STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.— With personal glory and a trip to the state tournament on the line, six Islanders rose to the occasion this past weekend, capturing individual titles at the PSAL City Championships and CHSAA Sectional Championships to keep their seasons alive and cement their status among New York City’s elite grapplers.
Tottenville’s Tristan Levin (126 lbs.) and David Khodzhaev (144) each captured gold in the Division I bracket at PSAL Cities, while Rocky Molinare (118), Bradley Munoz (132) and Luke Burmaster (285) did the same for the Petrides Panthers in Division II.
Meanwhile, Monsignor Farrell’s Brennan Sprague (126) was the lone wrestler from the borough’s Catholic schools to secure a victory at the CHSAA Sectionals, capping what has already been a phenomenal season for the borough’s top wrestlers— and now, the state tournament awaits.
Dave Olah, Petrides’ head coach, praised all three of his grapplers for their efforts over the weekend, beginning with his excellent lower weight.
“Rocky is making his fourth appearance in the state tournament. He’s coming off a 2-2 performance last season in Albany, and looks to improve upon that this year. He’s 39-3 on the season and has eyes on the podium later this month,” Olah said.
As for Munoz, who carries a 34-7 record on the season, Olah said that “Bradley returns to the state tournament after missing out last year. He has been wrestling extremely well down the stretch and looks to make some noise in the bracket.”
Lastly, speaking on his heavyweight, Olah said that “Luke is returning to Albany for the second year in a row. He has wrestled well down the stretch and is looking to finish his senior season off strong.”
Tottenville, the Island’s other public school to produce state qualifiers, also turned in a strong showing this weekend, powered by its standout duo of Levin and Khodzhaev— a pair that Pirates head coach John Cichon said “has been the driving force behind our program’s success for the past three years.”
“Both David and Tristan’s goals this season were to help our team win the PSAL individual and dual meet championships— now they’re focused on performing at States. They are irreplaceable and will be incredibly missed next season. I couldn’t be happier for the two of them,” he shared.
Tottenville’s Tristan Levin won the 126 lb weight class at the PSAL city championships this past weekend.John Cichon
Lastly, Farrell’s Brennan Sprague, the only Catholic school wrestler on the Island to nab an individual win at Sectionals, was praised by Lions coach Peter Hamm for his efforts, saying that “Brennan is a three-time CHSAA City Champion and has now broken through with a sectional title.”
“He has already demonstrated his skills both nationally and internationally; now, the state is about to see what he’s capable of in Albany. He is doing some of his best wrestling right now,” he shared.
With their tickets punched, all six grapplers will ship up to the State tournamnent, which will be held on Feb. 26-28 at MVP Arena in Albany.
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For a full list of results from the PSAL City Championships (both Division 1 and Division 2) and CHSAA Sectional Championships, visit flowrestling.org.