2024 CHSAA NYC League Championships:

The 2024 NYC League Championships was an exciting event. There were a lot of exciting matchups, highs, and lows. The League Championships are divided into 3 Leagues. NYC, Nassau, and Monsignor Martin League. The top 6 wrestlers at each weight qualify for the CHSAA Sectional Championships in Huntington at St. Anthony’s for a shot at NYS Gold and etching their name in NYS wrestling history. So, let’s get right into it!

Koufalis vs Jacobs 2:

The sequel to this fun match was very exciting to watch. They first met on the mat a week ago at the CHSAA State Dual Championships where Konstantinos Koufalis bumped up to take on Kyle Jacobs in the dual against Monsignor Farrell. The match was filled with close takedowns and scrambles that could go either way at any time. There were some unfortunate ref calls on both ends that surrounded the bout in some controversy, so both wrestlers came into match with a chip on their shoulder and a statement to make. As the match progressed and got closer the calls started to become a bit reminiscent of their previous bout. Jacobs took a shot on Koufalis who sprawled out laces to the mat and when Jacobs tried to finish the shot, he ran his opponent out of bounds in the flurry earning a stall against Koufalis. Then, in overtime Koufalis shot going into a scramble with Jacobs and while trying to cover for the takedown Jacobs ended in a sprawl which awarded the takedown to Koufalis. It was a very exciting match, and I can’t wait to see the eventual trilogy at the CHSAA Sectional Championships.

Lions win League Gold:

Congratulations to the Monsignor Farrell Lions who won the NYC League Championships. The Lions led with over 100 points over the runner up with a total of 526pts, Iona Prep secured second with 431.5pts, and finishing in third was St. Joseph by the Sea with 305pts. The Lions walked away with 4 champs and 6 runner ups. Taking home Gold for the Lions were Brennan Sprague (101lbs), Jack Boroweic (108lbs), Michael Gebbia (170lbs), and Mike Illuzi (190lbs). Both Mikes had very exciting finals matches. Mike Gebbia after a back-and-forth bout puts it on the gas to outlast John Stamelatos of Iona Prep 9-6 in awesome fashion. Mike Illuzi is no stranger to going to the deep end in matches and this weekend was no different. After beating Malad Nuhko 1-0 in overtime in his semifinal’s bout, he gutted out a crazy win against Logan Donato of Iona Prep in double overtime to get an escape and a takedown after a rideout in the first half of double overtime.  The Lions will be sending 26 wrestlers to the CHSAA Sectional Championships which can be the most of any team in our section.

Gaels Crown 6 Champs:

Iona Prep is no stranger to Gold either as this weekend they put 11 in the finals and walked away with 6 champs. Winning Gold for the Gaels was Vincent Tripaldi (131lbs), Justin Shay (138lbs), George Johnson (145lbs), Isaiah Camacho (152lbs), Konstantinos Koufalis (160lbs), and Frankie Serrano (215lbs). Camacho also earned the Champion of Champions Award for his electric finals match against Jovanni Torres of Monsignor Farrell. The match was back and forth and literally came down to the final seconds where Camacho iced the match with a last second takedown. Justin Shay earned the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award for his dominant run with pins en route to his finals match where he won via techfall against teammate Jude Bellantoni. And congratulations to Paolo Ciatto who also accomplished the feat of 100 Career Varsity Wins. The Gaels qualified 19 wrestlers for the CHSAA Sectional Championships this weekend.

Sea Rolls the Tide into 3rd:

Congratulations to St. Joseph by the Sea on finishing 3rd place in the team race in the NYC League. The Vikings sent 4 to the finals and 3 emerged victorious in their bouts. Earning Gold for the Vikings were Justin Stassi (116lbs), Michael Smith (124lbs), and Thomas Tyndorf (285lbs). The Vikings qualified 9 wrestlers for the CHSAA Sectional Championships in Huntington. Thomas Tyndorf had a very exciting finals match against Carlos Malespin of Iona Prep. It was back and forth until the closing minute of the match where Tyndorf was able to secure a takedown to ice the match late.

The NYC League Championships were super exciting and featured fun bouts across the board. Iona Prep is a super dominant team not only in the section but in the state, Monsignor Farrell has some firepower and depth that challenges some of the best wrestlers and teams, and St. Joseph by the Sea has a don’t quit attitude you can’t count them out of. This concludes the 2024 NYC League Recap. See y’all at the CHSAA Sectional Championships at St. Anthony’s!

Finals Matches:

101lbs: Brennan Sprague (Monsignor Farrell) over Albert Lula (Monsignor Farrell) via fall 1:01

108lbs: Jack Boroweic (Monsignor Farrell) over Rocco LaMotta (Iona Prep) via MFFL

116lbs: Justin Stassi (St. Joseph by the Sea) over Flynn McDonald (Xavier) via fall

124lbs: Michael Smith (St. Joseph by the Sea) over Naseer Abdel Hack (Monsignor Farrell)

Via fall

131lbs: Vincent Tripaldi (Iona Prep) over Quinn Hunt (Monsignor Farrell) via fall

138lbs: Justin Shay (Iona Prep) over Jude Bellantoni (Iona Prep) via techfall 19-4

145lbs: George Johnson (Iona Prep) over Brian McDowell (Monsignor Farrell) via fall 1:16

152lbs: Isaiah Camacho (Iona Prep) over Jovanni Torres (Monsignor Farrell) via decision 6-4

160lbs: Konstantinos Koufalis (Iona Prep) over Brenden Palmeri (St. Joseph by the Sea) via fall 2:21

170lbs: Michael Gebbia (Monsignor Farrell) over John Stamatelos (Iona Prep) via decision 9-6

190lbs: Michael Illuzi (Monsignor Farrell) over Logan Donato (Iona Prep) via decision 4-1 TB

215lbs: Frankie Serrano (Iona Prep) over Dalton Danza (Fordham Prep) via decision 7-1

285lbs: Thomas Tyndorf (St. Joseph by the Sea) over Carlos Malespin (Iona Prep) via decision 6-2