Glenn defeats Plainedge in all-Long Island state Division II dual meet wrestling final

SYRACUSE — When Glenn entered last year’s state wrestling dual meet tournament, the goal was to reach the finals. This year, the mission was to win the Division II title.

Mission accomplished.

Ashton Presti defeated Jon Luca Frucci, 19-4, by technical fall in 4:15 in the final match at 124 pounds to secure top-seeded Glenn’s 38-29 win over No. 3 Plainedge in an all-Long Island state Division II dual meet final Saturday at SRC Arena at Onondaga CCC.

Presti entered the third period with an 18-4 lead and opened the period on bottom. He earned an escape 15 seconds into the period to secure the win and send the Glenn bench into elation.

“I’ll never forget that feeling. That was amazing,” Presti said. “Coach (TJ Brocking) said at the beginning of the year that this is a business trip. We have one of the best teams in the state. We just showed it.”

Tommy Aiello earned a 15-0 technical fall over Nick Gerbasi in 2:00 at 116 pounds to give Glenn a 33-29 lead entering the final match. “Ever since last year, I’ve wanted this so bad,” Aiello said. “I had two goals this year and that was to get gold at two state tournaments. Now, one of them is done.”

It’s the first state dual meet title for the Knights, who were last year’s runner-up.

The turning point in the match came at 152 pounds, when Plainedge’s Luke Nieto was called for an illegal hard crossface that injured Peter Bell with eight seconds left in the second period. An athletic trainer evaluated Bell and he was deemed unable to finish the match, resulting in a disqualification and six points for Glenn. Nieto was leading 15-3.

According to Brocking, Bell is being evaluated for a possible concussion and broken nose.

“It’s really tough, but if he’s injured, that’s just the way it goes,” Plainedge coach Rob Shaver said. “Luke’s a great kid. He’s a top-notch young man who has really come a long way as a leader on our team and for that to happen is devastating for him.”

Plainedge (20-8-1) took a 55-9 win over Port Jervis and a 40-22 win over Sherburne-Earlville in pool play before defeating Wayne, 38-28, in the semifinals.

Despite losing several key wrestlers after winning the state Division I title last year, the Red Devils won the Nassau Division II title and found their way back into the state final.

“A lot of those guys we lost were seniors. We lost six All-County guys from last year,” Shaver said. “For our guys to wrestle the way they did this year was great. We lost a lot of matches early and we’ve improved so much. I’m very proud of our guys.”

Glenn trailed Unatego-Unadilla Valley/Franklin 24-4 in the semifinals before rattling off seven straight wins to take a 39-24 decision and advance to the final.

Glenn (14-2) defeated Peru, 54-6, and Chautauqua Lake, 46-28, in pool play. Senior Carmine Gerbino won all four of his matches and earned his 100th career win prior to the final.

“We’re a very balanced team,” Brocking said. “Every kid in our lineup is capable of winning a match. We have backups that are excellent, as well.”

Farmingdale reached the Division I finals in its first trip to the tournament. The Dalers ran into a buzzsaw as they fell to Minisink Valley, 51-13.

Salvatore Migliaccio gave Farmingdale a 3-0 lead with a 7-5 decision over Alex Nigro at 131 pounds. Then, Minisink Valley won nine consecutive matches, including six pins.

It’s the third state title for Minisink Valley, which has reached the finals in six of the tournament’s seven years.

Farmingdale (14-1) defeated Horseheads, 53-12, to advance to the finals. The Dalers went 2-0 in pool play with a 56-12 win over Brockport and a 42-19 win over Shenendehowa.

“If you told me at the beginning of the season that we would be in the dual meet state finals, I would’ve told you that I’ll take that,” coach Artie Weidler said. “The boys wrestled their butts off today. We rolled through to the finals and ran into a team that doesn’t really have any holes.”

Long Beach, Sachem North and Seaford all went 1-1 and were eliminated in pool play.

Long Beach (19-2) defeated West Genesee, 39-15, in the first round but suffered a 36-27 loss to Webster Schroeder. Sachem North (16-2) lost its first match to Horseheads, 39-27, but bounced back with a 33-27 win over Saratoga Springs. Seaford (10-7-1) defeated Nanuet, 46-17, but later lost, 47-26, to Unatego-Unadilla Valley/Franklin.