Quarterfinals: Ross and Keith advance

Matt Ross (96) and Steven Keith (112) are headed to the semifinals.

Ross, who trailed 2-0 into the third period, came back to pin top-seeded Tim Schaefer in 4:30. Ross had been working from behind most of the match before taking control with one quick move in the third, a dramatic shift to propel himself to the next round tomorrow morning. (Pictured right is Ross' pin).

Keith, a returning state champion, will face Justis Flamio in the semifinals tomorrow after beating Zeke Thompson 10-0 in the quarterfinals. Keith dominated both his matches today and is in position to make a run at another state title tomorrow.

It looked like Keith would meet familiar rival Brandon Escobar in the semi's, but Escobar fell 4-2 to Flamio. Escobar trailed 2-0 before tying it on a reversal with 1:35 left in the third. Flamio came back to take a 4-2 lead with :42 left and hung on for the victory.

Escobar falls to the wrestlebacks and will try to equal his third-place finish in last year's state championship.

Keith has beaten Flamio, a sophomore from Mahopac before. He beat him at the Eastern States this year and in the state tournament last year at 96 pounds.

There seems to be some confusion over the Arujau-Benedetto match. I orginally heard Arujau won, but an updated bracket has Benedetto as the winner. The announcer just said that it was Arujau who won, so that's who I'm going with. I believe it was a 4-0 win. Arujau was the top seed and is undefeated this year. (Sorry for any confusion those of you who were refreshing often. There are eight matches going on at the same time, so it's hard to track everyone).