Andy Lyman did exactly what he needed to do to win his first state wrestling title.
The Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk senior scored an escape midway through the third period and held on for a 2-1 victory over Bainbridge-Guildford/Afton’s Danny Gormley to take the Division II (small school) 125-pound championship at last weekend’s state tournament at the Times Union Center.
It’s like everything that I’ve been working towards my whole life has paid off, said Lyman.
Gormley ` the No. 1 seed ` took a 1-0 lead early in the second period with an escape, but he was penalized one point for his second stall in the third period while he was riding Lyman.
`I felt like he wasn’t being aggressive. I felt like he was just trying to hang on at that point and ride me out,` said Lyman.
`The kid rode him parallel,` said R-C-S coach Henry Mormile. `If Andy did the same thing, he would have deserved a [stalling] penalty.`
The penalty point gave Lyman the momentum shift he needed. Less than 15 seconds later, Lyman escaped from Gormley’s grasp to take the lead, and the two of them spent the last 56 seconds of the match trying in vain to get a takedown.
When the final whistle sounded, Lyman shook hands with Gormley and his coaches before running and leaping into Mormile’s arms for a big hug.
`This is a storybook ending for me,` said Lyman.
Nothing came easy for Lyman in the tournament. All of his bouts were decided by one or two points including his 6-5 semifinal victory over Windsor’s Colton Perry.
`I really had to step it up,` said Lyman. `At this tournament, a win is a win as long as it means I move on.`
`It was a stacked weight class,` said Mormile. `There were seven or eight kids who placed at states before. I think he had a tougher draw than [Gormley].`
Lyman’s teammate, A.J. Rue, also had a shot at a state title. The senior made it to the 135-pound division finals before running into Holley’s Quinton Murphy, and the two-time state champion made quick work of Rue by earning a third-period technical fall.
`Once he took me down [in the first period], it was pretty much all downhill from there,` said Rue.
`We thought A.J. would have something for [Murphy] with his wrestling style, but he had an answer for everything he did,` said Mormile.
Rue ` who moved to R-C-S from Saratoga Springs last fall ` was dominant in his first two state tournament matches, pinning both of his opponents in the second period. He then edged Chittenango’s Wesley Blanding 7-6 in the semifinals to reach the championship bout.
`I can’t tell you how proud of him I am,` said Mormile. `To get him from not getting past a Sectional semifinal before to the state finals in one year is an incredible achievement.`
`I knew I had it in me,` said Rue. `I looked at [states] as just another tournament. My coach told me that each match is a two-person tournament, and if you win each period you win the match.`
Rue and Lyman were two of Section II’s five finalists in Division II. Duanesburg’s Nick Gwiazdowski won his second state title at 215 pounds, while Hudson Falls’ Luke Albrecht defeated Holley’s Kacee Sauer 2-1 for the 285-pound division title.
R-C-S finished ninth in the individual team standings with 44 points, a half-point behind eighth-place Hudson Falls. Section V’s Palmyra-Macedon led the way with 70.5 points. Section II was fifth in the intersectional standings with 174 points. Section V took top honors with 266.5 points.“