(UPDATE: Day 2, 5:30 p.m.)
ALBANY — The arena is set. There are only two mats now – Division I and II – and just 30 wrestlers left in New York State wrestling this season. One of them is Sachem’s Steve Mills.
I saw Mills walk with fervor down State Street into the arena. He’s ready. Don’t expect many updates for a bit, as they go in weight order. That means Mills, who wrestles at 220 pounds, probably won’t even touch the mat until around 8:00 p.m.
Looking at the brackets, there are seven from Nassau County and eight from Suffolk County all vying for a state championship. There is also one wrestler from St. Anthony’s still alive in the tournament.
(UPDATE: Day 2: 3:00 p.m.)
ALBANY — Gio Santiago beat Matt Roberts from Monsignor Farrell in the consolation semifinals and beat Tom Murray from Yorktown in the consolation finals, 7-1, to place third in New York State at 182 pounds.
Jackson Mordente lost to Tom Grippi out of Fox Lane, 2-1, in the fifth-sixth place consolation final and finished sixth in the state at 145 pounds.
For Santiago and Mordente, respectively, that was their last match as a wrestler at Sachem.
Santiago finished with a 43-3 record in 2012-13 and recorded 110 victories in his career at Sachem, which ranks him third all-time in program history behind Chris Iorio (136) and Ryan Gerondel (112).
Steve Mills will wrestle later on after 7:30 p.m. in the 220-pound state final.
(UPDATE: Day 2: 2:15 p.m.)
ALBANY — Jackson Mordente lost his consolation semifinal to David Almaviva from Shenendehowa. He’ll still have a chance to place as high as fifth in the state as he drops down to another consolation final later this afternoon.
Next up for Sachem is Gio Santiago in the consolation semifinals at 182.
(UPDATE: Day 2: 12:45 p.m)
ALBANY — Steve Mills will wrestle for a New York State Championship tonight.
Mills, wrestling in the 220-pound semifinal, beat Jenard Rosemound from Nassau County’s Section VIII, 3-1.
In one of the perfectly executed and technically sound matches of the tournament, Mills counteracted every move Rosemound threw at him.
“I knew he was going to shoot,” Mills said, watching the other 220-pound semifinal to see who he will wrestle in the finals.
His opponent will be Richard Sisti out of Monsignor Farrell, a Catholic league grappler. Sisti beat Nick Lupi from Huntington, who Mills lost to in the Suffolk County championship.
Sachem’s coaches were ecstatic for Mills after the win, as were many Section XI supporters draped around the mats at the Times Union Center, including Eastport-South Manor head coach and MSG Varsity analyst Nick Garrone, who was shouting words of encouragement at him throughout the bout.
“It couldn’t have happened to a greater kid,” said Sachem coach John Aebly. “I’m so happy for him.”
The finals don’t start until 6 p.m., and Mills won’t wrestle probably until closer to 7:30 since his weight class is towards the end. That’s a long six-hour stretch.
“I’ll be relaxing in my room,” said Mills, smiling.
Mills is the first wrestler from Sachem North to wrestle in the state finals since Chris Iorio was a runner-up in 2006. John Carvalhiera and Jason Kraft were the last from Sachem to win state titles, both in 1992, while Sachem East’s Matt Ferber is the last wrestler from a Sachem school to win a state title (2006).
In other news, Mordente’s opponent is set for the consolation semifinals. He’ll wrestle David Almaviva from Shenendehowa, who lost in the 145-pound championship semifinals.
(UPDATE: Day 2: 12:00 p.m.)
ALBANY — This wasn’t what Gio Santiago hoped for. He had his sights set on being a New York State Champion. Instead, he’ll have to settle for third if he can wrestle back in the lower bracket.
Santiago was pinned in his 182-pound semifinal against Shayne Brady from Carthage (Section III).
Santiago led 1-0 after the first period, but after a quick takedown in the second, Brady put him on his back and pulled off a pin at 1:31.
He also lost in the state semifinals last year.
(UPDATE: Day 2, 11:30 p.m.)
ALBANY — Jackson Mordente put together a strong consolation quarterfinal bout in the wrestle back bracket against Dennis Ferrol from East Islip at 145 pounds.
With two Section XI singlets together on the same mat, Mordente got the best of his Suffolk teammate, 5-1, and advances to the consolation semifinals later this afternoon.
Mordente and Ferrol were tied, 0-0, after the first period. During the second period, Mordente threatened with a potential pin, but Ferrol escaped and looked outmatched. Mordente managed to take a 3-1 lead in the second on an escape and takedown, and added another two in the final period to secure his win.
Gio Santiago and Steve Mills should be wrestling within the hour.
PHOTOS: Click here to see photos from every Sachem match of the day
(ORIGINAL POST: Day 2, 10:00 a.m.)
ALBANY — There will be less daily updates today since there are only three of the five Sachem wrestlers still alive in the New York State wrestling tournament. But the day should be packed with some interesting and entertaining bouts in the Times Union Center.
Sachem North’s Gio Santiago and Steve Mills are wrestling in the state semifinals this morning, while Sachem East’s Jackson Mordente is in the wrestle back bracket with a chance to place third in the state.
Section XI leads the points standings right now for the entire tournament. There are 15 wrestlers from Suffolk still competing in the semis for a chance at a state title.
One addition to the arena today is the use of live video on the jumbotron for patrons to get another eye on multiple matches as eight are still going on at one time.
Stay tuned for a separate notebook entry this afternoon with fun facts and interesting notes from Albany.
Follow @SachemReport on Twitter for live updates during each match.
RELATED: Read a complete recap from Friday’s events here at states
RELATED: Review the entire state tournament bracket throughout the day
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro