Wrestling

Eastern States Classic

Norwich sophomore Tristan Rifanburg earned the biggest tournament victory of his career since capturing a state championship as a seventh-grader

Rifanburg became the first Section IV wrestler to win an individual title at the prestigious Eastern States Classic in 12 years winning the 132-pound championship Saturday evening at Sullivan Community College. Later on in the evening, Johnson City’s Reggie Williams would match Rifanburg’s title.

“This tournament is the toughest regular season tournament in New York State, and it’s rated as the third toughest in the nation,” said Norwich coach Joe Downey. “Every weight class is loaded, and you were seeing a lot of state champions losing.”

The number two seed in the tournament, Rifanburg advanced to the finals beating Brendan Lapi of Amsterdam, 2-0. Rifanburg worked a reversal in the third period, and rode Lapi out.

In the finals, Rifanburg dominated through the first two periods against Fordham Prep’s Sam Melikian. Rifanburg nearly pinned Melikian in the first period, and built a sizable advantage with more back points in the second period en route to an 8-5 victory.

“He was extremely technical and was flawless throughout the tournament,” Downey said of Rifanburg. “In a tournament like this, you can’t make one mistake, and he didn’t.”

Frankie Garcia placed fifth for Norwich at 145 pounds. Garcia’s signature win came in the quarterfinals when he upended Section III’s Isaiah Riccio, 4-1. Riccio, heading into the tournament, was the higher ranked wrestler in the New York State rankings. “Tristan’s and Frankie’s confidence should be through the roof,” Downey said. “I’m sure Tristan wished the state tournament was next week, not a month and a half away.”

Elsewhere, Greene freshman Christian Dietrich advanced to the 170 pounds before losing to Danny McDeviltt of Wantagh, 6-2, in the finals. Dietrich knocked off top-seeded Troy Seymour of Peru in the semifinals, 3-2. The Trojans’ Mike Beckwith added a sixth-place finish in the 160-pound division. Beckwith advanced to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Burke Paddock of Warsaw.

Dan Wickham Classic

At Unatego High School, Unadilla Valley sophomore Richie Conklin brought home the 285-pound title. Conklin picked up a pin of Vestal’s Britton Shaw for the titlte.

Also, UV’s Tyler Olson placed second losing in the 138-pound finals to Codie Gillette of Saranac, 9-3.

Central New York Tournament

At Vernon-Verona-Sherrill High School, B-G/Afton captured two individual titles and placed sixth of 21 teams Saturday.

Junior 152-pounder Jamie Griswold earned a hard-fought 4-3 win over Gage Pary of V-V-S, while Mark Viviano (195) topped New Hartford’s Jim Laurenzo, 4-2.

Jesse Griswold added a second-place finish at 132 pounds.