Morris among 9 St. Anthony's CHSAA champs
St. Anthony's Jimmy Morris (left), wins his match against Msgr. Farrell's Tim McCann (right), during the CHSAA state championships. (Feb. 13, 2011) Credit: Richard Slattery
The scales tipped in favor of Jimmy Morris this time around. The 125-pounder from St. Anthony's has been waiting all season to get the opportunity that eluded him last year.
He earned a return trip to Albany in two weeks for the NYSPHAA state championships by pinning Monsignor Farrell's Tim McCann at the CHSAA state championships Sunday at Chaminade. This time, Morris expects to wrestle upstate.
Last season, he won the Catholic states at 112 pounds, but he failed to make weight in Albany and did not compete. He placed third at 103 there as a sophomore.
"I didn't even care about wrestling,'' Morris said of the tribulations of cutting so much weight. "I just wanted to know when I was going to eat again.''
With the two-weight class jump, Morris said he doesn't have to worry about dropping pounds anymore. Now, he has enough energy to overcome minor setbacks, such as the one he encountered Sunday.
Morris slickly pulled his duck under takedown, but McCann stepped over him and headlocked him to his back. Could the two-time defending champion really get pinned by the underdog? Nope.
Morris arched his back, reversed McCann to his back and squeezed with all his might for the 1:11 pin. "It was my worst nightmare for a second,'' Morris said. "I psyched myself out, but I felt stronger than him.''
Morris, who improved his career record to 116-7, will be one of a CHSAA-record nine Friars to go upstate. St. Anthony's cruised to its second straight title with 336 points, 107 more than Monsignor Farrell.
"Nine's good, but I'm greedy,'' coach Tony Walters said. "We learned how to get the kids prepared, especially for the second day of the tournament. Other teams fell off, and we got stronger.''
In the two all-St. Anthony's finals, Freddy Dunau earned a technical fall over Joey Russ in 5:38 at 96, and Dariyan Riley earned a 3-0 win over Mike Fodera at 171, a match during which the lights briefly went out. The 189-pound bout was contested under limited lighting.
Jamel Hudson pinned Jon Faglione for the 135-pound championship. Hudson was one of four back-to-back champions for St. Anthony's, joining Morris, Paul Alessandrini (189) and Jon Desir (285).
Pat Skinner, who earned a 6-1 win at 103 pounds, became Kellenberg's first two-time champion since 2007. Chris Vono, a 7-3 winner at 112, was Kellenberg's second champion.
