Wrestling: Iona Prep wins Shoreline Classic; other takeaways, storylines

NEW ROCHELLE - Iona Prep is the only Division I team in the Lower Hudson Valley that's present in the state team rankings, and the Gaels are taking none of that for granted.

Last season was a banner year, a turning point for the program, which saw four wrestlers capture CHSAA state championships. Before that, there were only five total winners over a 30-year stretch. The taste of victory is one that the Gaels haven't forgotten and it's been contagious across the program.

With the standard raised even higher, Iona Prep is building off of its big year with an even bigger season. The Gaels are 25-0 in dual meet play, and in every tournament that they've entered their 'A'-team, they've emerged as team champs in every single one so far.

"Just try to be disciplined in everything we do, from set ups, breakdowns, drilling, it's been great to see and since my freshman year, it's a huge difference," Iona Prep senior Sean Degl said about the program's growth. "Not as many guys are goofing off now. People aren't dreading coming to practice, they're just excited to get better and we're excited to come to these tournaments to show what we can do."

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Saturday was no different, as they captured the team title at the Murphy-Guccione Shoreline Classic at New Rochelle High School.

Led by eight finalists, and six individual title-winners − Justin Shay (132 pounds), Max Watson (138), Kosta Koufalis (145), Eric Grant (152), Degl (160) and Gabriel Garibaldi (285) − the Gaels racked up 269 team points and held a 91-point margin over second-place Commack.

"This was really good, some tough teams here in the tournament and our guys came out right off the bat and took care of business," Iona Prep coach Tom Straehle said. "The camaraderie on the team has been amazing, one guy picks up the next guy and as soon as we get to a certain point in the weight class (for duals) we know that we're going to start rattling off wins. When they're winning, it becomes contagious."

Long Island-based MacArthur finished in third at 154.5 points, followed by Fox Lane (117.5), North Rockland (116.5), New Rochelle (92), Mahopac (81.5), Sleepy Hollow (76), John Jay-Cross River (74.5) and Fordham Prep (74) to round out the top 10.

The Gaels hope to continue their streak of success. With the depth provided from numerous returning title-winners and contenders, as well as the inclusion of impact transfers like Shay, who was the top-ranked wrestler in Connecticut before suffering a season-ending injury last season, and former Mahopac state qualifier George Johnson Jr., the competitive nature of the practice room has translated into success in dual meets and tournaments.

"We put a big emphasis on wrestling through positions and switching it up," Degl said. "We all wrestle with each other, there's not a big difference in weight in the room, so we all train each other and it's good to know and feel every different style in the room and just bounce things off of each other."

Mahopac's Ramirez named Most Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler

For senior 118-pounder Joe Ramirez, the toughest part of Saturday might've been having to face his friend, Byram Hills/Briarcliff/Valhalla/Westlake's Neil Paulercio, the defending Section 1 Division I champ, in Saturday's title match.

"Neil's my friend, so we just wanted to make our match look good for everybody," Ramirez said. "I know he's also a returning section champ, so that was in the back of my head, but I didn't really have any worries."

He briefly put his friendship aside, built a commanding lead, before finishing Paulercio off with a third-period pin to improve to take the title. It was a dominant way to end his run, pinning each of his opponents on his way to victory, including MacArthur's state-ranked Matt Lichter in the semifinals. He was voted the tournament's Most Outstanding Lightweight Wrestler.

"It was fun, I wish I wrestled a little more better, but I thought it was pretty good overall," Ramirez said. "I feel like I've grown so much from last year, like just placing in the tournaments to actually winning these types of tournaments − it feels good."

Last week, he defeated Arlington's all-state wrestler, Dillon Arrick, at the Mid-Hudson Tournament. Ramirez solidified his hold on the lohud No. 1 spot in the Division I 118-pound rankings and emerges as an early section title favorite, building off of his breakout junior year. He is now 27-1, with his lone loss coming from an out-of-section opponent.

"It's all just hard work," Ramirez said of his evolution. "This just boosts my confidence and gets me ready for the bigger tournaments like Eastern States, Section 1 and state tournament."

Fox Lane's Berisha stays unbeaten, named Most Outstanding Heavyweight Wrestler

Like Ramirez, he enjoyed a breakout season last year, and now a year older and wiser, Fox Lane sophomore Alex Berisha is continuing his growth and success.

The 189-pounder led the Foxes, who topped all Section 1 teams at the Shoreline Classic with a fourth-place finish in team standings.

Berisha pinned his first two opponents, then in the finals, he scored a 6-1 decision win over New Rochelle's DeAndre Woods, the lohud No. 1-ranked Division I 215-pounder. Woods has split time between 189 and 215, but opted to wrestle at 189 for Saturday's tournament.

"Coming into the match, I knew he was top-ranked at 215, so I was just gonna come out and wrestle my game," Berisha said. "Get my setups, my shots and just prove I'm one of the top in the section."

Berisha was also voted the Most Outstanding Heavyweight Wrestler of the tournament.

"I'd say (my style) is different from most people," Berisha said of his wrestling style. "I like to slow it down, take my time and control."

It may be unique, but the results speak for themselves. Berisha improved to 21-0 overall.

Winner's circle

Aside from Iona Prep's five title-winners and the two Most Outstanding Wrestlers, New Rochelle's Matteo Crino (110) and Pleasantville's Asa Nunberg (172) were other local title-winners.

Commack's Nick Barber (102) and Vasili Ragavanis (126), as well as MacArthur's Ben Velasquez (215) also finished on top in their respective brackets.

Quick hits

Crino does it for the home crowd: He represented for the host team and won the 110-pound title, defeating Pleasantville's Ciaran Egan in the finals, 5-2. The eighth-grader's victory was a nice highlight in the tournament's return. The Shoreline Classic is Section 1's longest-running tournament at 57 years, and it was the first time it was held since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While COVID is in the rear-view, New Rochelle had its share of challenges and hardships during the height of the pandemic, and as New Rochelle coach Eddie Ortiz said, "wait until next year, it'll be even bigger."

North Rockland's Vandergoot gets key victory: He didn't get the ending he wanted, taking second to Iona Prep's Koufalis at 145 pounds, but in his run to the finals, he picked up a 9-5 win over Mahopac's Nick Greco. Greco, a returning state qualifier, was undefeated entering Saturday. Vandergoot, who was a divisional champ last season after defeating eventual third-place finisher Max Kochergin of Suffern, was unable to compete at sectionals, but he could make things interesting. Greco, Vandergoot, Clarkstown South's Greg Casvikes and Ketcham's Matt Masch could make for an interesting battle to the top at 145 in Section 1.

Sleepy Hollow seventh-grade heavyweight appears to be in all-section contention: There's still plenty of season left, but Sleepy Hollow's seventh-grade 215-pounder Thomas Kellas has shown that he can hang with the older, more experienced grapplers. After taking third at the O'Connell tournament last week, he followed up with a fourth-place showing at Shoreline. He picked up a key win over Iona Prep's Frank Serrano, which sent him to the semis, where he fell to eventual title-winner Ben Velasquez of MacArthur. He didn't wrestle in the third-place match and forfeited to Fox Lane's Nate Brauning, but with the way he's wrestled so far, expect him to be in the hunt for a podium finish at the Section 1 Division I championships in February. Usually you'd expect a middle school-aged wrestler to be in lightweights, but not Kellas, he's wrestling against upperclassmen and competing with them.

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

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Wrestling: Takeaways, storylines from the 2023 Shoreline Classic