Drake takes on the state

By Matt Wing, Tribune Sports

BUFFALO - For the third year in a row the Hornell High School wrestling team will send one of its members to the New York State Championships.

Junior Bill Drake will make his first trip to the state competition this evening at the University of Buffalo.

"I've has so many great assistant coaches helping me," Hornell Coach Matt Sheldon said of the reason for the program's success over his tenure. "This year our numbers are small and that's gotten us in trouble in some matches where we've had to give up some forfeits, but I really had three or four assistant coaches that helped out. Some of them would really jump on Bill and force him to work hard. If I was there by myself I wouldn't be able to do that."

The HHS wrestling program has been blessed with several outstanding wrestlers that made it to the state tournament, including nine during Sheldon's 14-year run as Head Coach.

"The last two years Cory Lawrence went and two years before I didn't have anybody - that was my longest drought," Sheldon said. "I kind of get spoiled. I've talked to some coaches that have gone their entire career and don't get a kid to go, or maybe just one, but I've been real lucky with the wrestlers that I've had. I just want to keep it going."

"I talked to the coach from Elmira-Notre Dame a few years ago and he had almost the identical streak in the beginning (of his career)," Sheldon added, "and then went 15 years or so without anyone going. I said that wasn't going to happen to me, and luckily it hasn't."

Drake has won four of the six tournaments that he entered this season in the 215-pound weight class including the Geneva Tournament, the Canandaigua Tournament, the State Farm Classic in Hornell and, most recently, the Super Sectional Tournament held last weekend in Brockport.

"Sectionals got me to states but the Canandaigua Tournament (was important) because I was the first one (from Hornell) to win that in the last seven years," Drake said. "They were both kind of special."

Drake has a record of 34-7 this season and had 31 wins last year in his first season at 215 pounds and is quickly approaching 100 wins for his career.

"I think he wrestled really well at the Canandaigua Tournament," said Sheldon of Drake's best performance. "The Canandaigua Tournament is one of the premier tournaments in the state with a lot of the state-ranked teams like Hilton and Canandaigua and others. There were some really tough kids there. There was a kid from Cane Pennsylvania who was just stacked and Bill just wrestled smarter than him."

"At Super Sectionals he had some tough kids, too. The kid he saw in the finals was ranked most of the year, if not all year, first in Section V at 215 and that match really wasn't that close."

Drake defeated Bobby Plate of Mynderse in the title match, but it was after his win in the semifinals that he knew he was destined to move on to states.

"Right after I won my semifinal match I told the coaches that I wasn't going to be stopped from going to states," Drake said. "That was kind of cocky, but I knew I could go in there and win it. At the beginning of the year I was just hoping that I would get this far. I had a lot of good competition throughout the year, but it just felt right."

The Red Raider only took fifth place during last year's sectional tournament and moved into the Super Sectionals this season with a third place finish. His only loss at in the B sectionals came from his arch nemesis, Pat Prescott of Bath-Haverling.

"There was a couple matches, but the one that I was really worried about and was working real hard towards were my matches against Pat Prescott," said Drake of the one match that prepared him for the state championship run. "He got me two out of three times, but I should have won the other two. I was winning and ended up losing. He was the one that I had to prepare most for."

Prescott took the sectional match by a 7-4 score, but was disqualified from Super Sectionals for an illegal slam and never met up with Drake, who's only win against Prescott came in Hornell at the State Farm Classic's championship round where Drake was named Most Outstanding Wrestler.

The state made a change in venue and format this season as they moved from the Syracuse War Memorial, the long-time host of the state championship, to the University of Buffalo and there are talks of moving to the Pepsi Arena in Albany next year. A change was also made in format as one large tournament was broken into to large school and small school divisions.

"This is the first year," Sheldon said of the change. "The cutoff was 600 students so we are in the small school bracket. In Section V, we have 57 schools in small school, which is larger than most sections have total, so we have a very competitive tournament. But Bill beat a kid in the large school division earlier in the year, so I think he would have stood a great shot at going even if they were combined."

For most athletes getting to a state championship in an individual sport as an underclassman is rare, but Drake will have to take advantage of the opportunity with no guarantee of a return as a senior.

"It's going to be tough," Drake said. "All of the best wrestlers are going to be there and I'm just hoping to do really well. I should place no matter what."

"I've had two kids take second in states and not return their senior year so he really has to take advantage of it," Sheldon added. "A lot of going to states is skill, but there is also luck. How you feel that day, the luck of the draw - lots of things are going on. It's so difficult that state champs don't return so you have to take advantage when you can.

"Last year pretty much all of the heavyweights were seniors ... It's all brand new to all of the wrestlers headed up there."