There were 34 New York City wrestlers in competition in Albany today at the NY State Public High School Athletic Association tournament in search of a state title. After day one, 14 remain, while six emerged from the first day unscathed and will wrestle tomorrow morning in the semifinals.
Division 1
Grand Street's 126-pound Keanu Thompson (at right) had quite a day. His quarterfinal upset over returning state champion Dylan Realbuto of Somers (pictures), could arguably be called the biggest win in PSAL history. But before that, he had to get there by avenging an earlier season loss. Unseeded going into the tournament, he had a rematch against his Grapple at the Garden final's opponent, Jacob Green of Chenango Forks, who is seeded 7th. Utilizing a late escape and takedown, he was able to emerge victorious, setting the stage for the the monumentous quarters' bout. Trailing 2-1 after the first period, Keanu went to work on top and eventually locked up a far-side cradle and secured the pin. There was huge reaction throughout the arena at such a dramatic turn of events. Thompson will wrestle 6th-seeded Antonio DeLuco of Rome Free Academy tomorrow morning in the semis.
Fordham Prep's Sam Melikian, the 3rd seed at 132, will also wrestle in the semis tomorrow morning. He won his first match 10-0 and squeaked by in the quaterfinals 3-2. He will wrestle Brandon Lapi of Amsterdam with a state finals berth on the line.
Kevin Tynes of Brooklyn Tech entered the day unseeded at 195 Pounds. Undeterred, the Stanford signee won his first two matches by scores of 10-6 and 7-4. He will wrestle Syosset's Dan Choi in the semifinals.
Monsignor Farrell's Rich Sisti entered today undefeated, and left with his record still unblemished. He went 2-0 on the day, winning by scores of 5-1 and 7-1. He will wrestle Huntington's Nick Lupi, the top seed at 220, for a birth in the finals tomorrow night.
The Following NYC wrestlers went 2-1 on the day and remain alive in the consolation bracket. One win tomorrow morning will earn them a state medal:
- 106 - Adam Gomez, Benjamin Cardozo
- 120 - Santo Curatolo, Tottenville
- 132 - Saidyokub Kahramonov, New Utrecht
- 152 - Konstantin Parfiryev, James Madison
- 160 - Andrew Psomas, Monsignor Farrell
- 182 - Nathanael Rose, Eagle Academy
- 182 - Matt Roberts, Monsignor Farrell
Division 2
At 113 Pounds, Brooklyn International's Cheick Ndiaye entered the tournament as the top seed and performed as you would expect a top seed to perform. He won matches by scores of 15-1 and 6-2. He will wrestle Locust Valley's Nick Casella in the semifinals, a wreslter he defeated earlier this year.
Adis Radoncic of Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy was dominant today. Seeded 6th at 170 pounds, Radoncic won by fall in his first match and then teched the 3rd seed in the quarterfinals. Adis will wrestle 2nd-seeded Troy Seymour of Peru tomorrow morning in the semifinals.
At 106, Alpha Diallo of Brooklyn International went 2-1 on the day and remains alive in the consolation bracket, having beaten the 7th and 8th seeds after coming into the tournament unseeded.
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Beat The Streets is proud of all city wrestlers who competed today and hopes for continued success tomorrow. The six wrestlers in the semifinals all have a shot to win a state title, a feat never accomplished by a PSAL wrestler.
Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, that will no longer be true.
