Section VI crowned four individual NYS champions at Saturday’s state federation championships at MVP Arena in Albany.
Chautauqua Lake’s Jordan Joslyn, Niagara Falls’ Jaden Crumpler, Williamsville North’s Cam Catrabone, and Southwestern’s Tavio Hoose all won individual NYS titles in their respective weights. Newfane’s Aidan Gillings also reached the state final but fell in the 132-pound small school title match.
Overall, Section VI placed eleven wrestlers in both the large and small school tournaments. Two St. Joe’s wrestlers placed as well representing the Msgr. Martin league and the CHSAA.
At the conclusion of wrestling on Friday, 37 WNY wrestlers were still in the tournament going into the Saturday morning semifinals and blood round.
The sectional large and small school teams landed top-5 placements for the second year in a row.
Section VI small schools kept its streak of a top-5 finish in the sectional team score standings alive with 165.5 team points, good for a 5th place finish. In order, sections II, V, IV and the team champion Section III Div. II finished ahead of Section VI.
The Section VI Div. II team has placed top-5 in every state tournament going back to the first year of the split division format in 2004.
On the large school side, Section VI landed a 5th place finish with 139.5 points, only 7.5 points ahead of a strong CHSAA squad. Sections VIII and XI finished in 4th and 3rd, respectively, while a surprising Section II team placed 2nd and Section IX repeated as the Div. I team champion.
Chautauqua Lake landed in 5th place in the individual small school team scoring, only a half point behind the PSAL’s Eagle Academy.
Niagara Falls earned a 6th place finish in the final team scoring in Div. I, finishing only six points behind 5th place Burnt Hills (II).
CL’s **Jordan Joslyn** opened as the 7-seed in the Division II 126-pound bracket and was awarded as the small school Most Outstanding Wrestler. Joslyn earned a pin in the round of sixteen before earning an impressive tech fall over the 2-seed Waylan Winseman from Honeyoe Falls-Lima (V) in the quarterfinal.
In the semifinal, Joslyn earned the only points of the match with a first period takedown and hung on for a 2-0 decision win over returning NYS 5th place winner Trevor Cortright from Chenango Valley (IV) to advance to the 126-pound final.
In the final, Joslyn would meet top seeded returning NYS champion Gianni Silvestri from the team state dual meet champion Tioga Tigers (IV).
Joslyn earned the first points of the final with a takedown with less than a minute remaining in the first period. An escape by Silvestri made it 2-1, however a takedown with only five seconds remaining in the first period gave Joslyn an impressive 4-1 lead after two minutes.
The score remained 4-1 going into the third period. Joslyn had choice and selected to go down to start the period. A second stalling call on Joslyn made the match score 4-2, however a reversal with only thirty-eight seconds remaining gave Joslyn a four point advantage, 6-2. A late reversal by Silvestri brought the score to 6-4 but time ran out shortly after as Joslyn hung on to win.
“I just made sure that I was wrestling my matches instead of trying to stop them from wrestling theirs,” said Joslyn after the final. “I knew if I did I would beat them all. [In the offseason] I changed my style, and I stopped worrying about what other people are doing and making sure I wrestle the way that I should.”
Joslyn is Chautauqua Lake’s second NYS champion, joining 2018 state tournament champion Bryce Rowe in the record book.
Niagara Falls senior **Jaden Crumpler** earned the top seed in the Division I 126-pound bracket in one of the tournament’s deepest and most talented weight classes. WNY placed three wrestlers in the top-8 of the bracket as the Wolverines’ Amarfio Reynolds, Jr finished in 4th place and St. Joe’s Nik Massaro was 5th.
The defending NYS tournament finalist opened with tech falls in both the round of sixteen and quarterfinals.
In the semifinal, Crumpler would meet returning NYS 4th place winner Ray Adams from Calhoun (VIII). Crumpler edged out Adams, 3-2, in the 3rd place match at Eastern States on Jan. 14th.
After a scoreless first period Adams’ choice in the second was bottom. Crumpler used a tilt to earn two near fall points on top to score the matches’ first points.
In the third period, Crumpler chose bottom and escaped only six seconds into the period. A takedown with less than a minute remaining gave Crumpler a 5-0 lead that he would keep to the end of the bout and advance back to the NYS finals.
In the large school 126-pound final, Crumpler would meet 3-seed and returning NYS 3rd place winner Joe Clem from Section VIII powerhouse Wantagh in a highly anticipated rematch; Crumpler was a 2-0 winner over Clem on Jan. 14th at Eastern States.
Clem scored the first points of the match with a takedown a minute into the first period. However, a Crumpler reversal with less than thirty seconds remaining in the opening period made it 2-2 going into the second.
Choice of bottom in the second period led to another reversal for Crumpler and a 4-2 lead going into the third period.
Late in the third period, Crumpler held onto the 4-2 lead after a flurry from neutral that ended right on the boundary line. Crumpler was in on a low outside single while Clem used a wizzer to defend, with neither wrestler gaining the advantage as time expired and the final score at 4-2 in favor of the Falls senior.
“Last year I finished second in the state, so I knew this year I had to work hard, bringing everything I got, and finish out on top and that’s what I did,” said Jaden after the final. “I wrestled the three and the four seed two months before this so I knew if I stick to the same game plan and wrestle hard I would get the victory.”
Crumpler is the third NYS champion in Wolverines Wrestling history joining Willie McDougald (2018, 2020) and Mel Cunningham (1967).
Top seeded Williamsville North junior **Cam Catrabone** cruised to the NYS Div. I 145-pound title and in doing so became North’s first ever NYS wrestling champion.
Catrabone brought a 47-2 record, two previous NYS tournament place finishes, and one of the entire tournament’s best individual resumes this year to Albany.
Catrabone pinned each of his first two opponents in the round of sixteen and the quarterfinals to advance back to the Saturday semifinal.
In the semifinal, Catrabone met the CHSAA champion from Iona Prep HS, Max Watson.
After a scoreless first period, Catrabone broke the match open in the second period with an escape from bottom and a takedown right to near fall criteria for a 5-0 lead. An escape by Watson before the end of period made it 5-1 going into the third.
Another escape in the final period made it 5-2 with a minute remaining but neither wrestler would find anymore point as Catrabone held on to advance to his first NYS tournament final.
In the 145-pound title match, Cam would meet 3-seeded returning NYS 5th place winner Renso Montalvo from Amsterdam (II).
After another scoreless first period Catrabone would select bottom to start the second period. A reversal fifteen seconds into the match would lead Catrabone to find his go to ‘bulldog’ half nelson with wrist control on the far arm and finally the title-sealing pin with a minute remaining in the second period.
“It’s exciting…it’s satisfying considering all the other years. Although the competition wasn’t as tough as some of the other tournaments, it’s sweet here. The crowd, the environment, everything is awesome,” said Catrabone after the final.
On being the first state champion from Williamsville North, Catrabone added “It means a lot my school, my friends, my family, and community.”
Catrabone is the first state champion in Spartans program history and added the sixth total NYS tournament place finish to the program record board. Cam’s 1st place finish is the highest individual placement at the state tournament since Rob Kearney’s 3rd place finish in 1989.
Southwestern freshman **Tavio Hoose** became the Trojans’ fourth different wrestler to win a NYS title in program history and the first since two-time champion Matt Mazgaj in 2004 to do so.
Entering the tournament as the 6-seed in the weight class, Tavio toughed out four straight decision wins, three of which were against seniors, on the way to capturing the 172-pound Division II state title.
Hoose opened with a 7-0 decision over Pearl River’s (I) Michael McCarvill in the round of sixteen. He then earned a 6-3 decision over Section IV’s Trevor Harrington from Sidney, 6-3, in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis and guarantee a top-6 place finish on Saturday.
In the semifinal, Hoose would meet Norwich’s (IV) Mason Edwards.
Hoose earned a takedown in the first period and took a 2-1 lead into the second. A reversal in the second period with a minute remaining gave Tavio a 4-1 lead going into the third period.
Starting from neutral in the third, Tavio would add another takedown to make a 6-1 score. After an escape by Edwards, Hoose added another two point takedown to the score for a big 8-2 lead. Another Edwards escape and two stalling calls against Hoose made it an 8-4 match that Tavio would hold on to win.
In the state final match, Hoose would meet 4-seeded Cold Spring Harbor (VIII) sophomore Greyson Meak who had taken down the 8-seed that had toppled the bracket’s 1-seed in the quarterfinal.
A scoreless first period set up an action packed second period. Hoose selected to go bottom and got the matches’ first points with a reversal just over a minute into the period. An escaple and then takedown by Meak gave him the 3-2 lead, however a costly penalty point for an illegal move was awarded to Hoose to tie the score 3-3 going into the final two minutes.
An escape just over a minute into the third gave Meak the lead again, 4-3. With both wrestlers warned for stalling once already in third period, the last twenty seconds set the bout up to be one of the evening’s most exciting finishes.
Down by only one point, Hoose attempted a low outside single leg shot. He was able to get control of Meak’s right leg but was met with resistance.
With only six seconds remaining in the bout, Hoose elevated Meak’s leg as they were in parallel position, hip to hip. Hoose used the leverage and weight to drive Meak’s hip to the mat and ended up on top with only three seconds to spare to take a 5-4 lead and hold on for the 172-pound NYS title.
“I was thinking ‘Let’s go! Let’s go!,’ gotta work, I didn’t spend all season just to lose this match,” Hoose said of what was going through his mind in the final twenty seconds of the championship match. “I worked all offseason long. There wasn’t a week where I wasn’t on the mats. Prior to the tournament, I was on the mat four hours a day. All the opportunities my coaches give me, my dad gives me, the support I have from the school, really pushes me, and gives me the opportunity to be in this position to win this title.”
Tavio and classmate & returning NYS place winner Carmine Calimeri both placed in their respective weights on Saturday to add the 26th and 27th all-time NYS place finishes to the Trojan’s program record board. Southwestern’s first state place winner goes back to 1965 in the third year of the NYS championships when Jerry Holmes was a 4th place winner at 112-pounds.