2007 Section 2 Wrestling Division 1 Large School Sectional Results

GLENS FALLS -- As if it isn't rare enough to have brothers each qualify for the New York High School Wrestling Tournament, Section II produced two sets of siblings in Saturday's qualifiers at the Glens Falls Civic Center.  Even more unlikely is that one school, Shenendehowa of the Suburban Council, is where all the brothers attend.

"It might be the first time it has ever happened," said Luke Popolizio who started things off for the brotherly theme in the Division I portion of the qualifiers when he pinned A. J. Rue of Saratoga in the final of the 96-pound class.

The sophomore improved to 37-1 with the victory and then turned around and rooted for his older brother, T.J. Popolizio, in the 112-pound class. The junior improved to 35-4 after defeating Dan Riggi of Scotia 6-3.

"It means so much for me to have Luke going to the states too," T.J. Popolizio said.

Joining the Popolizios at the state tournament will be Shen teammates Austin and Hunter Meys, both of whom are undefeated.

"I'm in much better shape this year," said Austin Meys (43-0) after defeating Paul Martin of Burnt Hills 18-3 in the 140-pound final.

A state champion as an eighth grader, Austin Meys, a sophomore, finished fifth in the states in 2006. Now his older brother, Hunter, joins him after the junior (42-0) pinned Jake Newcomb of Niskayuna in the 171-pound final.

"It's a nice feeling to not only be going to the states but joining my brother," Hunter Meys said.

Hunter Meys, ranked 14th in the nation, lost in the 160-pound final of the qualifier last year.

The results of other weight classes in Division I are as follows:

103: Max Miller, an eighth grader from Burnt Hills, upset top seed Seth Hazleton of Shen 10-4 in the final.  "All that work in the summer paid off," said Miller (39-11) who is in his first year on the varsity.

119: Brian Benton of Amsterdam improved his perfect record to 48-0 after defeating Matt Cubillos of Guilderland 7-0 in the final. Benton qualified for the state tournament last year at 112 and placed fifth. "I'll be more confident this year," the junior said.

125: Kolbi Seeley of Glens Falls earned his berth in the state tournament with a 7-3 decision over Kyle Vuilllaume of Burnt Hills in the final. The senior improved to 42-2 after having to sit out last year with a torn ACL.  "I did it playing football," Seeley said of the injury.

130: Mark Burchhardt of Scotia rallied from an early deficit in the final to defeat Zachary Crain of Columbia 9-4. A senior, Burchhardt (37-1) will be returning to the states for the second year in a row.

"You can't hold anything back. More upsets happen here (qualifiers) than anywhere else," Burchhardt said after what turned out to be one of the most exciting matches of the night.

All three of Crain's (40-3) losses this season have come to Burchhardt.

135: Zach Clemente of LaSalle sailed into the tournament with a 9-2 win over Justin Hewitt of Queensbury. Clemente improves to 42-2.

145: Matt Kaylor of Burnt Hills improved to 42-1 with a 16-0 decision over Ian DeSol of Guilderland. Kaylor, who finished fourth in the state in 2006, has not been really tested in Section II this season.

152: Kyle Denis (16-7) of Saratoga was a surprise champion, knocking of second seed Joe Popolizio of Schenectady 11-6 in the final.

160: Michael Chaires of CBA, the reigning state champion and No.1 rated wrestler in his weight class in the country, defeated Alex Steciuk of Ballston Spa 14-5 in the final. Chaires, a senior, is headed for the University of Virginia in the fall.

189: Top seeded Tim Elbert of Queensbury (39-3) beat Scott Harvey of Schenectady 6-3.

215: Ken Altarac of LaSalle (46-6) pinned David Altarac (35-6) of Queensbury, his cousin in the final.

275: Kyle Hussey of Guilderland stayed unbeaten 18-0) with a closely-fought 5-3 decision over Garret Moldoff (40-2) of Columbia.

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