Scarsdale Hosts Annual Wrestling Tournament

Connor Raff took 3rd in his weight class.Much like the weather on January 11th, Scarsdale's wrestling team was quite warmed up for its annual wrestling tournament. The event featured 15 teams from the New York area including Westchester, Long Island, and Rockland County. 

Scarsdale entered 13 wrestlers in the tournament - participating in all but two weight classes. 

Scarsdale's Thomas Kuo competed at the 113lb weight class. Kuo continued his emergence in his sophomore year by pinning in the first round in 25 seconds. Kuo had a large task in facing number 2 ranked Kemal Buz of John Glenn High School - and was pinned by the senior in the first period. In the wrestleback, Kuo lost a tough 8-6 decision to Gomez of Mamaroneck. 

At 120lbs Freshmen Wade Massey wrestled for the Raiders. After falling in the first round, he had the unfortunate task of facing the number 2 seed (who had been upset in the first round) in the wrestleback and lost.  

At 132lbs Sophomore Jack Byers faced the 5th and 3rd seeds respectively in the first round and wrestleback and lost.  

Scarsdale senior and co-captain Connor Raff had a strong tournament at 138lbs for the Raiders. After solid pins of his opponents in the first two rounds, Raff fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Andrew Rosenfeld of Mamaroneck. After his opponent forfeited, Raff took 3rd overall.

Carlos Alfonso competed at 145lbs for the Raiders. After losing in the first round, Alfonso won his first wrestleback match edging his opponent 7-5. After his next opponent forfeited, he lost to the eventual 5th place finisher.   

Scarsdale's 152lb competitor Victor Gao had a tough tournament, falling in both the first round and in the wrestleback. 

At 160lbs Jack Cioffi began his tournament quite well - pinning his opponent early in the first period.  He lost to the eventual champion Max Perez from Mamaroneck in the next round. In the wrestleback, after defeating teammate George Primoff in the first round, Cioffi was defeated by the eventual 5th place finisher. Primoff was defeated by highly seeded Joel Lomax of North Babylon 11-4 in the first round.  

Scarsdale's strength all season has been at the higher weights and the tournament was no different.  Thomas Reynolds entered the tournament as the 2 seed at 170lbs. His first 3 matches all ended in the same fashion: with Reynolds pinning his opponents early in the contests. He fought hard but lost in the championship to David Guerra of North Babylon. 

Similarly, Brendan Knopp dominated his way to the finals in the 182lb division with early pins of his opponents. The finals saw heartbreak for the Scarsdale Senior. After compiling a substantial 7-2 lead late in the second period and looking like the clear winner, Knopp got caught in a brilliantly executed move by Mamaroneck's Antonio Caceras and was pinned. 

Matt Hoffman represented the Raiders at 195lbs. He was pinned by eventual champ Justin Vega in the first round and lost in the wrestleback. 

Co- captain Dean Mancini entered as the 2 seed at 220lb in the tournament. An early pin of his opponent saw him in the finals against top seed Jayshon Hines of North Babylon. Mancini battled Hines but eventually fell. After the Victory, Hines yelled at Mancini in a very unsportsmanlike manner and the wrestlers had to be separated. 

At the 285lb class, Scarsdale's Soren Benaissa came in as the 6th seed. After a first-round bye, Benaissa lost to the eventual 3rd place finisher. 

Head coach Jeremy Szerlip was enthusiastic about the team and the tournament:  "Our upperclassmen are wrestling great.  The energy that they bring on the mat and to the team are awesome.  Dean Mancini, Thomas Reynold, Conner Raff, and Brendan Knopp have been the anchors in our lineup.  I pretty much count on them for 6 points every match and they did not disappoint for our own tournament. Not only did they go out and wrestle well all day they were the biggest cheerleaders for our younger guys. Great weekend all around.  Another thing that makes our tournament work is the amazing parent support.  The team parents are there all day.  Not only are they serving food and working the door but taking action photos of the matches and yelling a lot!!! We definitely had home crowd advantage."

The Raiders continue their season at home this Wednesday. 

Connor Raff took 3rd in his weight class