St. Anthony's Desir falls in 285 final

ALBANY - Jonathan Desir was the last Friar standing.

Nine St. Anthony's wrestlers earned the trip upstate, but the 285-pound senior was the only Friar who advanced to last night's state Division I wrestling championship final at the Times Union Center.

Match after match, Desir trotted to the mat, buoyed by the cheers of "Heavy D" that rained down from the Friars' ample cheering section.

In the finals, Desir came up just short, dropping a 6-4 decision to Alex Tibbles of Indian River.

"I accomplished a lot this year and worked hard to get to this point," Desir said.

Added Friars coach Tony Walters, "I've never had a heavyweight that moves like him or is as athletic as he is."

Desir's road to the finals began on day one with a thunderous pin of Grand Street Campus' Covorosier Mitchell in 1:01. A quarterfinal win earned him a semifinal berth against Nassau champ David Ng of Plainedge.

Desir's 5-1 win over Ng in yesterday morning's semis brought him to the big stage. He outlasted eight of his teammates with state championship dreams of their own.

"I wanted to take it home for my friends and fans," Desir said.

Of their nine qualifiers, four Friars, including Desir, were top-six place-winners.

St. Anthony's 135-pound fifth-place finisher Jamel Hudson sang "The Star-Spangled Banner'' before yesterday's festivities. A trained singer, actor and dancer, Hudson received the assignment on short notice.

"I found out about three minutes before I did it," Hudson said. "My coach asked me if I wanted to sing. I was like, 'Yeah I want to sing!' ''

While he ultimately made the trip upstate to wrestle, Hudson could not hide his post-anthem enthusiasm.

"I had a great time," he said. "I sang it and it just felt right. I belonged with the microphone."