by Ryan Mosher
For the first time in a decade the Hoosick Falls wrestling team was being represented at the New York State Championships. Taylor Robichaud and Jeremy Burns took part in the two day tournament that saw 480 wrestlers vie for 30 State championships. Robichaud won the 160 pound weight class at the Section 2 State Qualifier to get the automatic entry into this tournament. Burns was given a wild card entry after he finished third in the 189 pound weight class at States last year, and second in the Section 2 State Qualifier.
Robichaud entered the tournament seeded third, while Burns was seeded seventh. In the first round
Robichaud faced off against Shaun O’Sullivan of Port Jefferson of Section XI. He had no problems there, winning 7-2 to advance to the quarterfinal round. Burns took on Dave Jennings of Attica in Section V, whom he pinned midway through the second period.
In the quarterfinals, also on Friday, Robichaud defeated Ryan Darch of Batavia 9-6, sending him into Saturday morning’s semifinals. Burns defeated Jon Glennon in a close 2-1 match to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, the third seeded Robichaud had to meet up with the second seeded Ryan LeBlanc of Morrisville Eaton. The first period saw the Panther wrestler fall into a hole as LeBlanc scored two takedowns and two near fall points to take a commanding 6-1 lead. In the second period Robichaud had the top position and fought hard the entire period to keep LeBlanc from escaping or getting a reversal. Entering the final period, the score was still 6-1. LeBlanc was able to escape right away, then score on a take down and a near fall, stretching his lead out to 12-1. With Robichaud scoring an escape just before the match ended, the final score was 12-2. LeBlanc would go on to win the State championship.
Burns’ semifinal match had a familiar opponent for him. He would take on Nick Gwiazdowski of Duanesburg, to whom he lost by one point at the Section 2 State qualifier the previous week and once by one point earlier in the season. The Hoosick Falls senior came out aggressively in the first period, scoring a 2-0 lead with a takedown in the first minute before allowing Gwiazdowski to escape and cut the lead to 2-1. In the second period Burns took the bottom position, but Gwiazdowski was too tough to allow him to get away.
The final period would start with Burns on top and starting to tire out. Gwiazdowski would take advantage of this by escaping and tying the match at 2-2 and sending it to overtime. The first overtime period is a sudden death, one minute period with the competitors starting in the neutral position. This first overtime did not produce a victor, so they headed to the second overtime. The second overtime would be two thirty second periods, with each wrestler getting a choice of position. Gwiazdowski had the first selection and chose bottom. Burns battled hard and managed to fight off several close calls of his opponent scoring an escape. In the second thirty second period Burns chose the bottom position and also could not manage to escape. The final overtime period is do or die. The wrestler who scored first in the match is given the choice of top or bottom position. If the person on the bottom gets an escape or reversal during the thirty second period, they win, but if the person on top can prevent it, they are the winner. Despite being visibly tired Burns surprised everyone by choosing the bottom position. It proved to be a wise choice for him, as he was able to register an escape with just a few seconds remaining, giving him the win and sending him into the State championship match.
Robichaud meanwhile was in the consolation bracket, fighting for a chance at spots two through six. After losing his first match in wrestlebacks, he would fall in overtime 4-2 to Brandon Mills of Canisteo-Greenwood. With his sixth place finish Robichaud capped off a great senior season with a 35-6 record. “Taylor never placed in Sectionals before this year,” said Hoosick Falls coach Chris Marsh. “His goal this year was to win Sectionals, and he flew through that goal. And the next one was to place at States, and he achieved that too, so he’s had a heck of a year.”
In the State final Burns faced off against Chris Nocchi, the top seed from Waverly High School. Nocchi showed why he was the top seed as he took an early lead and never looked back. In the end, Burns fell 13-6, the only time in the tournament any wrestler went the full six minutes against Nocchi. With his second place finish Burns ended his senior season with a 34-5 record. “Jeremy is a little disappointed, it was a bit of a let down for him, but he’s had a heck of a career,” said Coach Marsh. “Overall it was a great weekend. The kids came in with high expectations, and I think we achieved them. Jeremy’s a little disappointed about the State championship, he gave up a few points early, and this is what he’s been working for all year.”