The Scotia-Glenville wrestling team didn’t have a lot of individual top-four finishes at Saturday’s Shenendehowa Invitational in Clifton Park, but the experience coach Ron Ashcraft’s young squad earned was invaluable.
That’s one of our more competitive tournaments (this season), and the kids did a good job, said Ashcraft.
Junior middleweight Dan Riggi was the lone Tartan to place at the Shen Invitational. Riggi reached the 130-pound weight class finals before losing to Newburgh Free Academy’s Kyle Plaquido 7-2 to finish second.
Ashcraft said Riggi will be a key to Scotia-Glenville’s success with what he does both on the mat and in the training room with the other wrestlers.
`Danny is our captain, and he’s going to lead our team (in wins). But he’s making the rest of the team better, too,` said Ashcraft.
Riggi is part of a junior class that Ashcraft said he hopes will work with the younger wrestlers on the team to keep them interested in the sport.
`We’ve got a pretty promising junior class, but we’re hoping our younger kids stick with the sport,` said Ashcraft. `We have a full team for the first time in a couple of years, and I’m hoping we can keep that going.`
The Shen Invitational was one of three tournaments that served a springboard for the Tartans to resume their Foothills Council season next week ` one which has its own challenges.
`Queensbury and Hudson Falls are the strength of our league,` said Ashcraft. `You’ve got to get through one of those teams to win the league.`
Scotia-Glenville goes to the Maple Hill Tournament Saturday before taking on Hudson Falls next Wednesday at home.
Niskayuna got back into league action this week when it traveled to Saratoga Springs for a Suburban Council match.
The Silver Warriors were looking to feed off their success at Saturday’s Oneonta Tournament, where they placed third behind Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Bainbridge Guilford-Afton. BH-BL took the team title with 218 points, while BGA placed second with 181 points. Niskayuna was third with 151 points.
Schalmont ` coming off a seventh-place finish at Saturday’s Saratoga Invitational ` moves back into Colonial Council action Thursday when it hosts Voor-heesville.“
