Congratulations to Senior PJ Duke, who won his fourth state championship title tonight, March 1, at the NYSPHSAA Boys Wrestling Championship meet.
PJ, the #1 seed, won his 170-pound weight class with a technical fall against Section V's Casey Liess of McQuaid-Jesuit. He was also named the tournament's "Most Outstanding Wrestler" (MOW.)
"I thought PJ was incredible all tournament and either tech falled or pinned everyone he wrestled, looked awesome doing it and he was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament," said Varsity Coach Kevin Gallagher.
Additionally, Minisink Valley finished first out of all the public schools and second behind St. Francis Catholic high school in the NYS Federation .
"PJ's accomplishment is truly amazing," said Athletic Director Tim Bult. "Only a handful of wrestlers win more than one state title during their high school wrestling careers, and for PJ to win four is a testament to his dedication and commitment to the sport. He is the number one wrestler nationwide and next year he'll be wrestling at Penn State, the nation's top, Division I wrestling school. He's had an amazing career at Minisink Valley and I believe there's no one who matches his strength, power and skill. We all believe he's truly destined for national and international wrestling greatness."
Other medal recipients:
Third-place
Anthony Tresch, 152-pound weight class
Wyatt Boice, 160-pound weight class
Sixth-place
Kevin Crowe-Bailey, 285-pound weight class
Seventh-place
Zack Filip, 190-pound weight class
"Anthony and Wyatt wrestled great and showed a lot of mental toughness after losing in the semis and coming all the way back for third," Coach Gallagher said. "Kevin wrestled great also coming back and finishing sixth and Zach also wrestled great coming back for seventh."
Also competing were: Colin Matone (124-pound weight class), Nate Racz, (138-pound weight class); Joe Uhrig (145-pound weight class), Max Wickrath (152-pound weight class) and Jayden Pressley (190-pound weight class).
"Minisink Valley's 10 wrestlers left everything on the mat and we are very proud of their achievements," added Mr. Bult. "To qualify for and participate in state-level competition is a huge accomplishment they should always remember."
All were part of the Section IX delegation, which had five finalists and 17 place winners.