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‘A Great Career’

Trojans’ Dontae Hoose Finishes Third At State Tournament

Southwestern’s Dontae Hoose, right, battles Trevor Barry of Iroquois in the consolation semifinals at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association wrestling championships on Saturday at MVP Arena in Albany. Hoose won the 215-pound match 6-5 on his way to a third-place finish in the tournament. Photos by Michelle Gilbert | Charming Artistry

ALBANY — His surgically-repaired left knee wrapped, Dontae Hoose was beaten up after a long weekend at MVP Arena.

Somehow, he found the strength to finish his high school career in style.

Hoose pinned Section II Hadley-Luzerne/Lake George’s Logan Marissal 1:04 into the second period to earn third place in Division II at 215 pounds at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association wrestling championships Saturday afternoon.

“He’s had a great career. Unfortunately, we had the COVID year last year or he would’ve had another year of placing out here,” Southwestern head coach John Vogan said of Hoose, who took sixth as a sophomore in 2020. “It was really an honor to coach him.”

The Southwestern senior was one of three local wrestlers to reach the podium after more than 1,000 matches were wrestled.

Dontae Hoose

Southwestern eighth-grader Carmine Calimeri took sixth place at 102 pounds and Maple Grove senior Luke Tomlinson took sixth place at 145 pounds in the state capital.

Hoose went 4-0 on Saturday to finish his season 43-2.

“He should have nothing but pride,” Vogan said. “That’s a great way to go out.”

Hoose opened the day with a pin of Section VIII Cold Spring Harbor’s Garrett Geraci in 2:46 before earning an 8-0 major decision against Section V Warsaw’s Connor Hare.

Hoose then fell behind early against Iroquois’ Trevor Barry, who he’d beaten twice earlier this season, before rallying for a 6-5 decision.

Maple Grove’s Luke Tomlinson, right, is in control of Josh Rowland of Section IV Dryden during the wrestlebacks at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association wrestling championships Saturday in Albany. Tomlinson won the match via pin. Photo by Michelle Gilbert | Charming Artistry

“I think it’s got to be a good feeling for him,” Vogan said. “That match with Barry, you could tell that kid wanted to win. He’s never beaten Dontae and he came out hard. … Dontae fought back hard.”

Tomlinson went 2-2 on the day to finish his season 44-4.

He opened the day with a pin of Section IV Dryden’s Josh Rowland and then earned an 8-0 major decision over Section IV Norwich’s Brady Smith.

With a spot in the third-place match on the line, Tomlinson lost a 10-3 decision to Section III Central Valley Academy’s Sixx Cook before he fell to Section I Edgemont’s Sander Miller in the fifth-sixth place match.

Calimeri went 2-2 on the final day to finish his season 40-4.

“He wrestled well all day, even the matches he lost. That bracket was filled with hammers,” Vogan said. “I think it’s one of the toughest brackets in the tournament. He handled both of our large-school 102 qualifiers relatively easily.”

In his first match Saturday, Calimeri won a 10-1 major decision over Section II Cobleskill-Richmondville’s Ashten Haley. He followed that up with a 7-2 decision over Section IV Chenango Valley’s Anthony Valls.

With a shot at the third-place match on the line, Calimeri was pinned by Section V Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Christopher Noto and then he lost a 3-1 decision to Section III Central Valley Academy’s Gene Edwards in the fifth-sixth place match.

“The kid he lost to (Noto) wrestled really well,” Vogan said. “In my opinion, that’s the second-best kid in the bracket. … The fifth-place match could’ve gone either way.”

Southwestern eighth-grader Tavio Hoose dropped a 7-2 decision to Section V Byron-Bergen’s Malachi Smith at 172 pounds.

Smith led 2-0 after the first period and 5-0 after the second period. Hoose escaped to start the third period, but was unable to take Smith down.

Hoose finished his season with a 38-6 record.

Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Panama sophomore Jordan Joslyn saw his tournament come to an end in his first wrestleback of the day at 118 pounds.

After a scoreless first period, Trevor Cortright of Section IV Chenango Valley chose the bottom position and scored a 2-point reversal in the second period. Cortright then rode out Joslyn for the entire two-minute third period.

“Every match that he lost,” Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Panama head coach Ken Rowe said, “was a close match.”

Joslyn finished his season 42-3 with two of the losses coming to state semifinalist Daniel Kirsch of Pioneer.

“When he’s had the year that he’s had, and he sees, I think, four kids on the podiums at states that he’s beaten, that’s tough,” Rowe said. “They had a whole year of film … and they caught up to him.”

Trent Burchanowski, Clymer’s first-ever state qualifier in wrestling, fell to Section XI Shoreham-Wading River’s Tristan Petretti in Saturday’s 132-pound wrestlebacks. Petretti took Burchanowski down during the first period and finished a pin in 44 seconds.

“If you got scored on in the first period it was detrimental,” Rowe said of the wrestlebacks where the first period was only one minute long instead of the normal two-minute periods. “I think there was a mental side to it, too. If they make it back next year, they’ll be a lot more comfortable.”

Burchanowski finished his junior season for Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Panama with a 37-8 record.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a great thing to wrestle ‘hammer’ tournaments and ‘hammer’ matches all year long,” Rowe said when asked if he’ll try to make a harder schedule next season when he returns his entire Section VI Class C/D championship team. “We’ve talked about toughening up our schedule and maybe finding another two-day tournament.”

WRESTLEBACKS

102: Carmine Calimeri (VI-Southwestern) md. Ashten Haley (II-Cobleskill-Richmondville), 10-1

118: Trevor Cortright (IV-Chenango Valley) d. Jordan Joslyn (VI-Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Panama), 2-0

132: Tristan Petretti (XI-Shoreham-Wading River) p. Trent Burchanowski (VI-Chautauqua Lake/Westfield/Panama), :44

145: Luke Tomlinson (VI-Maple Grove) p. Josh Rowland (IV-Dryden), 2:04

172: Malachi Smith (V-Byron-Bergen) d. Tavio Hoose (VI-Southwestern), 7-2

215: Dontae Hoose (VI-Southwestern) p. Garrett Geraci (VIII-Cold Spring Harbor), 2:46

102: Carmine Calimeri (VI-Southwestern) d. Anthony Valls (IV-Chenango Valley), 7-2

145: Luke Tomlinson (VI-Maple Grove) md. Brady Smith (IV-Norwich), 8-0

215: Dontae Hoose (VI-Southwestern) md. Connor Hare (V-Warsaw), 8-0

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS

102: Christopher Noto (V-Honeoye Falls-Lima) p. Carmine Calimeri (VI-Southwestern), 4:35

145: Sixx Cook (III-Central Valley Academy) d. Luke Tomlinson (VI-Maple Grove), 10-3

215: Dontae Hoose (VI-Southwestern) d. Trevor Barry (VI-Iroquois), 6-5

5TH-6TH PLACE

102: Gene Edwards (III-Central Valley Academy) d. Carmine Calimeri (VI-Southwestern), 3-1

145: Sander Miller (I-Edgemont) d. Luke Tomlinson (VI-Maple Grove), 9-2

3RD-4TH PLACE

215: Dontae Hoose (VI-Southwestern) p. Logan Marissal (II-Hadley-Luzerne/Lake George), 2:04

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