The Colonie wrestling team didn’t have enough to overtake Guilderland for second place at Saturday’s Section II, Class A Championships, but it made a heck of a bid for it.
Three out of four Garnet Raiders to reach the finals earned titles, but the Dutchmen picked up key victories at 130 and 215 pounds to fend off Colonie for second place. Guilderland finished with 185.5 points, while Colonie wound up with 169 points. Shenendehowa won its sixth consecutive Sectional title with 268 points.
One of the best championship bouts came at 160 pounds, where Colonie’s Zach Zovistoski scored a takedown with 22 seconds left to edge Guilderland’s Eugene Sellie 5-4.
I did a hip smash and just tried to plow over him, said Zovistoski, who entered the day as the top seed at 160 pounds.
`That was a great takedown, and what a timely takedown it was,` said Colonie coach Matt Stein. `The kid (Sellie) didn’t make a mistake ` (Zovistoski) just plowed into him.`
Jason Chudzinski and Eliah Golding also picked up titles for Colonie. Chudzinski scored a pair of first-period takedowns on his way to a 5-3 victory over Shen’s Seth Hazleton in the 125-pound finals, while Golding edged Albany’s Stephon Flood 3-1 to earn the 152-pimd title ` his second consecutive Class A title.
A.J. Monin made the 215-pound finals for Colonie, but he couldn’t catch Guilderland’s Devan Van Auken in a 9-6 loss. Van Auken grabbed a 4-0 lead with a takedown and two back points in the final 10 seconds of the first period and held on for the three-point win.
Lisa Anson and Mike Wutzer contributed significant points in the consolation bracket. Anson placed third at 96 pounds with a 5-2 victory over Shaker’s Blake Retell, and Wutzer edged Columbia’s Luke Guild 4-3 in the 285-pound consolation final. Steve Anson finished fourth at 119 pounds following a 2-1 loss to Guilderland’s Travis Wolanski in the third-place bout.“
