Division I
99: The opening weight of wrestling in the Empire State is not one that is part of the normal fourteen weight classes under NFHS rules. As is always the case, this weight class is dominated by younger wrestlers. Leading the crop this year is eighth grader Yianni Diakomihalis (Hilton), who is ranked No. 6 overall nationally among junior high wrestlers. He has a tough road to the final with junior Chris Cuccolo (Pine Bush) in his quarter and sophomore Jesse Dellavacchia (East Islip) as a likely semifinal opponent. The other half of the draw is led by eighth grader Vito Arujau and freshman John Arceri (Huntington), who both exit the top quarter of the bracket.
106: Entering state as the top ranked wrestler is a senior, Alex Tanzman (Westhampton Beach). His primary challengers, juniors Kyle Quinn (Wantagh) and Nicholas Barbaria (New Rochelle) reside in opposite quarters of the other half of the draw.
113: The likely finals showdown between state champions Kyle Kelly (Chenango Forks) and No. 19 Nick Piccinnini (Ward Mellville) is the dominant storyline of this weight class, and arguably the whole state tournament weekend. The senior Kelly, who has committed to Binghamton, has won state the last two years at the opening weight. The sophomore Piccinnini won his state title last year at 106 pounds, and took third to Kelly in the eighth grade. In national competitions, Kelly has twice placed seventh in Junior Greco, while Piccinnini was one match away from placing at the FloNationals and Super 32 Challenge in the last twelve months.
120: The top two ranked wrestlers in this weight, junior Alex Delacruz (Ossing) and sophomore Mike Dangelo (Commack), are drawn into the same quarter bracket. In the other quarter of the same bottom half is the third-ranked wrestler, junior John Muldoon (Pearl River). The likely finals opponent will come from the second quarter of the draw, which features sophomores Blaise Benderoth (North Rockland) and Anthony Orefice (Lockport) along with junior Travis Passaro (Eastport).
126: Four key wrestlers lead the way here, and they are split into separate quarters of the draw. The top half features seniors T.J. Fabian (Shoreham-Wading River) and Mark West (Hauppauge), while the bottom half is led by senior Chris Araoz (Wantagh) and Dylan Realbuto (Somers). Fabian placed fourth at state last year, and was sixth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals; West has not appeared in the state tournament since his title in 2010; Araoz is in his state tournament debut, despite winning the NHSCA Junior Nationals last spring; while Realbuto is a defending state champion and two-time finalist. One name to watch going forward, if not this weekend, is seventh grader Frankie Gissendanner (Penfield), who is in the same quarter as Fabian.
132: The highest returning placer in this weight is senior Matt Leshinger (Sayville), who placed third at state last year. He will be challenged along the way with a likely quarterfinal against Connor O'Hara (Sachem East) and semifinal against Vinny Turano (Wantagh). The other half of the draw features Sam Melikian (Fordham Prep) and Brandon Lapi (Amsterdam) in opposite quarter brackets.
138: Two-time state placer and Junior freestyle All-American Nick Kelley (Shenendehowa) is the favorite in this weight class. He is well-positioned to make his first finals appearance after finishes of third and fourth the last two years. The two primary challengers to Kelley --Thomas Dutton (Rocky Point) and Vincent Deprez (Hilton) -- exit the opposite half of the draw in differing quarter brackets. The sophomore Dutton was a Cadet freestyle All-American last summer, while the junior Deprez finished as state runner-up last season.
145: The most accomplished wrestler in this weight class is two-time state placer David Almavia (Shenendehowa), who was also a Junior freestyle All-American this past summer. His path to a first state finals appearance will not be easy with senior Brandon Dent (Connequot) looming in the quarterfinal and 2010 state runner-up Eric Lewandowski (Lancaster) the likely semifinal opponent. The other half of the draw features junior Louis Hernandez (Mepham), who is the top-ranked wrestler, and Tom Grippi (Fox Lane).
152: Returning state finalis Corey Rasheed (Longwood), who also was runner-up at the NHSCA Sophomore Nationals last spring, is the clear favorite in this weight class. His primary challengers are in the opposite half of the draw and happen to appear in the same quarter bracket. They are senior Chris Koo (Great Neck South), who was a NHSCA Junior All-American last spring, and junior Angelo Kress (Columbia).
160: Arguably the best wrestler in the Division I tournament is senior Tyler Grimaldi (Half Hollow Hills West), who is ranked No. 13 nationally at this weight class. Last year, he finished as a state runner-up, and during the offseason placed fourth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals and sixth in Junior freestyle. In terms of this weight class, his primary challenges will come in the quarterfinal round from junior Jake Weber (Clarence) and then in the final from either senior Andrew Psomas (Monsignor Farrell) or junior Steve Schneider (Macarthur).
170: Returning state placer Dan McDevitt (Wantagh), who finished fifth at both state and the NHSCA Junior Nationals in the 138 pound weight class, is the strong favorite here. Key matches for McDevitt will come in the quarterfinal against John Vrasidas (St. Anthony's), the semifinal against Joe Piccolo (Half Hollow Hills West), and a likely final against Carlos Toribio (Brentwood).
182: The clear favorite in this weight class is senior Shayne Brady (Carthage), who also placed eighth in the Super 32 Challenge. Five wrestlers merit mention as contenders. Senior James Benjamin (Vestal) is in Brady's quarter bracket, senior Gio Santiago (Sachem North) is Brady's likely semifinal opponent, senior James Corbett (Wantagh) is in the opposite half from Brady, while senior Anthony Liberatore (Williamsville South) and junior Trent Egenlauf (Spencerport) are in the remaining quarter of the draw.
195: As a returning state finalist, and already placing twice at state before his junior year, Reggie Williams (Johnson City) is the clear favorite in this weight class. The two ranked wrestlers in Williams' half of the draw -- seniors Chris Chambers (East Islip) and Steven Sabella (Yorktown) -- meet in the first round, but are in the other quarter of the half. The bottom half of the draw has four ranked wrestlers, two in each quarter: juniors Ben Honis (Jamesville Dewitt) and Levi Ashley (Shenendehowa) are slated to meet first round, while junior Nick Weber (Kings Park) and senior Colton Kells (Fairport) project to meet in the quarterfinals.
220: Returning state placer Nick Lupi (Huntington), fifth at state and fourth at the NHSCA Junior Nationals, is the clear favorite in this weight class. Two other notables in this weight are junior Richard Sisti (Monsignor Farrell) and senior Matt Mott (Lynbrook); Sisti is a possible semifinal opponent for Lupi, while Mott is in the opposite half of the draw.
285: Returning state finalist El-Shaddai Van Hoesen (Columbia), a two-time state placer, is the clear favorite in this weight class. The senior is also a two-time NHSCA All-American at the grade-level nationals. The second ranked wrestler statewide, senior Mike Hughes (Smithtown West) looms as a possible semifinal opponent, with a solid wrestler in junior James O'Hagan (Seaford) possibly the round before that. The opposite half of the draw is the weaker of the two, featuring only seniors David Varian (Yorktown) and Terrance Cheeks (Newburgh) as notables.
Division II
99: Senior Andrew Flanagan (Holley) -- returning fourth place finisher -- appears to be the favorite in this weight class, as he is the only Division II wrestler inside the top eight of the statewide rankings done by New York Wrestling News.
106: Junior Louis Weierbach (Hoosick Falls) is the lone ranked wrestler in the statewide rankings present in this weight bracket.
113: Four highly credentialed wrestlers lead the way in this weight class, and each occupies a separate quarter of the draw. Senior Cheek Ndiaye (Brooklyn International) is a returning state runner-up, and is in the top quarter of the draw. The second quarter of the draw features another returning state runner-up in sophomore Nick Casella (Locust Valley), with notable sophomore Andrew Shomers (Lewiston Porter) also in this section of the draw. In the lower half of the draw, the third quarter has senior three-time state placer Austin Keough (Warsaw), who was runner-up as a freshman in 2010. Finally, the bottom quarter is anchored by senior Dillon Stowell (Gouveneur), a two-time state placer.
120: A rematch of last year's 113 pound final between junior Sean Peacock (Midlakes) and senior John Aslanian (Edgemont) is the likely outcome of this weight class. Peacock won state last year after placing third as a freshman, while Aslanian has finished as runner-up each of the last two years.
126: William Koll (Lansing) seems well positioned to regain the state title that he won as a freshman after finishing third at state last year. He is the highest ranked wrestler in this bracket, and the only other ranked wrestler is freshman Dakota Gardner (Fredonia), who Koll is likely going to see in the championship match.
132: Returning state runner-up Renaldo Rodriguez-Spencer (Cheektowaga) is an extremely talented junior, ranked No. 20 nationally in this weight class, and after that missing state title. It looks like a potential classic matchup with sophomore Tristan Rifenburg (Norwich), already a three-time state placer with a state title coming in seventh grade, is the likely finals bout. However, Rifenburg will be tested in a likely semifinal against fellow sophomore Sam Ward (Locust Valley), a Cadet Greco-Roman All-American.
138: Like the Kelly/Piccinnini match at 113 pounds in Division I, the final in this weight class is likely to feature defending state champions battling for another state title. Senior Nick Tighe (Phoenix) is after a third state title, while senior Connor Lapresi (Lansing) seeks back-to-back state titles.
145: Returning state finalist, and two-time state placer, senior Drew Hull (Royalton-Hartland) is the strong favorite to get that elusive state title. However, Hull will likely have to clear past freshman Jordan Torbitt (Whitney Point) in the semifinal round and junior Nick Koelmel (Immaculate Conception) in the championship match.
152: It seems that the three best wrestlers in this weight class all reside in the top half of the draw. Weight class favorite Tyler Spann (Adirondack) is in the same quarter as junior Alex Smythe (Eden), who placed fifth at state as a freshman in 2011, while senior Rowdy Prior (Phoenix) is in the other quarter.
160: Arguably the best overall wrestler in New York this year resides in this weight class, No. 11 Burke Paddock (Warsaw), who is already a three-time state placer entering his junior year. Paddock is also a two-time finalist at the NHSCA grade-level nationals, and a multi-time Fargo All-American. In terms of this weight class, he should be tested in the semifinal against one of two seniors, Mike Beckwith (Greene) or Austin Weigel (Onteora), as well as in the finals match. The opposite half finalist will likely come from the winner of a quarterfinal bout between junior Tyler Silverthorn (General Brown), a returning state placer, and sophomore Nick Gallo (Schalmont).
170: Returning state placer Troy Seymour (Peru), fourth at state last year and a NHSCA Junior Nationals runner-up, is the favorite in this weight class. However, freshman Christian Dietrich (Greene) will give him an extreme battle in a probable finals match. That presumes each gets past one key match before that -- for Dietrich it's a likely semifinal against senior Mike Green (Cobleskill-Richmondville), while Seymour could face senior Zack Buckley (Fredonia) in the quarterfinal round.
182: It looks like a pair of seniors whom have placed twice at state should meet for the state title on Saturday in this weight class. Defending state champion Zach Zupan (Canastota) is ranked No. 8 nationally and was a FloNationals placer last spring, while Tim Schaefer (Warsaw) placed third last year after placing fourth as a freshman in 2010.
195: Returning state runner-up Bryce Mazurowski (Avon), a senior, is the strong favorite to get that missing state title.
220: Returning state runner-up Zack Bacon (Hornell), a senior who is ranked No. 18 nationally, is the favorite in this weight class. However, three other wrestlers have had excellent seasons and will see to knock off this favorite. In the same half-bracket of the draw as Bacon is senior Michael Silvis (Holley), while junior Ryan Wolcott (Waverly) and senior Dan Breit (Nanuet) occupy opposite quarters of the other half of the draw.
285: Returning state placers Alex Soutiere (Ravena-Coeymans) and Matt Montesanti (Medina), both seniors, occupy the top line in each half of the draw and are likely to meet in the state final. Soutiere placed second at state last year, while Montesanti placed sixth.
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