Westchester County Center to host 2024 Section 1 wrestling championships

Every wrestler dreams of landing on the podium and getting their hand raised one day as Section 1 champion. Now, there will be a venue that is befitting of those big ambitions.

For the first time ever, the Section 1 wrestling championships will be held at the Westchester County Center. The Division I (large-school) and Division II (small-school) tournaments will be conducted on Saturday and Sunday.

The Section 1 Executive Committee voted to approve the proposal to move the Section 1 wrestling championships to Westchester's Most Famous Arena, and the news was officially announced on Monday afternoon.

"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to expand upon our partnership with Westchester County Parks and Recreation," Section 1 executive director Todd Santabarbara said in a statement. "This is an exciting opportunity for Section 1 wrestlers, being able to bring our wrestling championships to the County Center is just another example of our commitment to enhancing the championship experience. Providing student-athletes, coaches and school communities with high-quality championship experiences continues to be a major priority for our organization."

Longtime members of the Section 1 wrestling community know that it's been a dream to move the sectional championships there one day, but as the years passed, doubt grew that it would ever happen.

The excitement is palpable.

"For me, the most exciting thing is I want kids to walk in there and go, 'Wow!' and to feel really good about themselves and their sport," Section 1 wrestling chairperson Jamie Block said. "Know that a lot of work went into it to try and get it there and hopefully keep it there. I appreciate the work by Westchester County and the Section 1 office."

The Section 1 Division I (large-school) tournament will still be conducted over two days, while the Division II (small-school) tournament will remain a one-day event.

Action is scheduled to begin with the Section 1 Division I tournament on Saturday, with the opening round set for 8:45 a.m. and finish with the blood round at approximately 2:30 p.m.

The Section 1 Division II tournament will follow right after those last few large-school division blood round bouts and be completed in full, with Section 1 Division II champions crowned on Saturday night.

The Section 1 Division I championships will resume Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m., and conclude with semifinals, championship finals and consolation matches.

"Section 1 wrestling has a long history of producing some of the state's top grapplers," Westchester County Executive George Latimer said in a statement. "As Westchester's historic home for interscholastic athletics, the County Center is a perfect location to showcase this year's premier wrestling talent."

It will be the largest venue to hold the Section 1 wrestling championships, with matches occurring across six mats.

Pace University previously hosted the tournament for a number of years in the 2000s, but logistical issues and scheduling conflicts later forced Section 1 to look elsewhere.

Various high schools stepped up to host the Section 1 wrestling championships since then.

"It's about time, when Section 1 was at its best, it was when we were at Pace," said Section 1 wrestling hall of famer Steven Tornambe, current Mahopac coach and former Ossining standout. "We're not doing these kids any justice or getting more kids involved in the sport, when we have the sectionals at a high school. Let's do something for these kids, spend a little money, and let's get them to the show.

"Now, at the County Center, we might see some more interest in our numbers going up. We're going to get those high-profile athletes out of the schools and get them on the big stage. We're doing the kids justice. These kids work so hard for (sectionals) and we should really put on a show for them."

In recent years, portions or the entirety of the Section 1 Division I tournament had been held at Clarkstown South, Sleepy Hollow and Arlington. Meanwhile, the Division II tournament was at Purchase College in 2020 and at Hen Hud in each of the last two years.

"Wrestling in Clarkstown South's gym and in Arlington was cool, but wrestling at the County Center is definitely going to be way cooler," Yorktown senior and reigning two-time Section 1 champion Joe Tornambe said. "It's cool to see the sport growing like this. Especially that basketball has always been at the County Center, now, we're there, too. It just shows wrestling is growing."

The Westchester County Center has been home to high school basketball championship games since 1933, and those around Section 1 wrestling hope that this year can be the start of a new tradition.

"Decades ago, this was talked about, but it would never come into fruition," Block said. "Last spring, I had a meeting with the county, (Section 1 Wrestling Coaches Association President) Pete Vulpone and the Section 1 office. We drew up designs, talked if it could happen, roadblocks got thrown in the way, and we were able to figure it out. It's something unique if we can do it, pull it off, and hopefully, we can build on it for the future if it goes well.

"Historians can tell you the County Center is where wrestling made its bones back in the WWF, with Bruno Sammartino, Ivan Putski and Andre the Giant. They're the ones that used to go there all the time. It'll be like wrestling is returning home. That's where the legends are made."

Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay. 

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Section 1 wrestling championships: Westchester County Center to host