keefe then fell to Ausable Valley’s Chance Lapier (5-2 decision) and Schoharie’s Dillon Warner (8-5 decision), but it was certainly a productive weekend for the standout junior.

Gowanda’s David Poff wrestles Central Moriches’ Donald Wood during Division II 120-pound action. Photo by Joe Conti

“Corey wrestled hard,” Wilcox stated. “Every match he was in, he didn’t take any breaks, he just went after it. And when you do that, good things happen. That was his goal at the beginning of the year, to be a New York state place-winner and he met his goal. I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Gowanda senior David Poff (120 pounds) capped his excellent career by pinning Tioga’s Austin Lamb in just 2:07 in the fifth-place bout. During wrestlebacks, he also recorded a thrilling 4-2 decision over Center Moriches’ Donald Wood and was defeated by the No. 2 seed, Matt Caccamise of Wayne, 7-2.

“It’s huge, it’s huge,” Gowanda coach Mark Leous stressed. “He’s been trying to get here for the last (several) years. It couldn’t happen to a nicer kid. He’s top 10 in his class, he’s got a real steady demeanor. I knew he was going to do well down here.”

Maple Grove’s Shane Hetrick (113 pounds) capped off his junior season by coming in fifth in his weight class after his 7-5 sudden victory over Little Falls’ Neiko Scarano, which also avenged a loss to Scarano in Friday’s quarterfinals. Earlier Saturday, Hetrick took down the top seed, Eli Rodriguez of Norwich, 8-6, and was defeated by Mount Sinai’s Matt Campo.

“He lost by one in the quarters to the same guy,” Maple Grove coach Tim Shrout explained. “He started off today beating the No. 1 seed in a great match and then finished the day with an overtime win for fifth-place against a kid he lost to before. Great wrestling. He looked really on point, very quick and aggressive in the matches he did well in today.”

Canisius’ Mason Hoose wrestles Uniondale’s Zach Knightonward during Division I 220-pound action. Photo by Joe Conti

Fellow Red Dragon Trevor Micek (170 pounds) fell in his first wrestleback match of the day to BGAH’s Austin Carr. The defeat brought an end to Micek’s career, but he has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success at Maple Grove.

“He’s a great kid to coach,” Shrout stated. “Really mentally tough. Very determined. We felt like he should be here. He was in the last eight guys left in the bracket (and) had a tough loss today, a 3-1 decision.”

Lakewood resident Mason Hoose (220 pounds), who wrestles for Canisius, placed fifth in his weight bracket in Division I after he pinned Carthage’s Caleb Null in 2:33.

Earlier in the day, Hoose was on the losing end of matches against Uniondale’s Zach Knightonward and Goshen’s Ryan Ellefsen, but that certainly doesn’t take away from the stellar campaign he’s had on the mat.

Interestingly enough, Hoose took a near two-year hiatus from wrestling and his season on the mat actually started somewhat late due in large part to Canisius’ success on the gridiron and an injury. The late start to the season makes his fifth-place finish at the state tourney even more noteworthy.

“It was (multiple) weeks into the season before he could even practice,” Mason’s father and one of his coaches, Joe Hoose, said. “At Division I, the 220-pound weight class is stacked. … Mason just has this eye of the tiger. … You can’t teach eye of the tiger. You cannot teach that. You either have it or you don’t.”

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