The Guilderland wrestling team represented Section II well at Saturday’s Mahopac Invitational outside Newburgh.
The Dutchmen had eight wrestlers finish in the top six of their weight classes and placed sixth out of 15 teams, most of which were from Section I. Middletown took the team title with 264.5 points, while Guilderland finished with 129 points.
`It was not a bad tournament,` said Guilderland coach Don Favro. `It was interesting to see some teams we’ve never heard of before.`
Lightweight Josh LoGiudice was the lone individual champion for Guilderland. LoGiudice defeated Fox Lane’s Brandon Fay 8-0 in the 106-pound finals to continue his strong season.
Mike Lainart and Andy Cummings reached the finals of their weight classes. Lainart lost to Byram Hills’ Jon Errico 11-0 in the 120-pound championship bout, while Cummings was pinned by North Babylon’s Rodney Green in the 170-pound final.
Brian Knodler (145 pounds) placed third for Guilderland, while Elijah Clemente (152) and Colton White (182) were among the group of five Dutchmen who finished between fourth and sixth place in their weight classes.
Guilderland’s focus shifts to the Section II tournaments, which begin next weekend with the Class A championships.
`I would say we are on target to wrestle our best at Sectionals,` said Favro. `Things are coming together just like we planned.`
LoGiudice and Lainart — both of whom reached last year’s state tournament — are considered to be among the top contenders in their weight classes entering Sectionals.
`Josh, we feel, should win the section,` said Favro. `Mike will have a tougher road, but we think he can do it.`
