Wrestlers from MacArthur, Division and Island Trees excelled at the New York State high school wrestling championships at MVP Arena in Albany on Feb. 25 and 26.
(Photo courtesy of Island Trees High School)
MacArthur’s Killian Foy made his third trip to the State championships and finished third in the 138-pound weight class. Foy lost to eventual champion PJ Duke of Minisink Valley in the semifinals. The senior secured third place by pinning Casper Stewart at 1:48.
Foy finished second in the States as a freshman and fourth as a sophomore. He will wrestle for Pittsburgh next year. MacArthur senior James Clarkson finished sixth in the 215-pound weight class.
Representing Island Trees at 152 pounds, Ryan Romano won his opening-round match by technical fall, 15-0 over Jeremy Rehburg of Duanesburg. Romano lost in the second round to Vandavian Way, 2-0. However, Romano won two more matches in the wrestlebacks before finally losing, 5-1, to Braidon Woodward.
“The overall atmosphere was truly unmatched and just truly such a cool experience to be there with and represent my family and the people who pushed me every single day as a person and wrestler,” said Romano, of his time in Albany.
Ryan Mastropaolo, also from Island Trees, finished sixth at 172 pounds. Ryan lost in the second round but wrestled back to win three matches and earned his spot on the podium.
“Being able to go upstate and represent Island Trees while wearing that section 8 singlet was a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Mastropaolo said. “At the end of the day, Ryan and I went up there to compete and I am confident to say that we made Island Trees proud of our hard work.”
Division’s county champion Kyle Moore also performed well up in Albany. Moore made it to the third round of the 132-pound division, beating Rocky Point’s Nick LaMorte 7-5, before losing to Alex Booth of Indian River. Booth ended up finishing third in the state.
“It felt good to represent Nassau County upstate as their 132 pounder,” said Moore, a senior. “I felt honored that my hard work got me onto the New York State Team. Wrestling is a family tradition for myself and my two brothers JD & Shane and I will continue pushing my boundaries in college.”
Section 8, which represents Nassau County, finished third with 161.5 team points. For individual team scores, Wantagh was second in the state, with 65.5 team points. MacArthur was seventh in the state with 41 team points.
—James Rowan is a Levittown resident
