SOURCE: www.fltimes.com

February 22, 2004

Achilles, Bloom going to states

By Jim Eichenhofer, Finger Lakes Times

BROCKPORT — Geneva wrestling coach Bill Hadsell had no trouble calling Pete Achilles the 96-pound favorite prior to this weekend's Section V state qualifying event.

"I don't think there's anyone who can beat him," Hadsell said mid-week of Achilles' chances.

With the competition having as much difficulty scoring against the Panther as New England Patriots opponents, it was easy to understand Hadsell's confidence.

Achilles notched an early two-point takedown against Hilton's Mark Ranzenbach, then held on for a 2-1 decision in the 96-pound Division I championship. En route to earning a berth in next weekend's state tournament, the Geneva senior allowed just two points over three bouts.

At SUNY Brockport, Achilles kicked off a championship bracket that resulted in a total of eight Finger Lakes grapplers advancing to the state tourney, up from three last winter.

Geneva teammate Mark Bloom (152 pounds) joined Achilles in capturing a Division I championship and booking his first trip to states. Wayne's Nate Patterson (135), Ryan Lamagra (160) and Joe Zaso (171) also triumphed in Division I, as did the Canandaigua duo of Kyle Ingraham (125) and Trevor Chinn (145).

Chinn, who will make his sixth state tournament appearance, was selected as D-I's Most Outstanding Wrestler.

Penn Yan senior Brendan Hamm was the lone Finger Lakes champion in Division II. Hamm held off Keshequa's Jake Baxter with a 5-4 decision in the 160-pound finals to earn his initial berth in the state event.

Achilles opened the proceedings Saturday evening with his 2-1 decision, after scoring victories of 5-1 and 8-0 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.

"One of his best assets is he's got great defense," Hadsell described. "He's obviously very hard to score on and doesn't give up much. He kind of controlled the match. He maybe wrestled a little bit too conservatively, but it was a such a big match that he didn't want to take too many chances."

"That was my strategy all year: to be defensive and wait for the other kid to make a mistake," said Achilles, who previously defeated Ranzenbach 6-0 in a regular-season encounter. "After you've wrestled someone before, you kind of get to know each other's moves and it was such a big match, that everything's a little more intense. I've gotten closer and closer every year to this, and winning here has been my goal for the last few years."

Bloom produced similar results in the 152-pound championship, stymieing Brockport's Sean Riley for a 5-1 decision. Like Achilles, Bloom had already defeated his final-round opponent during the regular season.

Achilles and Bloom became the first Geneva wrestlers to reach the state tournament since the 1990s.

Hamm, also a senior, was relieved to win the SuperSectional crown for the first time in his career, saying he likely would have viewed his season as a disappointment had he not done so. He dropped a heartbreaking championship bout in overtime last winter. Hamm showed little emotion after his methodical victory over Baxter, quietly strolling over to Keshequa's coaches for a post-match handshake after the final buzzer.

"I just wanted to take care of business and get this match done," Hamm explained. "The way I lost in the finals last year, this was my goal. I don't know if I showed it, but I'm very happy right now."

In addition to the eight Finger Lakes champions, there were eight other area grapplers who reached the finals before being eliminated.

In Division I, Newark's James DeTaeye dropped a tough 1-0 decision at 215, while Canandaigua's Kevin Morrice was ousted by Patterson in overtime. Braves teammate Greg Gelinas (130) and Wayne's A.J. Haak also made the title round.

Mynderse's Bobby Plate (215), Palmyra-Macedon's Josh Rudy (125) and Bryan Rodman (135) and Waterloo's Josh Mateo (140) were D-II runners-up.