Wrestlers perform well in NY
By Staff reports
Tue Jan 20, 2009, 03:08 PM EST
SUDBURY - On Friday night, the Lincoln-Sudbury wrestlers, along with a contingent of loyal fans and parents, made the 3.5-hour drive to Schenectady, NY to compete in the Schenectady Invitational Wrestling Tournament.
The tournament took place on Saturday, at the famous Pat Riley Center, at Schenectady High School. The tournament host had a great variety of teams at its tournament, which drew competition from three states.
The Warriors took giant strides last weekend, banging heads with some of New York's famous Section 2 wrestling schools, and finished in the top five in team scoring. Along the way, the Warriors placed nine out of 15 wrestlers in the top six individually.
Leading the way for coach Brian Quinn and coach Taylor Kruse were sophomore studs Eric Davis (112) and Nick Murphy (119), both with strong second-place finishes. Not to be outdone, sophomores Harry Greenhouse (125), wrestling in his first varsity tournament, placed fourth, along with classmate Zach Smerlas (285), who also took home a fourth-place trophy.
L-S' senior trio - David Garelik, Jeff Iuliano, and Jeremy Lasky - weren't going to be outdone by their younger counterparts either and wrestled incredibly the entire day, which led to two third-place finishes and one fifth. Both Garelik and Iuliano went 4-1 at 140 and 145, respectively, for third place and Lasky went 3-2 for the fifth-place finish.
Also fitting into the mix was junior 171 Carter Mode, who placed fifth in a tough 171-pound weight class. Rounding out the top six finishers for the Warriors was James Hamilton at 96 pounds. Also competing for the Warriors and adding to the fifth-place finish with victories and advancement points were Joe Gruber (103), Marc Pace (130), Trevor MacKinnon (135), Rob Wilkinson (160), Luke Baldwin (189), and Dan Connaughton (215).
Davis started his day with a tough 13-5 victory over Nate Goddeau of Saranac, NY. He followed up his quarterfinal-win with a convincing semifinal pin over Victor Costello of C-FP Academy in 4:30 of the second period, advancing to his first tournament finals. In the finals, Davis lost a tough 8-5 decision to Al Hitchcock of Mohansen, NY.
``Eric wrestled extremely well today. He's been consistently improving with every competition this season and will hopefully continue to make strides as we look forward to the postseason in a month,' said Quinn.
Murphy had a different road to the finals. Murphy, who already has one tournament victory this year, was awarded a bye into the semifinals. Murphy, a year-round wrestler, didn't show any rust in the long wait, with a commanding 9-2 win over the second seed Leo Dicaprio of Schenectady. Murphy dominated Dicaprio with a series of tough top turns and crab rides. Although defeated by pin in the finals against his Newburgh Free Academy opponent, he wrestled tough and showed he's someone to watch out for come the postseason. ``Nick wrestled tough and puts in a lot of time in the off season. Everything he's receiving, he's earned with hard work. I'm expecting him to do real well next month at the sectionals,' said Quinn.
Having the tournament of his career was Garelik. Garelik went 4-1 for third place and dominated his opponents in all four victories. He showed what he's capable of when he is in the ``zone.' Garelik had three victories by major decision and one by pin. His pin came in the first period over Al Rayno of Albany Academy. ``David wrestled very well in all five matches. He's been battling injuries this year and showed what he's capable of when he stays healthy,' said Quinn. ``I'm looking for him to be right in the mix at sectionals competing for a sectional title next month,' Quinn added.
Tri-captains Lasky, Iuliano and Smerlas all wrestled well throughout the day and combined for nine wins. Lasky, celebrating his 18th birthday, showed continued improvement from his neutral attack with a number of explosive takedowns and Smerlas added to his career pin total, collecting two more pins on the day for a new total of 38. Iuliano, a scholar-athlete who is looking to wrestle at possibly Williams or Harvard, had three wins by pin to help secure his third-place finish.
In his first varsity tournament, Greenhouse showed the L-S faithful what ``heart' is all about. Greenhouse, coming off a pin in the consolation quarterfinals, found himself in triple overtime with his opponent Matt Dennis from Monticello, NY. Tied at 7-7, Greenhouse used all his fight and energy to hold his opponent down and secure the 8-7 ultimate overtime victory in the match of the day. ``Harry wrestled with heart today. He used every ounce of energy he had to secure the win and improved with every match he competed in. Although defeated in the third-place match, he showed us exactly what he's capable of, and we're looking for him to continue to work hard and place in the sectionals,' said Quinn.
Finishing up the top five placers for the Warriors was Mode, who wrestled extremely well all day and although out muscled in some of his matches at 171 by his bigger opponents, he used a variety of trips, throws, and turns to defeat his opponents with technique. Mode wrestled five times and went 3-2 with three pins. ``Carter has improved steadily all year. He's a club wrestler at Doughboys in Lowell in the off season, and this commitment is showing in the form of dominating wins this season. Coach Kruse and I are expecting big things from Carter the remainder of this year and next year,' said Quinn.
``Both Taylor and I were extremely pleased with everyone's performance on Saturday. We still have plenty to improve on, but our attitude is good and we are working hard everyday at practice. We're looking to stay healthy the remainder of the season and finish up strong in the DCL with two matches left. We wrestle Wayland on Thursday and Weston next Tuesday. Those are always big matches and I know the team is ready,' said Quinn.
