The RED And BLACK Wrestling: 2021 CHSAA State Championships Recap

The CHSAA State Championships took place on Saturday, June 12 at Iona Prep and oh boy did it not disappoint! There were a lot of upsets, crazy matches, and an amazing set of finals matches. In this article I will be recapping the tournament, it’s many crazy moments, as well as choose my picks for my favorite matches that took place.

THE FRIAR’S RECLAIM THE THRONE:

Congratulations to St. Anthony’s as they reclaimed their throne as the top team in the CHSAA. St. Anthony’s had a dynastical run with League and CHSAA State Gold in both individual and team titles. The Friars won the team title blowing out the competition with a total of 236.5 points with runner up Chaminade trailing with 165. The Friars had a total of five champs this past weekend at 132, 145, 152, 172, and 215 respectively. Starting at 132lbs Dom Seminera had quite the run this past weekend when he took out Luke Brydges (Canisus) by pin in 5:38 and then going on to major Ryan Paladino 11-2 in the finals. Frankie Theroux takes Gold in one of the most competitive weights after he teched Christian Schifano who had came off an incredible Semifinals win over Eric Grant (Iona Prep). Griffin Goldstein won his finals match pretty dominantly as he walked on and off of the mat in just 2:44. Andrew Bardak had one of most impressive finals wins of the tournament when he took out last year’s runner up at 195lbs Brayden Vandenberg with a close 6-3 score.

THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM:

Mick Brown captured his first CHSAA State Title this past weekend when he majored returning CHSAA State Champ Rocco Demartino (Chaminade) with a 11-1 final score. Brown who finished runner up in both 2019 and 2020 (at 99lbs and 113lbs respectively) losing to the NYSPHSAA State Placers in teammate Jordan Wellington in 2019 and Daniel Adams (Monsignor Farrell) in 2020. Brown showcased his dominance and speed as he claimed his crown atop the 145lb throne that he has so long awaited for.

IONA PREP TAKES HOME 2 INDIVDUAL TITLES:

Huge congratulations to Robbie Horan and Capri Martin who had captured their first CHSAA State Crowns this past weekend. Robbie Horan who was competing at one of the most stacked weight classes in the tournament takes home the crown after pinning Wyatt Shablak (Fordham Prep) in under a minute. Horan had to forfeit to 6th place at last year’s tournament after not making weight on day 2. But Horan ensured there was nothing stopping him from winning this year as he went on to dominate the 126lb weight class. Capri Martin dominated as usual as he walked into the finals and walked out with the pin win in just 1:42! Martin who is only a sophomore has 2 more years to dominate the heavyweight division and I don’t see him being stopped anytime soon!

XAVIER GET’S 2 INDIVIDUAL CHAMPS:

Jack Geyer who had been injured for a large part of his high school career finally went home with the Gold as he beat Trevor Sheehan (St. Mary’s) by pin in 1:45! Geyer didn’t let any adversity get in his way as he competed in his last high school wrestling tournament and dominated 160lbs. His teammate Elias Emery won his 2nd crown at 189lbs as he took out Dom Garcia by pin in 2:59. Elias finishes this season off undefeated as he adds a 2nd CHSAA State Crown onto his resume.

CLASH OF THE TITANS:

The 118lb final between Shane Meenaghan and Mike Adams did not disappoint. It was the most anticipated match of the entire tournament and it lived up to the hype. Shane Meenaghan won the match 5-4 after jumping out to a 5-0 lead at the end of the second. Adams wouldn’t lose without a fight as he narrowed the gap to 5-4 losing to now, 2x CHSAA State Champ Shane Meenaghan. Both wrestlers are returning Sectional Champs and NYSPHSAA State Placers and the match lived up to the hype as it was on the biggest stage of the season. That wasn’t the only hardware Meenaghan collected that evening as he won the M.O.W Trophy.

Overview:

We all know that COVID has been hard on all teams and everyone in the world but it was nice to see everyone competing this past weekend. It was very nice to have the inclusion of Buffalo (as limited as it was) at this year’s event. I saw many memorable moments this year and I wanted to give my takes on them and name my personal favorite matches from the tournament this weekend.

First off St. Joe’s Collegiate gets a freshman champ in Austin Zimmerman (first time since 2013). Zimmerman dominated whistle to whistle against a formidable opponent in Aiden McCalister of Fordham Prep. I personally think we may be seeing the next 4x CHSAA State Champion. Christian Schifano although not coming out on top this year had an amazing semifinals match against Eric Grant of Iona Prep. It was back and forth and Schifano ensured he was punching his ticket to the finals yet again.

Mike Sanfilippo wins back to back Gold. The NYU commit ran through the 138lb weight class which was one of the most toughest weights in the section. Sanfilippo’s wins this past weekend include Luke Sherry (Kellenberg), Jake Podolsky (STA), and Sean Degl (Iona) in the finals. Sanfilippo won his finals match with a 11-0 final score. I can’t wait to see what this amazing athlete does in his Collegiate Career. Sanfilippo finishes his high school career as follows, (4x CHSAA State Finalist, 2018-2019 runner up, and 2020-2021 CHSAA State Champ).

Dom Garcia although not finishing on top had quite the run himself. Dom Garcia had the harder side of the bracket at 189lbs when he took on Ronnie Jones of St. Joe’s Collegiate in the semifinals. Ronnie Jones was a 2x CHSAA State Finalist finishing runner up in 2019 and 2020 beating Dom Garcia in the semfinals last year at 182lbs. But Dom Garcia wanted his one last shot against Elias Emery and ensured he got it. Although Dom was trailing by a few points he made all of the right adjustments and ended up dominating the 2x finalist recording multiple sets of back points majoring Jones to punch his ticket into the finals.

Brendan Martin get’s it done at 110lbs. After dropping from 118lbs Martin went on a tear. He had outscored all of his opponents, recorded multiple falls over his most competitive opponents and proved to be a huge part of the Firebird’s lineup. We got a League Final rematch between Martin and Ej Alizio of Chaminade. Martin got the job done when he pinned Ej Alizio in 3:18! Martin only a Sophomore has 2 more years to win multiple CHSAA State Gold as he is now the top dog at 110lbs.

STANDOUT MATCHES:

Shane Meenaghan vs Mike Adams

Brendan Martin vs Kevin McCarvill

Austin Zimmerman vs Aiden McCalister

Christian Schifano vs Eric Grant

Robbie Horan vs Devon Diaco

Max Boroweic vs Wyatt Shablak

Capri Martin vs Matt Dahill

Mick Brown vs Rocco Demartino

Mike Sanfilippo vs Sean Degl

Andrew Bardak vs Braydon Vandenberg

Dominic Seminera vs Luke Brydges

Finals Results:

102lbs: Austin Zimmerman (St Joseph Collegiate Institute) 3-0, Fr. over Aidan McAlister (Fordham Prep) 8-5, Sr. (TF-1.5 4:00 (16-0))

110lbs: Brendan Martin (Kellenberg) 3-0, So. over EJ Alizio (Chaminade) 9-4, Jr. (Fall 3:18)

118lbs: Shane Meenaghan (Chaminade) 8-0, So. over Michael Adams (Monsignor Farrell) 11-1, Jr. (Dec 5-4)

126lbs: Robert Horan (Iona Prep) 14-2, Sr. over Wyatt Shabiak (Fordham Prep) 14-3, Jr. (Fall 0:54)

132lbs: Dominic Seminera (St Anthonys) 10-0, Jr. over Luke Brydges (Canisius) 2-1, Jr. (Fall 5:38)

138lbs: Michael Sanfilippo (Chaminade) 11-0, Sr. over Sean Degl (Iona Prep) 13-2, So. (MD 11-0)

145lbs: Mick Brown (St Anthonys) 11-1, Jr. over Rocco DeMartino (Chaminade) 8-3, Sr. (MD 11-1)

152lbs: Frankie Theroux (St Anthonys) 12-0, Jr. over Christian Schifano (Chaminade) 7-4, Sr. (TF-1.5 6:00 (20-5))

160lbs; Jack Geyer (Xavier) 3-0, Sr. over Trevor Sheehan (St Mary`s) 2-1, Jr. (Fall 1:45)

172lbs: Griffin Goldstein (St Anthonys) 12-1, So. over Jack Ligarzewski (Kellenberg) 2-1, So. (Fall 2:44)

189lbs: Elias Emery (Xavier) 3-0, Jr. over Domenick Garcia (Monsignor Farrell) 10-5, Sr. (Fall 2:59)

215lbs: Andrew Bardak (St Anthonys) 14-0, Jr. over Braydon Vandenberg (Canisius) 2-1, Jr. (Dec 6-3)

285lbs: Capri Martin (Iona Prep) 12-0, So. over Matthew Dahill (St Anthonys) 10-2, Sr. (Fall 1:42)