ALBANY — For the first time in 21 years, Sachem wrestling has two grapplers in the New York State Wrestling semifinals.
Sachem North’s Gio Santiago and Steven Mills both won their respective quarterfinal matches and had spectators at the Times Union Center on the edge of their seats Friday afternoon. Both had vastly different matches with equally poignant moments of exacerbation.
Santiago, wrestling at 182 pounds, trailed 6-4 in the third period against Thomas Murray out of Section I’s Yorktown. After scoring two points on a take down to make it 6-6, he threw together a combination of moves that put him ahead, 9-6, before he ended the match with a pin at 5:50.
“He went in on a shot and I did a foot trick where you step over the guy’s back and you reverse crotch lift him and he goes on his back from there,” Santiago said. “I’m going into the semis in states now and I’m proud.”
“Gio went after him,” said Sachem North coach Ray Pickersgill. “With Gio I never feel like he’s out of a match. I knew he had something left.”
Santiago, who had to cut one pound in the morning to make weight, lost his state semifinals match last year, but he’ll have a chance to avenge his defeat with a bout against Shayne Brady, from Carthage (Section III) on Saturday morning.
Mills’ quarterfinal match at 220 pounds moved slower. He walked away with a 1-0 victory, but controlled the pace and tone of the bout from the onset against Ossining’s (Section I) Trent Lofaro.
“I don’t like relying on my ability to ride,” Mills said. “We were going at it, banging heads and trying to tire each other out and I got the best of him and it showed in the last period when I was able to tire him out. I wish I could have sored more points, but a win is a win.”
Next up for Mills is Jenard Rosemound from Nassau’s Calhoun.
For Mills and Santiago, they’ve spoken at length about both bringing home state titles, something that hasn’t been done in Sachem since Jason Kraft and John Carvalheira won championships in 1992.
“It’s almost a reality,” Mills said. “Two more matches to go and we might be state champs.”
East sends three to wrestle backs: All three wrestlers in the state tournament from Sachem East lost at some point during the prelims or quarterfinals and were pushed down to the wrestle back bracket.
During wrestle backs, Conor O’Hara and Cristian Nunez lost, while Jackson Mordente prevailed.
O’Hara lost a close match to Richie Burke from Ithaca High, 2-1. Nunez, who was originally ahead, 5-1, wound up losing, wound up getting pinned by Colton Kells from Fairport in 4:37. Mordente beat Trevor Hoffmier from Newark Valley, 2-1, and advances to the next round of the lower tier bracket still with a chance to place third in states. Mordente will wrestle East Islip’s Dennis Ferro next.
Team and section standings: Section XI (Suffolk) currently leads Section VIII (Nassau) atop the section points standings after the quarterfinals, 121.5-, 102. Section II is the next closest at 74.
Sachem North is currently seventh in the state in team points with 18. Sachem, however, is tied with East Islip as the top Suffolk team right now. Wantagh leads all teams with 40.
Section Points 2013 NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships, Division I
- 121.5, XI
- 102.0, VIII
- 74.0, II
- 70.0, I
- 55.5, IX
- 55.5, V
- 55.0, IV
- 50.0, C
- 40.5, VI
- 39.0, III
- 38.0, P
- 5.0, X
Division I team points standings
- Wantagh-VIII, 40.0
- Shenendehowa-II, 32.0
- St. Anthonys-C, 25.0
- Hilton-V, 21.5
- Port Jervis -IX, 20.0
- Lancaster-VI, 18.5
- Burnt Hills-II, 18.0
- East Islip-XI, 18.0
- Sachem North-XI, 18.0
PHOTOS: Click to see a full gallery of images from the state tournament
(UPDATE: Day 1, 4:15 p.m.)
ALBANY — We’re in the quarterfinal round now up here. Sachem advanced four of its five wrestlers to this round.
So far Conor O’Hara and Jackson Mordente have lost their quarterfinal matches and will drop down to the wrestle back bracket.
O’Hara lost, 7-5, to fellow Section XI teammate John Leshinger from Sayville. Mordente lost, 6-2, to Louis Hernandez from Section VIII’s Mepham.
Still left to wrestle for Sachem are Gio Santiago (182) and Steve Mills (220).
RELATED: More photos from every Sachem match are in the gallery
(UPDATE: Day 1, 2:30 p.m.)
ALBANY — Sachem North’s Steve Mills came away with a 5-1 win over John Hartnett from Tappan Zee (Section I) in the prelims. He led 2-1 early and added three more insurance points in the third period.
Mills will wrestle either Brian Honsinger from Baldwinsville (Section III) or Trent Lofaro from Ossinning (Section III) in the quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals are starting right now. It shouldn’t be long before we reach O’Hara at 132 as the first Sachem wrestler to go in the next round.
Sachem went 4-for-5 overall in the prelims with wins from Santiago, Mills, O’Hara and Mordente.
(UPDATE: Day 1, 2:00 p.m.)
ALBANY — Sachem East’s Cristian Nunez lost, 5-1, to Reggie Williams from Johnson City (IV). He gets dropped into the wrestle back bracket and will also wrestle later in the day.
Waiting on the bracket to update to see who Nunez will wrestle in wrestle backs. According to a few folks around the mats today, Williams is pretty good and possibly a favorite to win it all at 195. He looked quick, strong and very technical in his mat approach.
(UPDATE: Day 1, 1:30 p.m.)
ALBANY — It was just more of the same for Gio Santiago in the prelims. Wrestling at 182 pounds, Santiago pinned his opponent, Ali Hashimee from Shenendehowa (II), in 2:36.
Santiago will wrestle Thomas Murray from Yorktown (Section I) in the quarterfinals. Murray earned a 7-5 win over Jager Rebozo from Hills West in the prelims.
(UPDATE: Day 1, 12:30 p.m.)
ALBANY — Sachem East’s Jackson Mordente, wrestling at 145, continued with the big winning, knocking off his opponent, 9-1, in the preliminary round.
Mordente beat Jose Pagan from Lockport (VI). He’ll wrestle the winner of the bout between Louis Hernandez, out of Mepham in Nassau, and JT Romagnoli, out of Jamesville-Dewitt (Section III).
I’ll wait until later in the day to update on team scoring. I believe Section XI will be up there for a title by the end of this tournament.
RELATED: Follow @SachemReport for updates!
RELATED: Check the NYS Division I brackets for updates periodically
(UPDATE: Day 1, 11:45 a.m.)
ALBANY — Conor O’Hara, wrestling at 132, opened the day strong for Sachem, winning his first preliminary match, 9-0, against Bryan Mongiello from Washingtonville (IX).
O’Hara will wrestle Sayville’s Matt Leshinger in the quarterfinals. Leshinger picked up a pin in 2:21 during his first round match against Landon Laughlin from Massena (Section X).
The Sachem Report gallery is being populated now, so feel free to check out images from the tournament …
PHOTOS: View images from the NYS Wrestling Championships
(UPDATE: Day 1, 10:00 a.m.)
ALBANY — Already within the first five minutes of the tournament opening, an official from the New York State Public High School Athletic Association brought up the situation with Olympic wrestling.
Robert Stulmaker, an assistant director of the NYSPHSAA, said “I wish the IOC could witness the success and dedication of these wrestlers here.”
I’ll have more about this from a Sachem angle, with thoughts from former Sachem coach Jack Mahoney, later today.
On another note, I can’t believe it took until I saw an Albany Devils jersey to remember a very specific Sachem connection to this area and arena. Sachem East alum Keith Kinkaid is the goalie for the Albany Devils, an AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils. If only there was a Kinkaid bobblehead to uncover from the bowls of this stadium!
More to come … #GoArrows
ALBANY — For the next 48 hours, The Sachem Report will be wrestling central. I’m bunkered down in Albany at the New York State Wrestling Championships as five grapplers from Sachem compete in the biggest tournament of the year.
Held at the Times Union Center this season, more than 480 wrestlers from 400 schools across New York’s 11 sections will compete.
Among Sachem’s five wrestlers, North’s Gio Santiago, wrestling at 182 pounds, is the only one to earn an automatic bid by winning his respective Suffolk County championship last week.
Also wrestling from Sachem North is Steve Mills, who was a runner up at 220 pounds in the county tournament.
Sachem East brought three wrestlers to states including Conor O’Hara (138), Jackson Mordente (145) and Cristian Nunez (195). Mordente was a runner-up in the county at 145. Nunez and O’Hara both placed third.
First round match-ups
- 138 pounds: O’Hara vs. Bryan Mongiello from Washingtonville (IX)
- 145 pounds: Mordente vs. Jose Pagan from Lockport (VI)
- 182 pounds: Santiago vs. Ali Hashimee from Shenendehowa (II)
- 195 pounds: Nunez vs. Reggie Williams from Johnson City (IV)
- 220 pounds: Mills vs. Josh Hartnett from Tappan Zee (I)
Schedule
SESSION No. 1
| Friday, Feb. 22 | 7:30 – 8:30 am | Weigh-Ins |
| 9:30 am | Parade of Champions/National Anthem | |
| 10:00 – 2:00 pm | Preliminaries: Division 1 and 2 | |
| 2:00 – 4:00 pm | Quarterfinals: Division 1 and 2 | |
| 4:00 – 8:00 pm | Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2 |
SESSION No. 2
| Saturday, Feb. 23 | 7:30 – 8:30 am | Weigh-Ins |
| 9:30 am | National Anthem/Special Awards | |
| 10 am–12:30 pm | Semifinals: Division 1 and 2 Wrestlebacks: Division 1 and 2 |
|
| 12:30–2:00 pm | Wrestlebacks/Cons Semifinals: Div. 1 & 2 |
|
| 2 pm–3:30 pm | Consolations Finals: Division 1 and 2 |
SESSION No. 3
| Saturday, Feb. 23 | 5 pm | Gates re-open for Finals |
| 6 pm | FINALS: Division 1 and 2 (2 mats only) |
Related Links
Follow @SachemReport for updates throughout the day and check back here periodically for stories, analysis, photos and video.
-Words by Chris R. Vaccaro