Once again, the Shenendehowa wrestling team is tops in class A.
Five Plainsmen won individual titles, and seven others qualified for the Section II championships at Saturday’s class A tournament in Niskayuna.
Shen finished with 231 points, nearly 60 points ahead of Colonie. Ballston Spa was fifth with 151.5 points and had three individual champions, while Saratoga placed seventh with 121 points.
We weren’t a full team, but the ones who were here wrestled well, said Shen coach Rob Weeks, whose Plainsmen won their third conseuctive team title.
The Popolizios and Meys brothers continued their domination of their respective weight classes by picking up titles. Luke Popolizio pinned Saratoga’s A.J. Rue for the 96-pound title, while T.J. Popolizio defeated Schenectady’s Josh Vics 17-4 in the 112-pound finals.
Austin and Hunter Meys recorded quick falls in their championship bouts. Austin pinned Ballston Spa’s Cameron Staulters 1:07 into their 140-pound title bout, while it took Hunter 1:02 to pin Niskayuna’s Jake Newcomb for the 171-pound championship.
`It’s always a goal to go out there and win every match, but you have to take it as it comes,` said Hunter Meys, who is undefeated this season.
Seth Hazelton won his first Sectional title. Hazelton defeated Ballston Spa’s Toby Barnes 12-3 for the 103-pound championship.
`It validates that hard work, de-termination and being a good kid pays off,` Weeks said of Hazelton. `He’s a nice, likeable kid.`
Kyle Kilburn, Eric Simmons and Alex Steciuk won individual titles for Ballston Spa. Kilburn defeated Guilderland’s Robert Romeo 12-6 for the 125-pound title, while Simmons edged Shen’s Josh McLean 5-3 for the 152-pound championship. Steciuk scored a 5-2 victory over Guilderland’s Josh Sawyer in the 160-pound final.
At the class B tournament in Queensbury, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake finished second to the host school in the team standings. Queensbury had 242 points, while BH-BL had 218.5 points.
Paul Martin (140 pounds) and Matt Kaylor (152) picked up indi-vidual titles, while Josh Lyle (96), Max Miller (103) and Brendan McKeown (112) placed second for the Spartans.“
