LIVE: State Semifinals

A crazy morning so far here in Albany. I won't get into all the specifics, but an early start to the tournament this morning has me playing catchup. All the media seats are taken as well, so I'm forced to stand as I type. Ahhh!

Anyway, the good news is Corey Rasheed won by fall in :54 in his semifinal match against Joe Barbato of Wantagh.

His brother, however, just lost at 103 to Damon McQueen of Huntington, 6-3.

Next up at 119, Steven Keith recorded a first period pin of John Belanger of Shenendehowa. He'll move on the finals for the first time since his sophomore year. While he was upset in the semifinals last year, he didn't allow that to happen this year. That gives us two local wrestlers in the finals thus far. Two more than last year.


In the finals Corey Rasheed will face Mike Soria of Kings Park in a rematch of the county final. So Suffolk County is guaranteed of at least one state champion. Rasheed lost to Soria in the county final and it was his only loss of the year. What a story it would be if he could avenge his one loss as a seventh-grader to win a state championship.


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Next up is Stephen Dutton vs. Jimmy Kloc of Iroquois.

Dutton dominated the match against Kloc jumping out to a 5-0 first-period lead. He nearly got the pin at the end of one but had to settle for three back points. He went ahead 10-0 in the third period before having to pause with a under a minute to go so he could .... wait for it .... throw up in a garbage can. He then proceeded to finish the match off with a 12-0 win to advance to the finals for the first time since his freshman year.


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Next up is Anthony Volpe vs. Zach Clemente, who is the top seed at 145.
Clemente comes into the semifinals off a 2:28 pin of Clint Schaefer of Lancaster in the quarters.

Volpe fell behind 2-0 after a quick takedown by Clemente. In the third he fell behind 7-2, his only points coming on escapes. There was an injury delay when Volpe was shaken up midway through the third. On the restart Clemente let him up for the escape to make it 7-3. He then went on the attack and got a takedown for the 9-3 lead. Clemente showed why he's the top seed with a solid all-around effort. Volpe never got his offense going and Clemente hung on for the 9-4 victory.

So that leaves us with still three wrestlers in the finals.
Malik Rasheed, Billy Coggins and Anthony Volpe are all still alive for the chance to take third.


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Dutton will take on defending state champion Andrew Lenzi in the finals. Dutton defeated Lenzi in the finals at Eastern States this year and did so fairly handily. That was the matchup everyone expected in the finals a year ago and now we have it this year.

Keith is facing familiar rival Justis Flamio, who he beat at Eastern States this year in the finals. Keith lost to Flamio in the semifinals at states last year and beat him in the state tournament two years ago.


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Next up is T.J. Neidhart vs. John Velieri at 160. Velieri is the No. 2 seed and comes off a 2-1 double overtime win against Clayton Reeb of Cheektowaga.

As the semifinals are going on, wrestlebacks are underway on two mats. So Coggins is on deck where he'll face Chris Marvin of Wayne. This is a critical match because a win guarantees his spot as an All-State wrestler. At this point it's win or go home. Marvin was pinned in the quarterfinals in 5:55 by James Brundage. Coggins won his first wrestleback last night against Kevin Matyas, 6-1.

Coggins and Marvin are scoreless after one period. Coggins starts on top for the second period. They remain scoreless as they fall out of bounds with 1:00 left in the second. A great move by Coggins on a restart to get Marvin on his back where he gets three points for a near fall. He takes the 3-0 lead into the third period. Coggins starts on bottom for the third period. With 1:08 to go Coggins will start on bottom after going out of bounds. Coggins came real close to getting a pin but Marvin was able to wiggle his way free. Coggins still gets points and takes an 8-0 lead with :42 to go.

Coggins hangs on for the 10-0 major decision to make himself an All-State wrestler. Now the question is where he places, anywhere from third to sixth.


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The one mat got way ahead of the other, so Ernest James faced Paul Glover before Neidhart's match. Neidhart started wrestling on the opposite mat while James was going. James pulled out the huge win against the defending state champion, 5-2. He scored 2 in the second on a takedown but was immediately reversed for the tie. At the start of the third Glover gave up one to allow for a neutral start. James hung on to the 3-2 lead until scoring two more to secure it with :19 left. So that gives us four local wrestlers in the finals.

Meanwhile, Neidhart took a 1-0 lead on Velieri who came back to tie it in the third. Neidhart was riding on top in the third but couldn't get any points. So the match heads to overtime. With :22 left they'll have a neutral start. Neidhart gets his two on a takedown with :03 left as Shoreham coach Joe Condon leaps in the air in celebration. Neidhart is headed to the finals and has surpassed his placing of last year. We now have FIVE local wrestlers in the finals. Neidhart wins that 3-1.


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Next up is Zach Buonaiuto at 189 vs. Matt Loew of Wantagh.

Buonaiuto fell behind 2-0 before getting an escape in the third to make it 2-1. But then Loew got him on his back and secured the pin to end Buonaiuto's bid for a state title. It's only the second loss of the season for Buonaiuto, who had hoped for another shot at Austin Meys, who handed him his only previous loss. So now Buonaiuto must settle for trying to place third. It's been quite the tournament for Loew who upset No. 2 Christian Boley in the first round, which we thought would be an advantage for Buonaiuto. Boley placed third in the state last year. But Loew had put together an incredible tournament run so far with wins against the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds. Next up he'll face the No. 1 seed in Meys.

So that ends the semifinals here in Albany for our local wrestlers.

We end up with five in the finals: Corey Rasheed (96), Steven Keith (119), Stephen Dutton (135), T.J. Neidhart (160) and Ernest James (215).


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As much as Buonaiuto hoped to get another shot at Meys, I don't know if he could have pulled it off. Meys has been by far the most dominant wrestler in this tournament. In three matches thus far he hasn't even wrestled the equivalent of one period. He has pins of :25, :20 and :52 for a grand total 1:37.



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In the other 215 semifinal, Zeal McGrew of Burnt Hills went to overtime against Steven Butler, the No. 2 seed. They were tied at two after three. Butler got the takedown to win the match 4-2. So James will face Butler in the finals. The only wrestler to beat James this year is McGrew. So a chance for redemption for James won't happen. But I think he's OK with that.