By JOHN CORYER
ALBANY — Peru's Jacob Goddeau didn't wrestle on the varsity last season because he couldn't beat his cousin, Arik Robinson, in practice.
Robinson went on to win a NYSPHSAA Division II wrestling championship at 96 pounds.
This year, Robinson moved up to 103 pounds and Goddeau took over at 96.
Funny how things work out.
Both Goddeau, a freshman, and Robinson, a sophomore, were at their best this weekend at the Times-Union Center while becoming the first teammates in Section VII wrestling history to win state championships.
Goddeau recorded a 7-2 decision over Section VI's Carlene Sluberski in the title match at 96, while Robinson was a 4-0 winner over Section V's Colton Dalberth at 103.
"Jake did an outstanding job," said Peru co-head coach Mike Hogan. "He was on the junior varsity last year only because Arik was that good.
"Arik loosened up after winning his first match down here and he did a great job. I'm really proud of both kids."
Robinson went 4-0 in the event and wasted little time in his semifinal match on Saturday with a pin in 47 seconds over Section VI's Kevin Strong.
Following a 2-1 win by decision in his first-round match on Friday, Robinson recorded two quick pins and a decision on the way to winning back-to-back state titles.
"I had some closer matches this year, but it worked out," he said. "I didn't wrestle as well as I could in my first match. But, I had a pretty quick pin in the quarterfinals against a kid I wrestled in the Eastern States.
"In the semifinals, the kid didn't know who I was and I just went out there and got it done. In the finals, I took him down in the first period, scored two more points in the second and rode him out in the third.
"This year, it feels better for me because it makes me a second-time champion."
Goddeau won 3-2 and 5-2 decisions on Friday to advance to the semifinals. Saturday, Goddeau recorded a 7-3 victory over Section IV's Corey Drake in the semifinals, setting up his 7-2 win over Sluberski, a female, in the finals.
"I've trained hard with my teammates and it feels pretty good to win a state championship in my first year on the varsity," Goddeau said. "It's better than anything else.
"My first match in the tournament was really close. But, I felt confident about my chances going into the tournament and felt pretty good after my semifinal win."
Peru finished third in the Division II team standings with 61 points, behind Section IV's Waverly's 92.5 points and Section V's Pal-Mac with 75.
Section VII, which finished sixth out of 12 sections 106.5 points, had four other wrestlers place.
Saranac's Dakota Smart finished in fifth place at 140, while Patrick Hogan took sixth at 119, Northern Adirondack's James Charland sixth at 152 and Saranac's Tyler Leavine sixth at 215.
"I'm very happy with Section VII's showing," Mike Hogan said. "The section had a good tournament."
Smart, in the wrestlebacks, won by decision and then lost by decision. In his fifth-place match, Smart was an injury default winner over Section VI's Dominic Montesanti.
Charland won his first match Saturday in the wrestlebacks by injury default before losing by decision. Charland was then pinned by Section I's Will Carter in his fifth-place match.
It wasn't a good day for either Hogan and Leavine, who were both beaten in their semifinal matches and were sent into the wrestlebacks. There, they both dropped two more matches to finish sixth. Hogan lost three decisions, while Leavine lost two decisions and was pinned in his other match.
One of Hogan's losses was a 4-2 decision to Section V's Tyler Marlow. Friday, Marlow had a 13-2 lead over Hogan in their opening-round bout when Hogan won by fall in 4:59.
Peru's Troy Seymour, wrestling at 112, had a tough-luck tournament while not placing. Seymour finished 2-2 overall, with both his losses in overtime. Saturday, Seymour dropped a 2-1, triple-overtime setback to Section I's Penn Gotfried in a match he needed to win in order to place.
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2009 NYSPHSAA
Wrestling Championships
Division II
Saturday's results
Section VII wrestlers
96- Semifinals- Jacob Goddeau (VII-Peru) dec. Corey Drake (IV-Lansing), 7-3. Finals- Goddeau dec. Carlene Sluberski (VI-Fredonia), 7-2.
103- Semifinals- Arik Robinson (VII-Peru) pinned Kevin Strong (VI-Frewsburg), :47. Finals- Robinson dec. Colton Dalberth (V-Marian), 4-0.
112- Wrestlebacks- Penn Gotfried (I-Ardsley) dec. Troy Seymour (VII-Peru), 2-1, triple overtime.
119- Semifinals- Quinton Murphy (V-Holley) dec. Patrick Hogan (VII-Peru), 14-2. Wrestlebacks- Tyler Marlow (V-Pal-Mac) dec. Hogan, 4-2. Fifth-place match- Danny Arnel (VIII-Oyster Bay) dec. Hogan, 7-1.
140- Wrestlebacks- Dakota Smart (VII-Saranac) dec. Jake Oswald (II-Tamarac), 5-0; Kenneth Kampnich (III-I.H.C.) dec. Smart, 5-1. Fifth-place match- Smart injury default over Dominic Montesanti (VI-Medina).
152- Wrestlebacks- James Charland (VII-NAC) injury default over Antonio Doldo (III-I.H.C.); Jason Fraser (V-Alfred-Almond) dec. Charland, 7-3. Fifth-place match- Will Carter (I-Westlake) pinned Charland, 4:06.
215- Semifinals- Craig Amidon (V-Canisteo-Greenwood) dec. Tyler Leavine (VII-Saranac), 12-4. Wrestlebacks- Ryan Talcott (IV-Tioga) pinned Leavine, 1:12. Fifth-place match- Alex Meyers (III-Morrisville Eaton) dec. Leavine, 7-0.
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Section totals
1, Section V, 256. 2, Section IV, 251.5. 3, Section VI, 220. 4, Section III, 193. 5, Section II, 135. 6, Section VII, 106.5. 7, Section I, 73. 8, Section XI, 48. 9, Section X, 30.5. 10, Section VIII, 28.5. 11, Section IX, 19. 12, PSAL, 11.
