Wrestling: Lower Hudson Valley storylines, takeaways from Day 1 of Eastern States

LOCH SHELDRAKE - There are hardly any gimmies or easy matches at the Eastern States Classic. This year's edition attracted wrestlers from nearly 160 schools across eight states, with every weight class stacked from top-to-bottom with enough talent to compete with any state championship event.

There are no free passes, seeding is an imperfect science, and the stage is big enough for a wrestler to test their mettle against the best around and make a statement.

After the first day of competition for the loaded two-day event, the Lower Hudson Valley got to send five wrestlers through to Saturday's quarterfinals. Undefeated wrestlers Alex Berisha of Fox Lane, Brewster's Ian Sutherland, and Iona Prep's trio of Vincent Tripaldi, Justin Shay and Kosta Koufalis advance through the main bracket.

There were 11 others who kept their podium and medal hopes alive by fighting their way into the second day of action through the consolation bracket.

Here are some takeaways and storylines from Day 1 of the Eastern States Classic:

Fox Lane's Alex Berisha still unbeaten, sights set on the top

Despite being the No. 1 Division I 215-pounder in the state and boasting an unbeaten record filled with double-digit wins over returning sectional place-finishers, the Fox Lane standout needed to make his return run at Eastern States as a No. 6-seed. He was ready.

Berisha has embraced the challenge and any opponent that comes his way. With aspirations to be the best, the Fox Lane junior is ready for any match − any time, anywhere and any place.

"I don't really pay attention to stuff like that," Berisha said, alluding to rankings, seeding and attention behind another unbeaten start. "That's when you let it get to your head, like, 'Oh, I'm undefeated,' and you start wrestling like you're the man. That's when you're gonna get beat, so I just stay on my game and I just wrestle."

He picked up a couple more resume-boosting wins on his way to securing his return to the quarterfinals, dispatching Section 5 place-finisher Elijah Bender of Dansville-Wayland Cohocton with a second-period pin, before following up with a 3-0 win over returning Section 8 Division II champion Charles Kelly of Locust Valley.

Last season, Berisha finished in seventh place in his first-ever trip to Eastern States. This year, he aims to go beyond that and even contend for the title.

He enters Saturday with a 23-0 record and in a similar situation as last year. However, the Foxes' junior has matured mentally and physically, noting additional strength training during the offseason is paying dividends for him this year.

Last year's experience at the highly-esteemed tournament certainly will help for Saturday, too.

"I have to wrestle tough every match and not give up a single second," said Berisha of what he needs to do to finish on top. "Last year, in the quarterfinals, I know that in my match, I was winning, I got a shot and then I was being lazy. Just wrestle through teh whole period and wrestling through the whistle no matter what.

"It feels good again to make it back, and this time, I know I need to wrestle better than last year. I feel like I'm doing that already. My mindset is better, I wrestle better and my fitness is better. Overall, I just feel better right now than last year."

Brewster's Ian Sutherland joins 100-win club

In last year's trip to the Eastern States Classic, Sutherland couldn't wait to move on and get over it.

He was quickly bounced out of last year's tournament, getting pinned twice -- first by top-seeded and eventual Eastern States 172-pound champ Braidon Woodward, then by future two-time Section 1 champ Leo Venables of Carmel.

This time around, the Brewster senior was focused on making a redemption run into Day 2. Not only did he achieve that goal by keeping his podium hopes alive, but unlike last year, the 2024 trip gave him an unforgettable victory.

In the Round of 16, Sutherland scored a third-period pin over Bethlehem Central's Quincy Bonville after building a big lead. Not only did the win secure his spot in Saturday's quarterfinals, but it also gave Sutherland his 100th career victory.

Like Berisha, he remains undefeated this season.

"I was simply just your average wrestler that wrestled just over the season and rested over the summer, and now, I really took that extra jump going to tournaments out of state, even national tournaments and training year-round," said Sutherland of his growth as a wrestler since the 2023 tournament. "It just really took me to the next level.

"The approach (today) was no distractions. On the way up, I was silent. I didn't go on Instagram, didn't scroll on TikTok, nothing like that. Just simply focused on wrestling and blacked out everything else."

In his earlier match, Sutherland recorded a quick first-period pin over FDR-Hyde Park's Chris Herrimn to begin his 2024 Eastern States journey.

From the wrestler who took the sport seriously for only three months of the year and got pinned twice in his previous trip to Eastern States, Sutherland is proud to see his evolution on the mat and his added commitment paying off, becoming the wrestler to dish out the pins on the first day of the esteemed two-day tournament.

While he's pleased to make it to the second day of the tournament and collect his 100th career win, he's looking beyond. He just wants to add to his career total and take a spot on the podium.

"I've never (advanced to the second day before), so it's a huge accomplishment, but it's just one step closer to placing, and if not, winning," Sutherland said. "I'm pumped. Just looking over my last match, I realized I don't have enough pressure on top, so it's definitely something I need to work on, but every match, I'm experimenting with the new moves that I learned. I was able to hit something that I just learned in practice last week, and that was a huge win to me too."

Iona Prep trio advances to quarterfinals

The Gaels are pleased to send three wrestlers into the quarterfinals. For 131-pounder Vincent Tripaldi, it'll be a return trip, but the first time wearing an Iona Prep singlet, while 138-pounder Justin Shay and 152-pounder Kosta Koufalis are making their furthest runs in the tournament as seniors.

They all needed to grind their way past tightly-contested round of 16 battles. Tripaldi edged out Averill Park's Jacob Hanlon in a 6-5 battle.

Tripaldi is a newcomer to Iona Prep, after finishing as a Connecticut state runner-up at New Fairfield last season. He's been able to carry that success over to his new school.

Despite his deep postseason run, Tripaldi missed the podium at Eastern States last season, and this year, he wants to change that.

"From the second I went to Iona Prep, all I got was welcomes, and that's what I love about it," Tripaldi said. "This was a really hard offseason, a lot of hard matches, hard tournaments and not a lot of days off. You bust your butt every single day in this sport, you feel mentally shot, and the last thing I want to do is go to a hard tournament for two days on a tournament when I could be doing something else like a teenager would want to do, but I've learned all that pays off.

"It's 100% true. It pays off. Don't take that time for granted, other people do other stuff, you gotta do what you know is best and it's not normal, teenage stuff. It's taking a step closer to the podium."

Shay defeated Sayville's Leo Mongiello in an 8-7 back-and-forth battle. Mongiello was seeded 26th, despite being the No. 6 state-ranked Division I 138-pounder.

Shay is making his Eastern States Classic debut, while Koufalis reached the second day through the consolation bracket last season.

This year, Koufalis crashed the party as a lower-seeded wrestler, upending returning all-state finisher and No. 5 seed Donell Young of Fairfield Ludlowe in a 3-2 ultimate tiebreaker thriller in the round of 16.

"Last year, I came up short, I lost in the blood round last year, so I'm looking to place," Koufalis said. "I've had my eyes on this tournament, Catholic states, and then the state tournament since last year. They have me the 12-seed here, and I think they're sleeping on me a little bit. I'm here to show I'm the No. 7-ranked guy in the state, and I'm looking to hopefully climb to that No. 1 spot. This means a lot."

Koufalis fended off several single-leg takedowns, before finding his opening and scoring an escape to win after a series of overtime periods.

"I'm happy with this win, we're happy, but we don't have a guaranteed placement yet," Koufalis said. "I'm looking to win that quarterfinal match, make it to the semis, and really go all the way. I think I belong here. I think I belong with the top three, top four guys and I deserve to be in the finals of Eastern States."

Still alive in the podium hunt

The Lower Hudson Valley saw a total of 14 wrestlers reach the Round of 16. There were plenty of close bouts, hard-fought matches and heartbreaking results.

Despite that, there are 11 wrestlers still alive in the hunt for a podium spot. They managed to wrestle back and fight their way through the consolation bracket to make it to the second day of competition.

Byram Hills/Briarcliff/Valhalla/Westlake's Vincenzo Mannello (101 pounds), Somers/North Salem's Ryan Ball (116) and Justin Daniyan (190), Arlington's Dillon Arrick (124), Yorktown's Joe Tornambe (138), Ossining's Anthony Lofaro (160), Carmel's Leo Venables (170), Nyack's Sam Szerlip (170), Scarsdale's Justin Hill (190), and 215-pounders Ryan Brace of Brewster and Sleepy Hollow's Thomas Kellas all secured their spot in Day 2 of competition.

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

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Wrestling: Lower Hudson Valley storylines from Day 1 of Eastern States