North Rockland's Zurla gets 100th pin, sets school mark for wins

North Rockland's Zurla gets 100th pin, sets school mark for wins
By Anthony Malakian
The Journal News

CARMEL - Reaching the 100- career victory milestone is an outstanding achievement for any high school wrestler. Reaching 100 career pins - well, that is truly something special.

At yesterday's large-school Division 2 tournament at Carmel High School, North Rockland's Marc Zurla not only reached the 100-pin plateau, but he also set the school record for career victories with 156.

Zurla defeated Beacon's Sean Lewis in the opening round to get his 100th career pin, and then pinned Horace Greeley's Roman Cohn in the quarterfinals to set the school mark for wins.

"One-hundred pins is really something that is very special to me," Zurla said. "One-hundred wins is a good thing to get but it is becoming more common - you don't see very many people with 100 pins."

Zurla, top-seeded in the 125-pound division, will face Billy Waterson of John Jay in the semifinals. While Zurla is coming off a loss last week to a Long Island opponent, he still feels good about where his game is at.

"I always just think about my match and what I want to do," Zurla said. "I try not to rush anything or force anything. I am wrestling well and I'm very confident."

After two rounds and the first round of wrestlebacks, the host Rams are in first place with 83 points. Carmel has 10 wrestlers advancing to today's semifinals including Ken Spost (145), who had been out due to illness, and Vinny Argese (119), who has an injured finger.

Also reaching the semis for the Rams is Anthony Pecora, the No. 1 seed at 171. Pecora recorded his 100th career victory this past week against John Jay-East Fishkill's Jimmy Ryan.

"I can't look too far ahead, I just have to take it step by step and hopefully everything will work out," Pecora said. "We've been working hard and it's shown on the mat."

The Red Raiders are in second place (74.5) and Fox Lane is in third (66).

One of the interesting aspects of divisionals is that it forces a wrestler's hand as to which weight class they will compete at. One of the bigger moves was Ossining's James Brundage, who decided to bump down to 145 pounds.

At 145 he is the top seed, whereas, if he wrestled at 152 he would've likely been the No. 2 seed behind John Jay's Kyle Friedman. Brundage defeated R.C. Ketcham's Dan Reis by pin in the quarterfinals.

Brundage said it's been his plan all along to wrestle in the postseason at 145. He has recently been going 145, but bumped up to 152 for the Shoreline and Super 16 tournaments, thus leading to speculation that he might go there for divisionals.

"At the beginning of the year my original goal was to wrestle at 145, but when certifications came around I couldn't make 45 hydrated and in good shape," Brundage said. "Now I feel very comfortable."

Wrestling begins today at 9:30 a.m., with the finals expected at 3 p.m.

Reach Anthony Malakian at amalakia@lohud.com or 914-696-8233.

Division 2 Championships

At Carmel

Team standings and key - 1. Carmel (C) 83; 2. North Rockland (NRk) 74.5; 3. Fox Lane (FL) 66; 4. John Jay (JJ) 65; 5. Yorktown (Yk) 42; 6. Ossining (O) 36; 7. Scarsdale (Sc) 35; 8. Rye (R) 32; 9. R.C. Ketcham (RCK) 31; 10. Lakeland/Panas (Lk/Pn) 28.5; 11. Beacon (Be) 28; 12. John Jay-East Fishkill (JJEF) 27; 13. Horace Greeley (HG) 21; 14. Tappan Zee (TZ) 18; 15. East Ramapo (ER) 14; 16. Peekskill (Pk) 10.

Quarterfinals

96- Rodriguez (FL) pin. Peter Kennedy (R), :46; Mike DeRosa (NRk) dec. Matt Spano (RCK), 7-2; Doug Chiapperino (C) pin. Dom Riccotelli (Be), :38; Henry Stauber (JJ) pin. Joe Porcelli (Yk), 1:04; 103- Rose (C) pin.Tyler Faraon (TZ), 1:04; Peter Grippi (FL) pin. Dorf (Sc), 1:47; Slane (NRk) pin. Dan Yabbon (JJ), :22; Mike Ahern (Yk) pin. Director (R) 1:06; 112- Grippi (FL) pin. Trumm (R), 2:59; Justin Delamuth (JJ) dec. Cabibbo (RCK), 8-3; Hauser (Lk/Pn) maj dec. Rodriguez (Pk), 12-1; Djimitry Georges (ER) pin. Minasi (JJ), 1:32; 119- Aquino-Roithmayr (NRk) maj dec. Rosenthal (TZ), 13-1; Barbo (JJ) tech fall. Dor (ER), 21-5; Argese (C) dec. Tyler Hall (FL), 3-1; Tompkins (Be) pin. Coletti (Yk), 1:36; 125- Zurla (NRk) pin. Cohn (HG), :44; Waterson (JJ) dec. Rueda (FL), 12-6; Lorenz (C) dec. Antonio (Sc), 10-4; Almodovar (O) pin. DiPalermo (JJ), 2:44; 130- Nick Annunziata (FL) pin. Napoli (RCK), 4:12; Perry (JJEF) maj dec. Phillips (JJ), 15-2; Zurla (NRk) pin. Farace (C), 2:46; Neivert (O) pin. Joseph (Be), :44; 135- Speno (FL) pin. Leeber (NRk), 2:56; Leeber (NRk) pin. Tobian (Yk), 1:40; DiBetta (JJ) pin. Tatti (Sc), 1:40; Trumm (R) pin. Hotaling (JJEF), 1:46; 140- Rodriguez (NRk) pin. Luppo (RCK), :58; Moralez (FL) pin. Rice (Pk), 3:11; Spiegal (HG) pin. Genovese (Yk), 2:56; Galea (Lk/Pn) tech fall. Creadore (R), 20-5; 145- Brundage (O) pin. Reis (RCK), :46; Edelman (Sc) pin. Genovese (JJ), 2:56; Spost (C) pin. Rivic (Lk/Pn), 2:49; Boersma (JJEF) pin. Parthemore (Yk), 3:50; 152- Friedman (JJ) pin. Panchishak (C), 1:56; Cameino (Lk/Pn) dec. Reis (RCK), 4-3; Garrigan (Yk) pin. Vega (TZ), 1:58; Cook (FL) pin. Amaturo (R), :50; 160- Lovas (FL) pin. Dobbs (Pk), :19; Schede (JJ) dec. Eatemadpour (Sc), 5-3; Lyke (C) pin. Nappi (RCK), :58; Hopkins (NRk) maj dec. Della Cruz (O), 12-4; 171- Pecora (C) pin. Piere-Lewis (NRk), 1:22; Genovese (Yk) maj dec. Campbell (Lk/Pn), 10-3; DeCandia (Be) pin. Reinford (FL), 4:59; Scott (JJ) pin. Marley (R), 2:19; 189- Genovesi (JJ) maj dec. Mahan (NRk), 15-1; Saunders (R) pin. McEllegott (TZ), 3:59; Osorio (O) dec. Mueckenheim (JJEF), 10-7; Scafidi (C) pin. Dorme (ER), :31; 215- Civetta (Sc) pin. Ryan McClusky (Be), :51; Patrice Castor (ER) dec. Dennett (FL), 4-3; Othmer (C) pin. Chen (Yk), 1:48; Moralez (NRk) maj dec. Pat Sweeny (JJ), 10-1; 275- Gardner (Be) pin. Cassone (R), 4:20; Garcia (NRk) pin. Holmes (HG), 4:20; Pico (JJ) pin. Solis (RCK), :25; Gallo (C) pin. Laporte (Yk), 1:34.

First round

96- Steven Rodriguez (FL) tech fall. Zach Boyd (Yk), 15-0; 103- Mike Rose (C) pin. Brian Weinblatt (JJEF), 2:20; Matt Dorf (Sc) dec. Joe Wassweiler (Be), 3-2; Joe Slane (NRk) tech fall. Nelson Campovevde (O), 16-0; Eric Director (R) dec. Peter Pen (ER), 9-5; 112- Jessie Trum (R) pin. Greg Ciratelli (Yk), 1:12; Joe Grippi (FL) tech fall. Kevin Davidson (C) 19-4; Joe Hauser (Lk/Pn) tech fall. Anthony Vicarca (Be), 19-4; Omar Rodriguez (Pk) maj dec. Andrew Faraon (TZ), 14-2; Dave Minasi (JJEF) pin. Ben Burgaleta (NRk), 4:38; 119 - Vinny Argese (C) pin. Frank Lorano (R), 3:12; Ryan Tompkins (Be) pin. Lenny Skolnick (Sc), 3:02; Frank Rosenthal (TZ) pin. Bill Conner (HG), 4:40; Kervins Dor (ER) inj def. Chris Vasely (JJEF); Nick Aquino-Roithmayr (NRk) pin. Joe Ahero (Yk), 3:59; Matt Bavbo (JJ) dec. Frank Cabibbo (Yk), 4-2; Mike Coletti (RCK) pin. Charlie Rice (Pk), 3:22; 125- Marc Zurla (NRk) pin. Sean Lewis (Be), 2:25; Jose Rueda (FL) pin. Omar Pineda (TZ), 3:15; Billy Waterson (JJ) tech fall. Jessie Goldblatt (Lk/Pn), 23-8; Marty Lorenz (C) pin. Domenick Scherp (Yk), 1:22; George Antonio (Sc) dec. Kevin Sullivan (RCK), 10-3; Steve DiPalermo (JJEF) dec. Graham Zahringer (R), 8-3; 130- Joe Napoli (RCK) pin. Brian Baez (TZ), 2:23; Matt Phillips (JJ) pin. Alex Demasi (Sc), 3:14; Joe Perry (JJEF) pin. Neil Modi (Yk), 4:38; Jerry Zurla (NRk) pin. David Fried (HG), 1:28; 135- Brian DiBetta (JJ) tech fall. Sam Gissen (O), 15-0; Alec Tobia (Yk) pin. Will Levine (HG), 1:58; Luke Speno (FL) tech fall. D.J. Lupo (RCK), 18-2; Andrew Carrion (C) dec. Jessie Wekerler (TZ), 9-5; 140- Joe Rodriguez (NRk) pin. Rob Grella (C), 1:12; Chris Luppo (RCK) pin. Tyler Edwards (ER), 5:51; Elmer Morales (FL) dec. Zach Tatti (Sc), 7-2; Guiseppi Rice (Pk) dec. Mike Goodrich (Be), 11-10; Ben Spiegal (HG) pin. C.J. Upham (JJ), 3:45; Nick Genovese (Yk) maj dec. Javir Vidal (O), 21-7; Derek Creadore (R) pin. Steve Moody (JJEF), 5:31; John Galea (Lk/Pn) pin. Dan Kilerciyan (TZ), 2:38; 145- James Brundage (O) pin. Colin Taylor (TZ), :55; Dan Reis (RCK) pin. Josh Brown (ER), 1:46; Scott Genovese (JJ) dec. Matt Gonzalez (NRk), 3-2; Dave Edelman (Sc) dec. Jake Petierno (FL), 11-5; Ken Spost (C) pin. John Pfisterer (HG), 1:19; Paul Parthemore (Yk) pin. Nick Tylourzcy, 3:15; 152- Kyle Friedman (JJ) tech fall. Wesley Charles (ER), 15-0; Torres Panchishak (C) pin. Dan Panken (O), 1:57; Pado Reis (RCK) dec. Chao Hanson (JJEF), 6-5; Matt Cameino (Lk/Pn) dec. Matt Mancuso (NRk), 8-4; Ryan Garrigan (Yk) pin. Andrew Lefkowitz (HG), 2:58; Jose Vega (TZ) pin. Josh Kirshenbaum (Sc) 1:34; Mike Amaturo (R) pin. Joe Anzivino (Be), 2:21; Harrison Cook (FL) pin. Azu Uzo (Pk), :58; 160- Tyler Lovas (FL) tech fall. Jordan Archilla (Lk/Pn), 22-6; Wayne Dobbs (Pk) dec. Anthony Schaustal (Be), 23-16; Shariar Eatemadpour (Sc) pin. Nick Huloner (Yk), 5:30; Nick Schede (JJ) won by forfeit; Ryan Lyke (C) pin. James Ryan (JJEF), 1:00; Nick Nappi (RCK) pin. Harper Peak (HG), 3:03; John Della Cruz (O) dec. Charlie Rightmyer (TZ), 2-1; 171- Anthony Pecora (C) pin. Josh Behnke (RCK), 1:20; Jeff Piere-Louis (NRk) pin. Nate Sherman (Sc), 4:43; Luke Genovese (Yk) pin. Omi Ibarra (O), 1:44; Derek DeCandia (Be) pin. Bruce Biez (TZ), :46; Hunter Rainford (FL) dec. Dennis Poggi (HG), 9-4; 189- John Mahan (NRk) won by forfeit; Sebastian Saunders (R) pin. Theo Drivas (Sc), 4:42; Osin McEllegott (TZ) pin. Nishemora (Yk), 4:52; Nestar Osorio (O) pin. Anthony Benitez (RCK), 3:51; Todd Muechkenheim (JJEF) pin. Mike Abemeyor (HG), 3:33; Eric Scafidi (C) maj dec. Dom Cuccia (Lk/Pn), 9-0; 215- Nick Civetta (Sc) pin. Mike Marucci (TZ), 1:26; Alex Dennett (FL) pin. Mike Lattanzio (JJEF), :53; Brett Chen (Yk) won by forfeit; Alex Othmer (C) pin. Adee Dubray (O), 2:44; J.J. Morales (NRk) pin. Mike Tromontelli (R), 3:30; 275- Mike Holmes (HG) pin. Ysifreso Tomo (O).

Wrestleback

112- Davidson (C) pin. Ciratelli (Yk), :44; Vacirea (Be) maj dec. Farron (TZ), 19-6; 119- Altero (Lk/Pn) maj dec. Conner (HG), 11-3; Cabibbo (RCK) won by forfeit; Skolnick (Sc) pin. Rice (Pk), 3:46; 125- Goldblatt (Lk/Pn) dec. Pineda (TZ), 7-5, OT; Scherp (Yk) dec. Sullivan (RCK), 8-6; 130- DeMasi (Sc) dec. Modi (Yk), 7-4; 135- Lupo (RCK) pin. Wekerle (TZ), 2:11; Gissen (O) won by forfeit; 140- Grella (C) pin. Edwards (ER), 3:46; Tatti (Sc) dec. Goodrich (Be), 8-7, 2OT; Upham (JJ) dec. Vidal (O), 4-0; Kilerciyan (TZ) pin. Moody (JJEF), 1:00; 145- Taylor (TZ) pin. Brown (ER), 2:26; Gonzalez (NRk) dec. Patierno (FL), 11-9; Pfisterer (HG) pin. Billington (R), 4:05; 152- Panken (O) pin. Charles (ER), 3:52; Mancuso (NRk) dec. Hansen (JJEF), 5-1; Lefkowitz (HG) maj dec. Kirschenbaum (Sc), 14-3; Uzo (Pk) pin. Anzivino (Be), 2:45; 160- Archilla (Lk/Pn) pin. Schaustal (Be), 1:39; Peak (HG) pin. Ryan (JJEF), 1:20; 171- Sherman (Sc) pin. Behnke (RCK), 4:58; Poggi (HG) dec. Baez (TZ), 10-8; 189- Drivas (Sc) dec. Nishemmora (Yk), 8-5; Benitez (RCK) pin. Abemeyor (HG), :52.