Wrestling: Lower Hudson Valley's breakout sophomores for 2023-24 season
For these wrestlers, there's no such thing as a sophomore slump.
They've worked hard to elevate their game on the mat and will look to finish the season strong with hopes to join the likes of returning all-section sophomores Ryan Fitzpatrick and Michael Mauro of John Jay-East Fishkill, Carmel's Ken Keltto, Ossining's Colin Liebertz, Brewster's Thomas Looby Jr., Hen Hud's Shawn O'Mara Jr., Putnam Valley's Nick Paonessa, Mahopac's Henry Ramirez and Charles Przymylski, Tappan Zee's Justin Reiss and Pleasantville's Alex Wish.
Perhaps they'll be fortunate enough to be named section champ, like sophomores Ryan Ball of Somers, Nanuet's John Parisi, Pleasantville's Ciaran Egan and Byram Hills' Nick Fortugno.
Suffern's Bobby Brophy, Yorktown's Rowan Larsen, Tappan Zee's Jake Reiss, Somers' Ethan Steuber, and Carmel's Nikita Rusnak continue to wrestle well after being featured as breakout freshmen last season and will look to compete for all-section honors as well.
Part 1: Breakout middle-school, freshmen wrestlers for the 2023-24 season
Juniors: Breakout high school junior wrestlers for the 2023-24 season
Seniors: Breakout senior wrestlers for the 2023-24 season
Chase Allocca, Carmel
Record: 22-7
Expect Allocca to compete for a podium spot at 116 pounds. After wrestling in just three matches last year in an injury-affected season, he is enjoying a breakout campaign in his first full season. He's placed in the top three at four separate tournaments, winning the Scarsdale Wrestling Invitational, and taking bronze at Somers' D'Agnese Tournament, Putnam Valley Round Robin Challenge, and the Mahopac tournament. All of seven of his losses came against returning all-section standouts only. He's been scrappy, never getting pinned and taking five of those losses by decision. Allocca will aim to break through and finish strong in the postseason.
Jack Anderson, Rye
Record: 20-8
After going 3-6 as a freshman, Anderson has taken great strides on the mat this year. He has 15 pins this season, bouncing around between 170 and 190. He finished as runner-up at the Scarsdale Wrestling Invitational, and he took fourth at the Mahopac tournament and fifth at the Westchester County championships.
Angelo Battista, Ketcham
Record: 20-6
The hard work has paid off. Battista bounced back strong in only his second year of wrestling after finishing below-.500 last season. He is undefeated in dual meets, and he's attained individual success at various tournaments. Battista won the 108-pound Highland title and followed up with a runner-up finish at the Beacon tournament.
Ryan Ciardullo, Clarkstown North
Record: 31-7
After spending most of his freshman year on JV, Ciardullo is excelling in his first full season on the varsity squad. He was a late-season call-up last year, and managed to qualify for sectionals before finishing 6-3. This year, Ciardullo has 21 pins. More than half of his losses came when he was wrestling at 145, but since dropping down to 138, he's won a Rockland County title, and placed in the top three at RCK Mat Wars and the Scarsdale Wrestling Invitational. He also has marquee wins over returning Section 1 Division II champion Ethan Badillo, who he defeated twice, and two more wins against returning all-section third-place finisher Jarel Lopez of Suffern.
Andre Duval, Scarsdale
Record: 28-8
He's shown tremendous growth since finishing 17-15 and missing out on the postseason last year. Duval will be a tough out in a competitive 152-pound weight class. More than half of his wins came by major decision, technical fall or pin. He finished as runner-up at the Scarsdale Wrestling Invitational. Duval is operating with plenty of confidence and doesn't stop until the final whistle. Half of his losses came in close decisions.
Cal Ehrmann, Somers/North Salem
Record: 29-7
Last year, he missed out on sectionals, but that shouldn't be the case this time around. The 124-pounder's bounce-back season includes 18 wins by fall or technical fall, a third-place finish at Somers' D'Agnese Tournament, and a fifth-place showing at the Westchester County championships.
Jack Harrison, Scarsdale
Record: 26-8
He's only gotten better as the season unfolds and he's come a long way since finishing 11-9 as a freshman. More than half of his wins came by pin. Harrison went unbeaten at the Wrangle on the Plains and Herricks Highlander Tournament, and placed fifth at the Scarsdale Wrestling Invitational.
Vincent Jacobsen, Tappan Zee
Record: 23-8
After going 7-8 as a freshman last year, Jacobsen's hard work is paying off with a much-improved sophomore season, already tripling his previous win total. He took fifth at RCK Mat Wars and while he's mostly wrestled at 138, he dropped down to 131 at the Rockland County championships and placed third.
Rocco LaMotta, Iona Prep
Record: 32-6
He took some bumps as a freshman last season, when he went 32-20, but he's found greater consistency this year as he takes a big step forward on the mat. LaMotta is a key lightweight in the Gaels' starting lineup that recently captured second-place in the CHSAA state dual meet tournament, but he's also enjoyed some individual success with a Hen Hud Sailor Classic title and top-three finishes at the O'Connell Memorial Tournament and Westchester County championships.
Rocco Lore, Yorktown
Record: 21-6
Lore went 10-10 as a freshman last year, but his sophomore season has been anything but average. He's been a fixture in lohud's Division I 215-pound rankings, and he's another underclassmen that played a part in helping the Huskers take their first Section 1 Dual Meet Tournament title. Two-third of his wins came by pin, while all of his losses came against state-ranked opposition. Expect Lore to be well in the running for an all-section spot.
C.J. Luth, Rye
Record: 33-3
Last year, he fell short of qualifying for sectionals, but that experience only fueled Luth and shouldn't be the case this year. Luth has 23 wins by major decision, technical fall or fall. He won the Scarsdale Wrestling Invitational and took third at both the D'Agnese Tournament and Westchester County championships. His lone Section 1 losses came by decision against Peekskill's Martin Palomeque.
T.J. Mauro, Somers/North Salem
Record: 18-11
Things have moved in the right direction for the Tuskers' 170-pounder, after going just 5-17 last season. It's been a big transformation, and there's still room for growth. He won half of his matches by major decision or fall. Mauro took a couple of losses to end the regular season, but it'll serve as added fuel going into divisionals.
Chris Mollicone, John Jay-East Fishkill
Record: 22-12
Mollicone had a bit of a delayed start to the season due to a preseason injury, but once he got healthier and shook off the rust, he found a rhythm and picked things up after the New Year. Since Jan. 1, he is 18-4 and he won Highland and Beacon tournament titles, and he also has a third-place finish at the Edgemont tournament and runner-up showing at the Patriot Invitational.
Chris Nocca, Horace Greeley
Record: 27-6
Nocca has been one of the biggest stock-risers in the section, putting together a strong sophomore season after going just 20-19 last year. More than half of his wins have come by major decision, technical fall or fall. Nocca has several marquee wins against state-ranked wrestlers, Smithtown West's Jack DiMaggio and Ossining's Anthony Lofaro. He also won the Patchogue-Medford Raider Invitational and took third at the Westchester County championships.
Pete Orlando, Suffern
Record: 17-4
It's been a solid varsity debut for Orlando, who spent a majority of his freshman year on the JV team. The Mounties' 138-pounder won the Harry McLaughlin Invitational in New Jersey, and he also placed at the MacArthur Holiday Tournament (second), Kohl Invitational (second) and Rockland County championships (fifth).
Basil Paulose, White Plains
Record: 23-12
In only his second year ever wrestling, Paulose has shown plenty of growth since going 4-12 and mostly rolling with the JV team last season. This year, he's won more than half of his matches by pin. The 108-pounder also went 5-1 at the White Plains Tiger Invitational and took fifth at the Edgemont tournament.
Vincent Sanabria, Nyack
Record: 28-9
The RedHawks' 138-pounder has taken the next step forward on the mat after an 18-14 freshman season. 75% of his wins came by major decision, technical fall, and fall. Sanabria took fourth at the Scarsdale Wrestling Invitational and Rockland County championships, and is entering divisionals after a runner-up finish at the Edgemont tournament.
Jesse Straus, Pleasantville
Record: 30-3
After taking fourth at the Section 1 Division II tournament last season, Straus is looking to climb up the podium and contend for all-section status and a section title. He has 24 pins this season and is looking like a the front-runner for the Section 1 Division II 116-pound crown. Since dropping down to 116 from 124, Straus won the Hen Hud Sailor Classic and finished in second at Westchester County championships.
Ben Weinstein, Horace Greeley
Record: 20-10
Weinstein has completely turned things around after going just 4-11 last season. He won 15 of his matches by pinning his opponents. The Quakers' 190-pounder will look to keep his winning momentum going and finish his sophomore season strong.
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: lohud wrestling: Lower Hudson Valley's breakout sophomores for 2023-24
