Wrestlers from Section V and the rest of the state need to be ready to go, when the first matches of the high school state championships begin today in Albany.
There are 56 wrestlers from schools in Section V who advanced to states, 28 in Division I or large schools and 28 in Division II. Like most of the other New York State Public High School Athletic Association sections, Section V has two qualifiers in each weight class.
A few wrestlers, their fans, coaches and media members, if they can, will stop what they are doing to watch Pittsford’s Samson McKissic Staley and Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Chris Noto wrestle.
Noto is on a march toward a second state championship in Division II, after winning the 131-pound small schools title last year.
McKissick Staley, most of the time, also makes defeating above-average high school wrestlers look easy. Sports Illustrated had McKissick Staley at No. 13 in its national rankings of 150-pound high school wrestlers. He has been a state runner-up the last two years.
Both seniors received the John Ordiway Outstanding Wrestler Award from the Section V Wrestling Officials group at the Section V Division I and Division II State Qualifiers on Valentine’s Day at Bath Haverling and Rush-Henrietta.
The action today in downtown Albany is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and continue until the semifinal and consolation matchups are set.
Follow here for updates all day long.
Day 1 – Friday, Feb. 27
Samson Mckissick Staley (Pittsford)
150 pounds – Division I
Samson McKissick Staley is still on track toward a state title, as a bye, a pin and a technical fall put the Panthers middleweight into the semifinals.
The No. 1 seed pinned Niko Marnika, a junior at Commack on Long Island, after 1:50 seconds. McKissick Staley moved into the tournament’s final four, when he defeated Max McCarthy, a junior on the formidable Buffalo Saint Francis team, 17-1.
Eric McLean (Webster Thomas)
150 pounds – Division I
Lost his first bout by major decision, 12-3, to South Glens Falls senior Christian Faulkner. McLean is in the consolation bracket.
Ryder Reichert (Alexander/Pembroke)
150 pounds – Division II
The No. 5 seed, a junior at Alexander, improved his season record to 43-1, before taking his second loss of the season. Reichert had a bye into the second round, where he pinned Adam Delcostello, a junior on the Jordan-Elbridge merged team in the Syracuse region, 4:43 into the match.
A senior at Eden in the Buffalo region moved Reichert into the consolation bracket. Trevor DellaPenta, the No. 4 seed, defeated the Alexander Trojans middleweight, 8-6.
Noah Murray (Palmyra-Macedon)
150 pounds – Division II
Pal-Mac middleweight lost his opening match. Marcus Houghtaling, a junior at Locust Valley on Long Island, defeated Murray by a 7-6 score. Murray moved to the consolation bracket.
Jacob McVige (Honeoye Falls-Lima)
157 pounds – Division II
This weight class No. 1 seed pinned two sets of shoulders to the mat on his way to the semifinals. McVige, after a bye, ended his second round-match against Section V’s Austin Hall in 1:28. The next match against Cheektowaga senior Mohammad Norr was over after 3:38. Season record is now 36-3. McVige, a senior, was a state runner-up in 2025.
Austin Hall (Canisteo-Greenwood)
157 pounds – Division II
Hall won his match in the first round before losing to Jacob McVige, the No. 1 seed from Honeoye Falls-Lima. The rematch of the Section V Division II state qualifier tournament final was set-up, when Hall pinned New York City’s Eril Soloman, a senior at Eagle Academy, in 1:15. McVige pinned Hall in 1:28.
Devon Weber (Greece)
157 pounds – Division I
No. 3 seed has a slot in the semifinals. Weber’s tournament began in the second round, where he scored a technical fall over Liam Torpey, a senior at Webster Schroeder in Section V. The Section V Division I State Qualifiers champion then scored another technical fall over Section IX’s Thomas Caufaglione, a senior at Wallkill in Ulster County.
Liam Torpey (Webster Schroeder)
157 pounds – Division I
Torpey, a senior with the Webster Schroeder Warriors, won his first round-match, scoring a technical fall, 15-0, over New York City’s Yusufdzhon Balaev, a junior at Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Schroeder middleweight then lost to Weber for the second consecutive week, again by technical fall, 16-1.
William Wood (Brockport)
165 pounds – Division I
Senior reached the quarterfinals, where he lost his matchup with the No. 1 seed. Wood, the No 8 seed, took a bye into the second round, then scored a technical fall, 16-0, over Liam Hayes, a senior at Monroe-Woodbury in Section IX (Orange County). . Griffin LaPlante, a senior on the respected Buffalo Saint Francis team, moved Wood into the consolation bracket by winning a 7-2 decision.
Kristopher Mihalitisas (Pittsford)
165 pounds – Division I
No. 10 seed, a senior, had a bye into the second round, he was dropped into the consolation round by Luke Ryan. A senior at Fox Lane in Section I (Westchester County), Ryan won a decision, 6-2, over Mihalitsas.
Brody Heckman (Alexander/Pembroke)
165 pounds – Division II
No. 2 seed is in in the semifinals after a bye, pin and technical fall. A senior, Heckman won by fall in 50 seconds over Branigan Boulds, a senior at Saranac in Section VII (Clinton County, North Country region). The Section V Division II State Qualifiers champion then defeated Wheet, a senior at Little Falls in the Syracuse/Utica region, 15-0.
Peter Thompson (Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton)
165 pounds – Division II
A bye put Thompson, a junior, into the second round. There, he scored a technical fall against New York City’s Jordan Hinds, a senior at Eagle Academy, 15-0. Section IV’s Cadin Creeley, a senior at Newark Valley, pinned Thompson after 2:47 in the quarterfinals. Thompson is in the consolation bracket.
Xander Outman (Wellsville)
175 pounds – Division II
A bye put the No. 4 seed into the second round. There, Outman eased into the quarterfinals, where scored another technical fall. Outman defeated Cheektowaga junior Khaled Alsmara, 19-4, and then in the quarterfinals, Hoosick Falls sophomore Asher Colegrove, 18-2. Cheektowaga is near Buffalo (Section VI), Little Falls in Section III (Syracuse/Utica region). Outman remains undefeated this season at 46-0.
Jacob Eaves (Penn Yan)
175 pounds – Division II
Eaves won his first match in the first round and lost in the second to the No. 1 seed. Match No. 1 for Eaves, the Section V wrestler won a decision 11-7, over New York City’s Carlos Rohm, a senior at Dalton School in Manhattan. Connor Wilson, a senior at Our Lady of Lourdes in Section IX (Dutchess and other nearby counties) moved Eaves into the consolation bracket, with a win by a score of 6-0.
Preston Jackson (Rush-Henrietta)
175 pounds – Division I
A bye moved the senior into the second round, where he lost to a wrestler from Section VI (Buffalo region). North Tonawanda junior Keith Mixon won by pin, moving Jackson the No. 9 seed into the consolation bracket.
Porter Vega (Spencerport)
175 pounds – Division I
Shota Kundukhashvili, a junior at New Utrecht in Brooklyn, defeated Vega by a score of 27-23 in the first round. Vega, a senior at Spencerport, is in the consolation bracket.
Dylan Fitzgerald (Brockport)
190 pounds – Division I
Senior has gone from about the middle of the bracket as the No. 11 seed to the semifinals. His overall record is now 45-1.
A bye put Fitzgerald into the second round, where he won a decision, 9-4, over Jaxson Burchard, a junior at Horseheads. Fitzgerald then won another decision, 10-3, over Jayden Pressley, a senior at Minisink Valley in Section IX (Orange and nearby counties).
Ethan Clark (Webster Schroeder)
190 pounds – Division I
Senior scored a major decision in the first round, 15-1, over Jeffrey Petties, a senior from Syracuse. Zachary Caldwell, the No. 2 seed on the respected Buffalo Saint Francis team, scored a technical fall in the second round over Clark, who is now in the consolation bracket after the 19-4 loss.
Jackson Peet (Caledonia-Mumford)
190 pounds – Division II
Peet began his state championships in the first round, and won, as he pinned Jerry Lapage, a sophomore at Malone in Section X (North Country region) in 1:09. Tavio Hoose, a senior in Southwestern in Section VI (Buffalo region), moved Peet into the consolation round with a technical fall in the second round-match, 19-4.
Carson Turner (Canisteo-Greenwood)
190 pounds – Division II
Senior was 1-1, and in the consolation round. Turner won his first round-match, when he pinned Josh Gandelman, a junior at Hackley School in Westchester County). No. 3 seed Liam English scored a technical fall against Turner, 17-0, during the second round.
Gianni Velazquez (Geneva)
215 pounds – Division II
Senior took a bye into the second round and kept on going to the semifinals. The Section V Division II State Qualifiers champion scored a major decision in the second round, 20-6, over Hamilton, a junior on the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield team in the Buffalo region. Velazquez, then in the quarterfinals, put Chad Monty, a senior on the Granville/Whitehall team in the state capitol region (Section II), into the consolation bracket with a technical fall, 15-0.
Cameron Mosher (Honeoye Falls-Lima)
215 pounds – Division II
Senior is on a serious roll. He won a bout in the first round by forfeit, knocked off the No. 1 seed in the second and won a decision in the quarterfinals.
Mosher stunned Christopher Doshna, a senior on the Marcellus/Onandaga team, when he pinned the wrestler from Section III (Syracuse region) after 1:59. The HF-L heavier weight then turned back No. 9 seed Mason Eckelman, a junior at Lowville in Section III, by a score of 5-4 in the quarterfinals. Mosher is the No. 16 seed.
Ronin Walker (Rush-Henrietta)
215 pounds – Division I
R-H senior was put into the consolation bracket after he was pinned 2:43 into his first round-match against Tristen Hamburg, a junior at Hamburg (Buffalo region). Walker is the Section V Division I State Qualifiers champion.
Mohammed Hamenoo (Pittsford)
215 pounds – Division I
No. 11 seed had a bye into the second round. Hamenoo then was pinned by Cicero-North Syracuse junior Kaydin Welch after 58 seconds and moved into the consolation bracket.
Mason Naple (Victor)
285 pounds – Division I
No. 8 seed took a bye into the second round, then to the quarterfinals, before he was stopped and moved into the consolation bracket.
The Section V Division I State Qualifiers champion pinned Syracuse Christian Brothers Academy junior Nicolas Mello in 3:14. Naple was pinned by No. 1 seed Chris Belmonte, a senior on the New Hartford/Saquoit Valley team in the Utica region (Section III), 1:26 into their quarterfinal match.
Troy Johnson (Webster Schroeder)
285 pounds – Division I
Senior went to the consolation round after losing his first round-match by a score of 7-2 to Erick Mejia Zavala, a sophomore at Amityville on Long Island.
Zachary Kuelling (Williamson/Marion/Sodus)
285 pounds – Division II
No. 2 seed is in the semifinals after a bye and two pins. Kuelling, a senior at Marion, placed fourth at the 2025 state championships.
His 2026 state tournament began in the second round, as he took 2:49 to win by fall over Austin Brinkman, a junior at Ichabod Crane in the state capital region. Kuelling won by fall again in the quarterfinals, pinning Landon, a junior at Granville/Whitehall also in Section II, in 2:33.
John Turner (Palmyra-Macedon)
285 pounds – Division II
Senior had to win a match to get out of the first round, then was pinned by the No. 1 seed in the weight class. Turner took 51 seconds to get the shoulders of Petrides senior Luke Burmaster to the mat. Jim Biccum, a senior at South Jefferson in Section III, pinned Turner after 4:54. Petrides is on Staten Island, South Jefferson 40-45 miles from Oswego. Turner went to the consolation rounds in Albany.
Chrystian Velez (Hilton)
103 pounds – Division I
Freshman is the No. 2 seed in this weight class and has a bye into the second round. Record this season is 46-2. Won a major decision 13-3 over Rush-Henrietta’s Logan Murphy in the Section V Division I State Qualifiers final. Section V Class A1 champion. Third-place finish at Eastern States Wrestling Classic, an event that draws wrestlers in the Northeast. First-place tournament finish at Canandaigua.
Logan Murphy (Rush-Henrietta)
103 pounds – Division I
Eighth grader put together a 31-6 record before losing his first match at states, by major decision, 13-2, to Orchard Park eighth grader Raymond Glinsky. Murphy can still wrestle his way to a respected third-place finish in the consolation bracket.
The R-H lightweight became the Monroe County league champion, when he scored a technical fall in the final, 16-1 over Hilton’s Patrick Gefell. Won his weight class at tournaments in Phoenix, located in Oswego County, and Newark Valley in Section IV (Binghamton region). Tournament runner-up to Section V Division II qualifier Connor Duryea at Spencerport. Finished second to Section V Division I qualifier Chrystian Velez at Section V Class A1 Championships and the Section V Division I Qualifiers.
Connor Duryea (Avon/Geneseo)
103 pounds – Division II
A sophomore who advanced to the 2025 state championships. This tournament, he is the No. 3 seed with a bye into the second round. His record this season is 37-2, after he pinned Dansville-Wayland Cohocton team member Weston Mehlenbacher in the Section V Division II State Qualifiers final.
Weston Mehlenbacher (Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton)
103 pounds – Division II
Eighth grader lost his first round-match by decision, 8-5, to Connor Sleeman, a freshman at Gouverneur in Section X (Saint Lawrence region). Mehlenbacher moves to the consolation round, where he can work toward a third-place finish.
Wyatt Sartori (Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton)
110 pounds – Division II
A No. 4 seed with a bye into the second round. Dansville sophomore is undefeated this season after 38 matches. Defeated LeRoy’s Ryan Crissy by technical fall, 17-1, in the Section V Division II State Qualifiers final. They meet again in the second round at states.
Ryan Crissy (LeRoy)
110 pounds – Division II
Freshman is in the second round in this weight class. Won a decision, 3-0, over Section II’s Mason Heckman, a freshman on the Granville/Whitehall team. He needs to get past Weston Mehlenbacher in an all-Section V second round-match to stay in contention for a state title.
Carter Mullen (Fairport)
110 pounds – Division I
No. 6 seed is a sophomore with a bye into the second round. Overall record of 32-6 includes first-place finishes at the Section V Class A1 Championships, Canandaigua’s tournament and Batavia’s tournament. Advanced to states after reaching the Section V Division I State Qualifiers final, where he won a 5-1 decision over Rush-Henrietta’s Christian Englert. Wrestled in at least two tournaments outside of Section V, at Cicero-North Syracuse and Windsor in the Binghamton region.
Christian Englert (Rush-Henrietta)
110 pounds – Division I
Pinned 5:28 into his first round-match by Lucas Maneri, a sophomore at Auburn in Section III (Syracuse region.
Lightweight with the Royal Comets is in his junior-year season. Earned a place at the state championships when he won a “true second place” match by decision, 4-3, over teammate Alex Simons. That improved his season record to 24-8. Denied tournament first-place finishes in finals this season by Section IV’s Mason Vanderhoof (at Newark Valley, 118 pounds), Section III’s Lucas Barbieri (Spencerport) and Fairport’s Carter Mullen (Section V Division I State Qualifiers, Section V Class A1 Championships and Canandaigua). Vanderhoof and Barbieri advanced to states at 110 pounds in Division II.
Connor Guffey (Webster Thomas)
118 pounds – Division I
No. 4 seed’s fourth appearance at states continues in the quarterfinals of the championship bracket, after a bye into the second round, where he pinned Ian Gentles, a sophomore at Valley Central in Section IX (Orange, Ulster and Sullivan Counties.
An injury suffered during a second-round match forced him out of championship contention in 2025. Qualified for states in 2024 as a 108-pound freshman and 102-pound eighth-grader in 2023. A junior, he has built a 34-6 record this season. Defeated Hilton’s Lukas Yeager, 3-2, in the Section V Division I State Qualifiers final. Named an outstanding wrestler at the Section V Class A1 Championships. Placed sixth at the Eastern States Classic and is the Monroe County league champion at this weight.
Lukas Yeager (Hilton)
118 pounds – Division I
A junior seeded 10th and a bye into the second round. Earned trip to states in back-to-back-to-back seasons when he reached the finals at the Section V Division I State Qualifiers. Suffered an injury during the second round of the 2025 state championships, but finished in seventh-place and was a 2025 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Large Schools Team member. In 2024, advanced to states as a 101-pound freshman.
Lukas Mills-Travis (Bath Haverling)
118 pounds – Division II
The No 4 seed in this weight class and division has a bye into the second round. Season record is 37-4. His victory by a score of 6-3 in the Section V State Qualifiers final over Red Jacket’s Tristan Bellis was earned in overtime. Section V Class B2 champion. Livingston County league champion.
Tristan Bellis (Red Jacket)
118 pounds – Division II
A junior at Red Jacket, who has been moved into the consolation bracket. Defeated Jackson Labarge, a sophomore at Northern Adirondack in Section VII, by major decision, 17-8, in the first round, then was pinned in 1:30 by Lucas Hoffman, a senior at Odessa-Montour/Watkins Glen.
Nick Testa (Hilton)
126 pounds – Division I
No. 9 seed is in the quarterfinals, after a bye and winning a 5-4 decision in the second round over Nicholas Fortugno, a senior on the Briarcliff/Byram Hills/Valhalla/Westlake team.
Winner in 39 of his 41 matches so far this season, as a sophomore. Won a decision 8-3 over Webster Schroeder’s Jackson Harrison in the Section V Division I State Qualifiers final. A 116-pounder at the 2025 state championships. 2026 Section V Class A1 champion. 2025-26 Monroe County league champion. Lost to South Seneca’s Barrett David, a state qualifier in Division II, in the 126-pound final of the Robert Bradshaw Memorial, Canandaigua’s tournament.
Jackson Harrison (Webster Schroeder)
126 pounds – Division I
Lost in the first round to Andrew Poh, a senior at Valley Stream North in Section VIII (Nassau County on Long Island). He still has matches to wrestle in, if he can make his way through the consolation bracket.
A junior, Jackson advanced to states when he reached the Section V Division I State Qualifiers final. Record this season is 38-7, as he helped the Webster Schroeder Warriors to a top-five state ranking, reach the semifinals of the dual meet state championships, win the Section V Division I Dual Meet Championships title and win the team scoring at the Monroe County Championships. Runner-up to Hilton’s Nick Testa also at Section V Class A1 Championships. Lost to Jon Testa in the 132-pound Monroe County league championships final. Winner by major decision, 11-3, over Copenhagen’s Zakk LaRue, a Division II state qualifier in the Syracuse region, in the 132-pound final of Webster Schroeder’s tournament. Won the 126-pound tournament at Pavilion.
Connor McCaffrey (Canisteo-Greenwood)
126 pounds – Division II
Sophomore advanced to the first round, but is in the consolation bracket. He won by decision, 17-12, in the first round against Edward Stavros, a freshman at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, Westchester County. That moved McCaffrey into an all-Section V matchup in the second round. South Seneca sophomore Barrett David defeated McCaffrey by a score of 6-3.
Barrett David (South Seneca)
126 pounds – Division II
Senior is a No. 4 seed, and in the quarterfinals. David had a bye into the second round, where he defeated another wrestler at Section V school, No. 13 seed Connor McCaffrey. David now has a record of 41-1.
This is a lightweight with a good-looking list of accomplishments, some added this year, when David won the Section V Division II State Qualifiers final, was named one of two outstanding wrestlers at the Section V Class B3 championships and reached 100 varsity wins.
Christopher Noto (Honeoye Falls-Lima)
132 pounds – Division II
Senior is very much in the running to win state titles in back-to-back years. The No. 1 seed had a bye into the second round, where is match lasted just 18 seconds. Noto pinned Pioneer’s Evan Wright, a sophomore from the Buffalo region. Mason Butler 40-4), a senior at Camden in the Syracuse region, is the next opponent for Noto (44-2).
Dawson Wojtaszczyk (LeRoy)
132 pounds – Division II
Senior also has a top five seed, No. 4. A pin after a first round-bye put Wojtaszczyk in the quarterfinals. Wojtaszczyk ended the match with Section XI’s TJ Stazzone, a senior at Kings Park in Suffolk County on Long Island, in 1:24 seconds.
The LeRoy 132-pounder has a 37-5 record this season, including his runner-up finish to Noto at the Section V Division II State Qualifiers. Section V Class B2 champion. Livingston County league champion. Wojtaszczyk also won tournaments at Kenmore in Section VI (Buffalo region) and at 138 pounds in Pavilion, where he was named an outstanding wrestler.
Jon Testa (Hilton)
132 pounds – Division I
A bye and a pin has this tournament’s No. 2 seed in the quarterfinals. Testa moved past Colin Matone, a junior at Minisink Valley in Section IX, two minutes into their match.
The older brother of the two Section V Division I state qualifiers named Testa is a senior. He finished in fourth-place at states last year as a 124-pounder. Wrestled at the 2024 state championships as a 108-pounder. This season, his record is 45-2. Pinned Webster Schroeder’s Aiden Vollmer in the Section V Division I State Qualifiers final. Placed fourth at Eastern States Classic. Section V Class A1 and Monroe County league 132-pound champion. Pinned Medina’s Luke Duffina during the Medina Tournament finals. 2025 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Large Schools Wrestling Team member.
Aiden Vollmer (Webster Schroeder)
132 pounds – Division I
Moved into the consolation bracket after losing in the first round to Horseheads senior Gavin Hornsby by a score of 4-1.
Vollmer, a junior, is a member of Schroeder’s Section V Division I Dual Meet and Section V Class A1 champion team. His season record is 35-10, including a first-place finish at Webster Schroeder’s Matthew Marino Invitational. Defeated LeRoy’s Carson Stiles during Pavilion’s tournament finals. Runner-up to Hilton’s Jon Testa also at Section V Class A1 Championships. Vollmer qualified for states when he advanced to the finals of the Section V Division State Qualifiers.
Trey LeChase (Fairport)
138 pounds – Division I
A qualifier for the 2025 state meet, LeChase has reached this year’s quarterfinal round. The No. 3 seed took a bye into the second round, where he won a decision, 5-0, over Sachem North senior Jack Cusmano. Sachem North is on Long Island.
LeChase is back at the state championships after a fourth-place finish in 2025. Record is 41-6, with at least three of those losses to Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Christopher Noto, a 2025 Division II state champion. Scored a technical fall over Fairport teammate Logan Matthews, 19-3, in the Section V Division I State Qualifiers final. Finished in fifth-place at the Eastern States Classic. Section V Class A1 champion. Defeated LeRoy’s Dawson Wojtaszcyk, a Division II state qualifier in Section V, 12-3 in the Batavia tournament’s 138-pound final. 2025 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Large Schools Wrestling Team member.
Christopher Chan (Eastridge)
138 pounds – Division I
Chan had to wrestle in the first round, and lost to Jayden Tyson, a senior at Bellport on Long Island, by a score of 12-9. Chan is in the consolation bracket.
Eastridge junior seized a chance to advance to states by scoring a major decision, 12-4, over Attica/Batavia’s Luke Gutman in a “true” second-place match. That gave him a season record of 31-12, before running into his opponent from Section XI. Runner-up to Eastridge teammate Gerald Hitchcock at Section V Class A2 Championships. Lost to Carthage’s Louden Elliott, a state qualifier in the Syracuse region, at Spencerport’s tournament final. Defeated Hitchcock to win Livonia’s 138-pound tournament final. Wrestled with the Eastridge Lancers in 2025.
Joe Scott (Letchworth)
138 pounds – Division II
The tournament’s No. 2 seed in the quarterfinals after first round-bye and a quick pin during the second round. Scott moved New York City’s Jowell Maestre, a junior at Eagle Academy, into the consolation bracket in 22 seconds.
A sophomore at Letchworth, Scott’s record is 42-1. He scored a technical fall, 16-1, over Waterloo’s Jackson Worden in the Section V Division II State Qualifier final. Section V Class B2 champion was named an outstanding wrestler at that event. Livingston County league champion.
Garrett Mehlenbacher (Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton)
138 pounds – Division II
A victory put the Section V Class B1 champion into the second round. Center Moriches junior Justin D’Arce put Mehlenbacher into the consolation bracket, defeating the sophomore 5-0. Mehlenbacher was an 8-4 victor in the first round over John Mignanelli, a senior at Island Trees in Section VIII (Nassau County on Long Island).
Before states, Mehlenbacher had a record of 28-9. He advanced to Albany when he won a “true” second-place match, 10-9, over Waterloo’s Jackson Worden. “True” second-place bouts take place when the tournament runner-up and the third-place finisher have not wrestled against each other.
James Chase (Avon/Geneseo)
144 pounds – Division II
Avon sophomore is in the semifinals. A bye moved Chase into the second round, where he defeated Zenon Derocha, a junior at Hannibal in Section III (Syracuse region), by a score of 8-6. Next, Chase pinned Somers, a junior on the Walton/Delaware Academy team in Section IV (Binghamton region), 3:59 into the quarterfinal round bout. Chase, the No. 6 seed, has improved his record to 38-3.
Steven McCann (East Rochester)
144 pounds – Division II
A 1-1 start put the East Rochester senior into the consolation bracket. McCann began with a win, a 10-6 decision, over Section VI’s Alex Bourgeois, a sophomore on the Chautauqua Lake/Westfield team in Western New York. Lansing junior Evan Sheils came off a bye as the No. 4 seed, and scored a technical fall, 15-0, against McCann.
The East Rochester middleweight, the runner up at the Section V Division II state qualifier, clinched his spot at the state championships when he won a “true” second-place match, 14-8, over Penn Yan’s Ty Conover. “True” second-place bouts take place when the runner-up and third-place finisher have not met earlier in the tournament.
Ben Burrows (Pittsford)
144 pounds – Division I
Took a bye into the second round, where he lost an all-Section V matchup. Marco Provenzano, a sophomore at Fairport, defeated Burrows 10-5.
Senior with the Panthers is the No. 5 seed in this weight class. Qualified for states in 2025. Defeated Provenzano by a score of 4-0 in this year’s Section V Division I State Qualifiers final. The score was 8-0 in favor of Burrows when the middleweights faced each other in the Section V Class A1 final. Season record is 35-5. Monroe County league champion. Runner-up to Lansing’s Evan Sheils, a state qualifier in the Binghamton region, at the Canandaigua tournament. Won a “true” second-place match to get to the 2025 state championships.
Marco Provenzano (Fairport)
144 pounds – Division I
Fairport sophomore, after a bye, won his match in the second round, a 10-5 victory over Pittsford senior Ben Burrows, before he was dropped into the consolation bracket. Joshua Thomas, a junior at Sachem North on Long Island, scored a technical fall over Provenzano during the quarterfinals.
Provenzano placed eighth last year at states as a 124-pounder. Record this winter before states was 17-7, including losses in tournament finals to Burrows at Section V’s state qualifier and Section V Class A1 Championships. Finished in first-place at this weight at the Hornell tournament.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V wrestlers chase state titles
Reporting by James Johnson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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