Monroe County Wrestling Preview SOURCE: armdrag.com November 22, 2023
2023-2024 Monroe County Wrestling Preview
By Craig Kaper, Monroe County Wrestling Chairman It's that time of year again and excitement is swirling as the Monroe County Wrestling season is now underway. Certifications are over and teams are looking at solidifying their lineups. So, let's take a look at this year's front runners. The Lightweights The top contenders here have to be Ryan Cieslinski of Spencerport and Jon Testa of Hilton. Both were state qualifiers last season and it was Cieslinski who made the podium in Albany. Testa won the Super Sectional Tournament at 101 lbs and these two may be on a collision course at 108 this season. Two highly notable athletes from this class last year will be discussed at 124 as Devon Weber of Greece and Chris Noto of HFL have both grown out of this lightweight range. Two additional threats looking to head to Albany are Connor Guffey and Teague Wolcott. Guffey will be representing a deep Webster Thomas team and he will be looking for a return trip to the state capital after a runner-up finish in the state qualifier a year ago. Wolcott finished in 3rd place at 110 last season for Fairport and will be looking to improve on that position this season. Other top finishers from the Supers tournament are Jackson Harrison of Schroeder who was 3rd at 101 lbs, Adam Gerby of Pittsford who was 4th and Bennett Palmeri out of Fairport who took home 5th place honors. Andrew Jeffers from Churchville returns after a 5th place finish at 110 lbs last season. Two other returning Supers place finishers are Lukas Yeager of Hilton and Liam Torpey of Schroeder. Keep an eye out for these guys as they were threats last season and will look to improve their position when the post season rolls around: John Winseman of HFL, Koray Kocaoglu of Pittsford, Drew Aparo of Victor, Mike Soto of Spencerport, Cameron Guffy of Thomas, and Spencer Palmeri of Fairport. Each of these grapplers earned All County Honors a year ago. The Light Middleweights So many state medalist threats fall into this weight range. Section V will be sending some serious talent to Albany come late February. First the returning state reps and medal winners: There are three 2023 State Medalists in this group. Chris Noto of HFL returns after taking home 5th place state honors at 110 lbs last season. He will be moving up a couple of weights and he will be searching to step on that state podium once again. Samson McKissick-Staley arrived on the scene in Section V for Pittsford last year and made an immediate statement. Last February Staley placed 6th in the state tourney as a freshman at 126 lbs. He should be a threat for top honors this season. Richard Wood also returns with some state hardware to his credit. The Brockport grappler finished in 7th place last season and will be looking to climb higher this February. HFL has three returning wrestlers who have all captured state medals in previous years. Jacob McVige, Waylan Winseman, and Andrew Spalding will all be looking for a return to the podium. These three along with Noto will once again be packing a punch for the lightweight group out of HFL. Other returning state qualifiers are Trey LeChase out of Fairport. He was 2nd at Supers last season in the 118 lb weight class and will surely be hungry for earning a spot on the state podium. The same can be said for Tyler Simons of Hilton and Cael Raines of Churchville. These two have a ton of talent and should be threats come postseason. Do not count out Zach Gerby of Pittsford. He has state experience and will be returning with an eagerness to make a return trip. Also returning at this weight range are a host of potential threats to make the top two this season at Supers. The leader of this group is Philly Provenzano of Fairport. He provided some epic battles last season that were a ton of fun to watch. He also holds some wins over the aforementioned names in the weight grouping. William Wood of Brockport will be another one to keep an eye on after his 3rd place finish at supers a year ago. Greece boasts a trio of talented Supers medal winners in Joseph Mollica, Devon Weber, and Daniel O'Dea. These three will be repping a resurging Greece team. Other Supers medal winners in this group are Joseph Trieste of Spencerport, Eric Mclean of Thomas, Paul Rose of Brockport, and Wyatt Bryman of Attica/Batavia. Keep an eye out for these guys as they were threats throughout the 22-23 season: James Hargather of Hilton, Chase Sackett of Fairport and Angelo Attardi of Victor. The Middleweights One of Section V's biggest threats for a state title lies with Casper Stewart of Attica/Batavia. The senior will be looking for his first title before departing for West Point. Stewart is a multi state medal winner and is currently ranked in the nation. It will be entertaining for sure to watch him throughout his senior campaign. Another returning state medal winner is Landon Lazarek of Hilton. Lazarek went on a tear at the state meet in 23 and will return, looking to reach that top spot on the podium this season. Two other returning state reps can be found in Dino Battisti of Brockport and Jackson Koppers of RH. These two have had a taste of the state tournament and are looking to return and capture that elusive state medal. There is other significant talent returning in this weight grouping with returning Supers place finishers in Fletcher Smith of RH, Philip Testa of Hilton, and Sam Renica of Pittsford. These 3 had a great season a year ago and will look to pick-up where they left off. Also returning with Supers hardware are Austin Boff of Brockport, Pittsford's Rudy Antonucci, Justin Tennity of Churchville, Nate Huesinger of Attica/Batavia, and Andrew Frost of Churchville. Keep an eye on these returning athletes as they made some noise last season: Ben Burrows of Pittsford, Erik Martinez-Gonzalez of Brighton, Cooper Levine of HFL, Luke Meesen of Thomas, and Eli Ricci of Victor. The Upperweights There will be some All State returners repping the upper-weights for Section V this season. Leading the way will be returning state finalist and nationally ranked Elijah Diakomihalis of Hilton. He was dominant all last season with just 2 losses on his record. This year he will once again be a contender to stand atop of the podium in Albany. Coy Raines capped off a junior campaign with a state medal. He returns for Churchville Chili and will look to stand higher on the state podium. Mason Depew also took a trip last season to Albany and he and his Canandaigua coaches will be looking for him to bring home a medal this time around. There are several other returning Supers place finishers in the mix that will be looking for their first trip to the state meet. Max Meagher of Hilton, Dom Blekot of Thomas, Reid Johnson of Greece, Gael Sanchez of Churchville Chili, Shane Kisielewski of Victor, Anthony Cimino of Thomas, Tyler Stewart of Thomas, Tymothy Murrell of Attica/Batavia, and Tamar Jasper of RH all placed last season in their respective weight classes. Keep on an eye on these athletes as they too made some noise last season: Kiernan Hayden of Thomas, Ronald Dietz of Eastridge, Austin Rohr-Cimino of Irondequoit, Cooper Farrell of Brockport, Jaxxson Cody of Churchville, and Tyler Baetzold of Attica Batavia. These wrestlers will be looking to earn some hardware this season for their teams. Additional Wrestlers to Lookout For Regardless of Weight: Nathan Wagner (Bri), Connor Morris (Pen), Josh Jonason (Pitt), Virgil Joseph (WS), Braydon Albro (Pen), David Santoli (WS), Ethan Vazquez (WS), Maximus Taylor (WS), Christian Kuhn (RH), Tramone Parson (RH), Ian Pitt (WS), Braydon Vallow (Pen), Jamison Riley (Vic), Jamison Mancari (RH), Charles Messina (Bri), Sam Mulligan (Pen), Mason Naple (Vic), Logan Morse (CC), Preston Bannister (AB), Jaydon Miesch (Bro), Jacob Hill (Spen), Matthew Durnell (Bro), Collin Mastin (WT), Connor Hahn (GC), Owen Smith (Iron), Carter Walworth (CC), Eric Mclean (WT), Luke Gutman (AB), Cole Brockman (EIR), Alex Pabon (WT), Remy O'Keefe (EIR), Hunter Green (AB), Braden Sheffer (Bro), Jayden Gourdine (CC), Noah Leathersich (GC), Jonathan Schmitt (WT), John Alexander (Bro), Carson Frarey (CA), Trevor Weeden (CC), Max Tomaszewski (CC), Robert Becker (AB), Kaden Armosino (Spen), Griffen Freeman (RH), Xander Burress (RH), Owen Englert (HFL), Cam Paul (Vic) As always, new faces and names will present themselves throughout the season. We are looking forward to a great season of Monroe County Wrestling!!!!!! Comments |