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Tuesday, February 6, 2018 | BataviasBest.org
Seeding for the 2017-2018 Section V State Qualifier was released this morning, as area wrestlers are just days away from punching their ticket to the NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships. Local matmen will be competing at SUNY Brockport beginning with the preliminary rounds on Friday evening, and finishing up with the semifinals and finals on Saturday afternoon.
The list of seeds for the upcoming ‘Super Sectionals’, as the Section V State Qualifier is affectionately known, include only the top-eight grapplers in each weight class. Nevertheless, near-30 local athletes are seeded in Division II heading into the weekend.
Favorites
Three local one-seeds, including two defending Section V Champs, will take to the mat this weekend as the favorite in their respective weight class.
From Alexander, Nick Young is coming off of his fourth-straight Section V Title, and is looking to capture his first-ever NYSPHSAA Wrestling Title in a few weeks. He is the top-seed at 132 lbs, but behind him is #2 Zach Flaitz of Canisteo-Greenwood, who beat Young last season in the Super Sectional 126 lbs Semifinals. Although Young went on to defeat Flaitz at the 2016-2017 NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships, it’s been made clear that the Trojans’ senior will not walk to a first place finish this year.
Mason Compton of Attica comes in as the top-seed at 152 lbs after finishing atop the podium in the same weight class at last year’s State Qualifier. Compton is a back-to-back Section V Champion and will have a relatively easy road to another first at this year’s Supers.
Finally, 285 lbs rising star Mike Khomitch, who came out of nowhere this season, is seeded as the top-wrestler in his weight class heading into the State Qualifier. Khomitch pinned his opponent in both the semifinals, and finals last week at the Section V Championships, and has proven that he will be tough to upset this weekend.
Next in Line
Aside from those who drew #1 seeds, there are a few other wrestlers seeded within the top-three of their respective weight class.
Following an exciting win in the Section V Championships last week, Cal-Mum Isaac Crane comes into Supers as the three-seed at 106 lbs. Despite his favorable ranking, however, he will be chasing one-seed Anthony Noto of HF-L, who won a NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championship last season.
Alexander’s Mitch Gaiser is the three-seed at 113 lbs, behind two fellow 2017-2018 Section V Champions – Chris Graham of Canisteo-Greenwood, and Drew Schafer of Wayne. Gaiser is one of the few eighth graders competing this weekend at Section V Super Sectionals.
A pair of Le Roy wrestlers, who also happen to be brothers, are also three-seeds in their respective weight class this weekend. Josh Englerth weighs in at 126 lbs, and Andrew Englerth enters at 132 lbs as both will have a difficult journey to a first place finish.
Following the two LR grapplers, a pair of Batavia/Attica matmen round out the list of top-three competitors from the local area. Blake Pariso hopes to rise to the top as the three-seed at 160 lbs, while Josh Barber is looking for a first as he enters as a three-seed at 285 lbs.
Underdogs with a Chance
Outside of those local wrestlers which fall within the top-three at their respective weight class, there are 18 more area grapplers who are also seeded heading into the 2017-2018 State Qualifier. Complete list of seeds can be found at armdrag.com (seed, weight, name, school, season record, finish at sectionals):
- 4 099 Travis Kauffman (Att/Bat) 38-9 BBB3
- 7 099 Cam Green (Le Roy) 33-11 BB2
- 6 106 Joey Brennan (Le Roy) 39-6 BB4
- 6 113 Tristyn Moyer (Hol-Ken) 31-7 BB2
- 8 113 Quinn Bannister (Att/Bat) 21-12 BBB3
- 5 120 Devon Rehberg (Cal-Mum) 31-5 BB3
- 8 120 Chase Stinson (Lyndonville) 16-3 B3
- 8 126 Jack Sims (Cal-Mum) 28-9 BB6
- 4 138 Daniel Burns (Alexander) 28-14 B1
- 8 138 Zach Hannan (BB) 30-12 BB4
- 4 145 Chad Toal (BB) 34-7 BB3
- 7 145 Eddie Strzelec (Att/Bat) 33-13 BBB2
- 4 152 Jeremy Browe (Hol-Ken) 37-4 BB3
- 5 160 Jared Fregoe (BB) 30-8 BB3
- 5 170 Dylan Spellan (Hol-Ken) 37-3 BB1
- 8 182 Ethan Jennings (Att/Bat) 31-16 BBB3
- 5 220 Paul McDermott (BB) 35-6 BB2
- 6 285 Jonathon Bigsby (Alexander) 32-8 B2
Side Note
I am really looking forward to the 138 lbs bracket, where non-local competitors Mason Gray of Warsaw and Chase Runfola of Letchworth look to recreate the drama which they left on the mat last week at the Class BB Championships – where Gray got the better of Runfola.
Good luck to all those competing this weekend. Tune in on Saturday for LIVE updates from the mat.
