The entries – and seeds – for the Eastern States Classic wrestling championships have been released.
Thirteen schools from Section 9 will be sending a total of 50 wrestlers — perennial power Minisink Valley leads the way with 11 entries and Valley Central has eight. Also, Cornwall-based New York Military Academy will be sending five wrestlers. In all, a total of 184 schools from six states will be participating.
The two-day event — once hosted for years at SUNY Sullivan — will be held at The Impact Center in Clifton Park. Friday’s round-of-64 begins at 10:20 a.m., with an anticipated finish at 8 p.m. On Saturday, quarterfinals begin at 9:15 a.m., semifinals are expected at 1 p.m. and finals to begin around 4:15 p.m.
The seeds were released at 11 a.m. Thursday (still subject to change), and the single-digit favorites from the Mid-Hudson include: No. 1 William Soto of Newburgh Free Academy (110 pounds); No. 1 Wyatt Boice of Minisink Valley (175); No. 2 Evan Gomez of Valley Central (103); No. 2 Cooper Merli of New York Military Academy, and formerly from Newburgh (118); No. 3 Zach Filip of Minisink (215); No. 5 E.J. Vass of Valley Central (126); No. 5 Liam Hayes of Monroe-Woodbury (165); No. 6 Marco Futia of Wallkill (132); No. 7 Elijah Brown of Monroe-Woodbury (144); No. 7 Connor Wilson of Our Lady of Lourdes (175); No. 8 Joseph Uhrig of Minisink (150); and, No. 8 Jayden Pressley of Minisink (190).
Minisink Valley finished second in the 2025 team standings (tops among New York’s public schools), trailing only St. Francis from the Catholic High School Athletic Association. Newburgh Free Academy finished fourth overall and second among public schools and Valley central was sixth overall.
The Classic can boast of 216 champion wrestlers who went on to win state championships and 25 NCAA All-Americans, including two-time winner Lou Ruggirello (2004, 2005).
Last year, Section 9 earned 14 top-eight finishes, including three champions: First – William Soto (Newburgh, 108 pounds); Luke Satriano (Valley Central, 131); P.J. Duke (Minisink Valley, 170); Second – Cooper Merli (Newburgh/now N.Y. Military Academy, 116); Mason Ketcham (Washingtonville, 145); Christopher Leggett (Newburgh, 215); Third – Edward Vass (Valley Central, 116); Fourth – Kelly Sullivan (Monroe-Woodbury, 108); Anthony Tresch (Minisink Valley, 152); Wyatt Boice (Minisink Valley, 160); Logan Pennell (Pine Bush, 170); Fifth – Marco Futia (Wallkill, 116); Jacob DeJesus (Washingtonville, 215); Eighth – Zach Filip (Minisink Valley, 190)
Here are the 2026 entries for the Section 9 schools:
F.D. Roosevelt (5): No. 21 Luke Dakin (Sr., 138); Brennan Paul (Sr., 144); Liam Dakin (Sr., 175); Peyton McFarland (Sr., 190); Cashmeire Curtis (Sr., 285)
Highland (1): Jacob Declair (Jr., 150)
Middletown (5): Evan Bryant (Soph., 110); Anthony Noboa (Jr., 132); No. 25 Miguel Nieves (Sr., 138); No. 16 D.J. Aviles (Sr., 157); Aaden Scott (Soph., 165)
Minisink Valley (11): Alberto Vicencio Bairan (Soph., 103); Gabe Simpson (Sr., 126); No. 19 Colin Matone (Jr., 132); Alex Nigro (Sr., 144); No. 8 Joseph Uhrig (Jr., 150); Vinny Coppola (Jr., 157); No. 1 Wyatt Boice (Jr., 175); No. 8 Jayden Pressley, Sr., 190); No. 3 Zach Filip (Sr., 215); No. 16 Timmy Duke (Sr., 285); Shaheed Mitchell (Sr., 285)
Monroe-Woodbury (4): No. 10 Kelly Sullivan (Soph., 126); Caleb Brown (Fr., 132); No. 7 Elijah Brown (Soph., 144); No. 5 Liam Hayes (Sr., 165)
New York Military Academy (5): No. 2 Cooper Merli (Sr., 118); No. 4 Landon Herdic (Jr., 132); No. 8 Anthony Moreno (Sr., 144); No. 4 Shea Morris (Sr., 157); No. 1 Braeden Simoneaux (Jr., 190)
Newburgh Free Academy (4): No. 1 William Soto (Jr., 110); Matteo Morell (Sr., 175); No. 12 William Coughlin (Sr., 190); No. 12 Mjay Smith (Jr., 215)
Div. II – Our Lady of Lourdes (2): Bryce Reilly (Sr., 118); No. 7 Connor Wilson (Sr., 175)
Pine Bush (2): Griffyn Alfalla (Soph., 118); No. 14 Patrick Curran (Sr., 285)
Rondout Valley (1): No. 28 Matteo Walsh (Fr., 118)
Valley Central (8): No. 2 Evan Gomez (Fr., 103); No. 13 Dominic Giannoni (Seventh, 103); No. 20 Andrew Uszenski (Fr., 110); Ian Geltles (Soph., 118); No. 5 E.J. Vass (Soph., 126); No. 10 Maximus Smith (Jr., 150); Mike Giannoni (Jr., 157); Zyon Lowe (Sr., 165)
Wallkill (3): No. 6 Marco Futia (Sr., 132); Thomas Caufaglione (Sr., 157); Vin Bongiovanni (Sr., 175)
Warwick (1): No. 17 Garrett Judd (Jr., 118)
Washingtonville (3): No. 24 Owen Milmore (Jr., 126); Jacob Brugos (Sr., 132); No. 23 Gianni Gennaro (Jr., 138)
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: See the Section 9 wrestling entries, seeds for the Eastern States
Reporting by Ken McMillan, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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