Unprecedented 5 State Wrestling Champs Crowned in Albany

It was an unprecedented weekend as local high school wrestlers came away with a record 5 state championships at Albany's Times Union Center on Saturday night.  Never before  has the Mohawk Valley region of Section III had as many as 5 champions. The NYS wrestling finals began in 1963.

Eight area wrestlers entered the finals on Saturday and two of the five winners would come from Holland Patent.

Alex Herringshaw won his third straight state title when he pinned his opponent, Lyle Grant, with 59-seconds remaining in the match. His teammate Hunter Richard won his second straight championship with a 5-0 decision over fellow Section III wrestler Ross McFarland of Phoenix.

Adirondack's Andrew Tanner won his first state championship with a 2-1 decision over Jacob Beckwith of General Brow, also of Section III.  Ryan O'Rourke placed 2nd at the132 ls.weight class.

CVA's Jon Charles won that school's first-ever state championship with a 5-1 decision over Tioga's John Worthing. Charles not only becomes the newly merged district's first-ever state champ, he becomes the first champion from either Mohawk or Ilion. Those two schools, despite their rich history of wrestling, had never produced a state champion.  CVA's Tanner Cook placed 2nd after falling to Brad Bihler of Maple Grove, 4-3.

Sherburn-Earlville's Jack Buell won the state championship at 195 lbs. with a 3-1 decision over Sandy Creek's Joe Benedict (also of Section III).  Sherburn-Earlville hadn't produced a state champion since the 1960s.

In Division 1, New Hartford's Kelan McKenna fell short of becoming the Spartan's record 9th overall state champion. He lost a close 5-3 decision to Tommy Cox of Deer Park at 113 lbs. New Hartford has produced 8 NYS champions, more than any other school in Section III. Six of those top finishers came from long-time head coach Tom Pauley.  Currently, New Hartford is coached by 1994 state champion David Caruso.

Adirondack won the Division II tournament with 87 points, 21 points ahead of second place Warsaw.  Holland Patent placed 4th with 58 points and Central Valley Academy took 7th place with 51 points.  112 teams competed in the division II tournament.  Hilton won the Division I tournament and New Hartford placed 33rd.  Section III won the division II tournament with 290 points.