Clockwise from top left, Maynor Argueta controls from the top position. Marvin Alarcon works for a takedown. Luke Ryan works for some back points on his way to victory.. Jim MacLean photos
By JIM MACLEAN
Both teams knew what to expect when Fox Lane squared off against the combined team of Briarcliff/Byram Hills/Valhalla/Westlake in the championship match of the Section 1 Division 1 dual-meet championship.
It was a surprise to many teams that Fox Lane ended up in the finals as the 16th seed entering the tournament, but the Foxes proved they belonged after defeating defending champ and top-seed Yorktown to advance to the final four on Dec. 19, at Westlake High. The Foxes destroyed North Rockland in the semifinals by a score of 52-16, and that set up the finals match against BBHVW. The two teams had met just a couple of weeks earlier and BBHVW was the favorite, but the Foxes battled to the end before falling 37-34.
“We wrestled really well, we’re definitely betting better and better,” said Fox Lane coach Anthony Rodrigues, who has won his share of Section 1 dual-meet titles. “We wrestled them just two weeks ago and we showed a lot of improvement in this match. We’ll get back to work and see what happens. I can’t even remember how many titles we’ve won, maybe seven or eight dual-meet titles, and I couldn’t be more proud of this team, they really battled.”
In the championship match, Fox Lane knew its strength was in the heavyweights and the Foxes answered the challenge. Marvin Alarcon won his match at 145 pounds by a score of 14-6 to put the Foxes on the board trailing 6-4 early on, but BBHVW won the next two matches to open up a 16-4 lead.
Luke Ryan then took care of business with a quick pin at 160-pounds to get the Foxes rolling with four-straight wins. Barron Ransom followed with a pin at 190 pounds to even up the score at 16-16. Alex Berisha then won by forfeit at 215, and Jack Morales won by pin at 285 pounds to give Fox Lane a 28-16 lead.
However, both teams knew the strength of BBHVW was in the lighter weight classes as they won the next four bouts to open up a 37-28 lead and clinch the title. Piero DiNicola won his match at 130 pounds by pin to make the final score 37-34, but the home team was able to celebrate with the title and a chance to advance to the state tournament.
Despite the loss, Rodrigues was excited to see how much the Foxes have improved in just a couple of weeks and he believes it is a good sign of what the team can accomplish in the weeks ahead.
“Piero had lost to the same kid just a couple of weeks ago, he got majored in the last match, and he went right out there and pinned him,” Rodrigues said of DiNicola. “Luke Ryan looked great and had a big win in the semis against a kid that placed third or fourth in the section last year. Our heavyweight Jack (Morales) is 9-1 this season. We had a good day and we’ve really improved and just have to keep working hard.”
In the semifinal win over North Rockland, once again Alarcon got the Foxes started with a victory by pin to give them a 12-6 lead. Jake Raimo then won by a score of 19-4 for a tech fall victory to make the score 17-6.
And then the heavy weights took over for the Foxes. Ryan and Ransom followed with victories over two of the Raiders top wrestlers as Ryan scored a 15-3 major decision to make it 21-10, and Ransom pulled out an 8-6 win at 190 to make it 24-10.
Oscar O’Donnell Powell won by pin at 215, and Berisha followed with a win by pin at 285 to wrap up the victory, but the Foxes were not done. Flavio DiNicola won by a score of 15-7 for a major decision at 101-pounds, and Edgardo Hernandez-Espinal followed with a win by pin at 108 pounds. Maynor Argueta closed out the match with a win by pin at 124 pounds to make the final score 52-16.