Clarke's Karl Osmond-Bouyer advances to state semis
ALBANY — By the time late February and the state wrestling tournament roll around, the old cliche of throwing out records usually holds true. With the best in the state going head-to-head, victory or defeat is decided by the smallest margins.
“It’s the little things that make the biggest difference,” Karl Osmond-Bouyer of Clarke said after a 10-3 win over James Oosterom of Port Jervis in a Division II 220-pound quarterfinal Friday at the state wrestling tournament.
“You just have to concentrate and it’s all about your mentality,” Osmond-Bouyer said.
He would know, having advanced to the quarterfinals each of the last two years before being pinned.
“This was a big milestone for me today,” Osmond-Bouyer said. “I imagine myself being at the state tournament during practices and I imagine myself being in those same positions. Once I’m on the mat I revert back to that.”
Bouyer, seeded second, will wrestle No. 3 Colby Suglia of Mattituck in a semifinal Saturday at the Times Union Center.
Cold Spring Harbor’s Jackson Polo, who also lost a quarterfinal last year, took note of his opponent’s undefeated record entering the match. After a dominant 15-2 win over Daniel Kirsch of Pioneer at 113, the little edge gained from delivering that first loss could be what Polo needs.
“To beat him like that and give him that first loss definitely gives me some confidence and momentum going into the semis,” said Polo, the third seed.
After his own quarterfinal loss last year, Locust Valley’s Gage DeNatale did not want to see his state championship dream end early again. The top seed defeated Josh Post of Newark Valley, 5-0 at 132, in a performance he hopes propels him to his goal.
“That was a really fun match for me,” he said. “I got to my positions and I was dominating...and it was just what I wanted to do.”
It wasn’t as easy for Cold Spring Harbor’s Christian Hansen (152) and Kolton Gagnon (195), but both also advanced to the semifinals.
“In the first match I really didn’t do as well as I wanted,” Hansen said. “I was focused too much on my weight but I feel a lot better now and all that matters is how I’m wrestling.”
Hansen won his first match, 8-4, and defeated Aidan Canfield of Pleasantville, 9-0, in the quarterfinal.
Gagnon had a lead at the end of both of his matches before securing the wins with takedowns that made his lead insurmountable.
“I’m not really used to matches like that,” he said, “but I have learned to adapt to whatever happens and use what I need to my advantage to get the win.”
He will face Tyler Mousaw of South Jefferson/Sandy Creek in a semifinal after defeating Nick McNulty of Watervliet, 8-5.
“It all comes down to tomorrow,” Gagnon said. “All the years of training comes down to this.”
Gene Morris joined Newsday's sports department in September 2012 and covers high school sports. He earned a journalism degree from Stony Brook University in 2010.
