Local Wrestlers Bring Home the Big Prize

PLEASANTVILLE—In a day that saw several upsets, hundreds of area grapplers descended on Pace University Sunday for the semifinal and final rounds of the Section 1 Wrestling Championships.

Mahopac’s Andy Scopino (R) won the 285-pound championship at sectionals. SKIP PEARLMAN Five Courier-area wrestlers won weight-class titles, and – along with upset victim and wild-card recipient Justis Flamio – will head to the state championships at the Pepsi Arena in Albany next weekend (2/26 & 27).

John Jay of Cross River won the large schools team title with 182.5 points, Fox Lane was second with 136.5, and Arlington was third with 134 points. Brewster placed seventh with 91.5, Mahopac was eighth with 86.9, and Carmel finished 10th with 73 points.

In small schools competition, Pleasantville won the team competition. Putnam Valley placed fifth with 143 points, just half a point behind fourth-place Irvington.

Putnam Valley’s Dan O’Gorman raises hands in victory after winning sectional title Sunday. SKIP PEARLMAN Putnam Valley crowned two champions – Dan O’Gorman at 145 pounds, and Kris Castro at 215. Mahopac’s Andy Scopino was a champion at 285, Carmel’s Kevin Davidson continued his torrid season by ruling the 140-pound bracket, and Brewster’s Mike Parisi upset the top seed at 96 pounds to take that title.

But the most stunning upset of the day occurred in the Division 1, 125-pound final, where Mahopac’s Flamio - a threetime Section 1 champion – was expected to win a fourth. Instead, Flamio was upset, 3-2, by No. 2 seed Steve Rodrigues, who had lost three times this season to Flamio, each time by four points.

PUTNAM VALLEY coach Will Carano was thrilled to see two of his wrestlers grab titles – the first two ever for Putnam Valley - and the coach was not disappointed with the team’s fifthplace finish.

Left: Brewster’s Mike Parisi walked off with the 96-pound title Sunday. Photo by SKIP PEARLMAN. “O’Gorman has been incredibly consistent all year,” Carano said. “He’s driven and focused, after last year (when he lost in the finals). He’s done some things different, and he hasn’t stopped training. And he delivered. He was by far the best in his weight class.”

O’Gorman, a senior captain, improved to 37-4 on the season. He beat Robert Spielbogel of Edgemont, 8-2, in the finals.

“It’s a lot better feeling than last year,” O’Gorman said moments after winning the title. “My coach is one of the best, and this feels great. I was a little worried about (my opponent), but I had confidence and didn’t stop. I knew I had it when I got him on his back.”

Kevin Davidson of Carmel puts finishing touches on his pin in 125-pound final. SKIP PEARLMAN Castro, a senior who improved to 36-4, was the top seed, and pinned No. 2 Anthony Parature of Nanuet at 1:27.

“He was a good heavyweight last year,” Carano said of Castro. “But this year he’s a different athlete. He’s much more complete this year, from all positions. I think he’ll do well at states.”

Castro was thrilled to win a title for his school.

“It definitely feels great,” he said just after his finals win. “And it’s great that it was the first for our school.”

Castro said he believes a little “attitude” can go a long way on the mat. “I didn’t want to come in cocky,” he said, “but you have to have the attitude… that ‘I’m gonna beat you’ attitude. Even if he’s the best. I wrestled sloppy in the semifinals, so I knew I couldn’t do that. And I tried not to force anything.”

Kris Castro of PV won 285-pound title Sunday. SKIP PEARLMAN Junior Steven Velichko took a third at 125 pounds, and senior captain Evan Kneuer was third at 152. Senior Jerry Zimbali was fourth at 171, and freshman Andre Lefleur took a fourth at 112 pounds.

“Lefleur came right from modified, and has come a long way,” Carano said. “He’s learned how to battle. Velichko was fantastic, he’s a street fighter, very tough, and has 20-plus wins.”

And Carano was missing several starters, so the team finish was impressive. “Considering we were missing five strong performers, I couldn’t be more happy with the team finish.”

BREWSTER coach Tom Looby had to be smiling when Mike Parisi became Brewster’s first sectional champion since Looby joined the program in 2004. Brewster’s last sectional champ was Harold Carter in 2002.

“He had a great tournament,” Looby said of Parisi. “He had a close match in the semis… he may not have wrestled his best. So we knew he had to pick it up in the final – and he did. He took control early.”

Parisi, a No. 2 seed, upset No. 1 Matt Caputo of North Rockland, and did it convincingly, as Caputo never scored a point in a 7-0 decision.

“It feels great… amazing... I’m so happy,” Parisi said after winning the title. “Going in I was a little nervous, but I wrestled as hard as I could. I did well on my feet, I got a takedown and a reversal, and with 30 seconds and a cradle locked up, I knew it was my match.”

Jon Peragine placed third at 125, and Ricardo Lopez took a third at 135 pounds. Dan Santiago was fifth at 189, and Nick Grasso finished sixth at 140.

“Peragine had a great season, and over 100 career wins,” Looby said. “Third was a good finish for Ricardo, he had a good tournament and almost got to the finals. And Nick had a good tournament. He was the 14th seed and battled his way to place sixth. It was great for him.”

MAHOPAC coach Juan Torres said Flamio was flat in his 3-2 loss to No. 2 seed Rodrigues in the 125 final. He said Flamio will use the setback as extra motivation at states.

“Justis came out very flat,” Torres said. “He chased Rodrigues around a little, and got out of position. But now he’ll go up to the states with something extra to work for. He was disappointed, then he realized that in two weeks it will be even bigger. It adds a little more juice for next week.”

The match was tied at 2-2 when Flamio let Rodrigues up in the third period, which means giving up a point – and that point turned out to be the difference. Wrestlers will, on occasion, allow opponents to get up, giving up a point - but only when they believe they can then get a takedown – good for two points.

“That kind of backfired on us,” Torres said of the move. But he had taken him down in each of their previous matches, so he’s been able to take him down.”

Flamio was visibly upset immediately following the match, but seemed at peace with his fate soon after. “I felt like I attacked sloppy,” he said. I let him in on the legs too much, and in the third period I was trying for a takedown… but I didn’t get it. And he got the point… It made me a little upset. But I’ve still got states. It was a bit of a wakeup call.”

Flamio, now 30-1, gets a wild card based on his past performance in the section and the state, and based on opponents he’s beaten this season.

At 285, Scopino, a junior, improved to 36-4. A No. 2 seed, Scopino defeated No. 4 Malcolm Allen of New Rochelle, 3-2, in the final.

“Andy was no surprise,” Torres said. “We felt he could win a section title. He works as hard as anyone, and he was unbelievable. He was never taken down.”

“It feels great,” Scopino said seconds after his hand was raised in victory. “I expected it to be close. I’ve thought about this ever since I started wrestling. It’s been extremely tough to get here… and as far as states, I think if I wrestle well, I can beat anybody.”

Junior Stave Pagluica took a third at 130 pounds, improving to 40-6. Junior Tom Viento was sixth at 160 pounds, and stands at 28-10.

Carmel coach Bill Twardy, like Torres, was hoping for a better team finish, but saw some outstanding individual performances.

Davidson remained undefeated with a record of 34-0 at 140 pounds, and brought home his second consecutive sectional championship. His career record stands at 150-24, and he just broke the Carmel all-time wins record, which was 148, set by Pat McCabe.

Davidson went about business in a routine manner in winning his final by pin, at 3:18. Davidson was leading 7-0 when he pinned Anthony Statini of Beacon.

“He was phenomenal,” Twardy said of Davidson. “He’s peaking at the right time, he ended on a high note, and was calm and totally prepared. He’s wrestled very hard over the last four years… he’s paid his dues.”

Davidson said he didn’t know anything about Statini going into the match, but he was thrilled to win another title.

“It feels great… awesome,” Davidson said. “I had never seen him, so I didn’t know if it would be close, but once I got my legs in I felt a lot more comfortable. I played it safe in the beginning - I waited for him to open up a scoring opportunity, and I capitalized. It feels even better to be a two-time sectional champ… it’s the best feeling in the world. I was hoping to advance to states… it would be a dream come true to place up there.”

Nick Rosalino took a fifth at 103 pounds, improving to 32-8, Joe Caporale finished sixth at 119 (he’s now 28-10) and Tom Davidson placed sixth at 112 pounds, and was 21-8.

“Nick did incredibly well,” Twardy said of Rosalino. “He’s a potential section champion for next year. Joe also has come a long way and wrestled well and improved tremendously, and Tom wrestled well.”