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March 10, 2008

Peru, AuSable Valley bring home State Championships in wrestling

By JOHN CORYER

ROCHESTER -- If you stand Peru's Arik Robinson next to AuSable Valley's Dustin Frederick, there isn't a lot of similarities between the two.

That's because Robinson does his wrestling at 96 pounds and Frederick his at 285.

The two, however, do have something important in common -- a state wrestling championship.

In fact, Frederick now has two.

Frederick, a senior, became the first-ever Section VII wrestler to win two state titles Sunday night at the NYSPHSAA Championships at the Blue Cross Arena. It also marked back-to-back state championship for the Patriots' standout.

Frederick, who pinned Section III's Chris Pike (Sherburne Earlville) in the semifinals in 1:16 and then Section VI's Art Garvey in the championship match in 2:24, also became the first Section VII wrestler to win a state title with all pins.

Frederick, who is 33-0 this season, went 4-0 in the tournament with pins in 1:51, :55, 1:16 and 2:24.

"I came down here to take care of business -- and I did," said Frederick. "Every match was done in the first period, except the finals when it lasted until the second.

"I knew what I had to do going in. It feels good to win two state titles. This one is even better for me because I'm the first Section VII wrestler to win two state championships."

Robinson, who won two decisions on Saturday, made short work of Section V's Colton Dalberth (Marion) in Sunday's semifinals, winning by fall in just 32 seconds.

In the championship match, Robinson recorded an 8-1 win over Section III's Dylan Kavanaugh (Vernon Verona).

"It went pretty well today," Robinson said. "In the semifinals, I think I caught him (Dalberth) off guard. He was predicted to win the class.

"It was close in the finals for the first couple of periods. Then, I got some back points in the last period. It feels pretty good -- better than normal."

Robinson, who has a 34-1 overall record this year, finished fourth in the state last year at 96 pounds as an eighth-grader.

"I thought I would do better last year and it made me want to train that much harder," he said. "I felt pretty confident this year."

"We're happy for Arik and his family," said Peru co-head coach Mike Hogan. "It was a great day for him.

"Arik trains year-around and that's what it takes. His only loss this year was to the kid (Bob Dierna from Section V's Wayne), who won the Division I state title at 96 pounds this year."

In addition to Robinson and Frederick, two other Section VII matmen placed.

Northern Adirondack's James Charland finished fourth at 145 and Beekmantown's Josh Nephew fifth at 171 as both also turned in strong efforts.

Charland made it to Sunday's semifinals where he was pinned in 5:37 by Fredonia's Kenny Betts.

Charland then pinned Edgemont's David Rice in just 27 seconds in the wrestlebacks before dropping a 10-5 decision to Marion's Josh Mayville in the third/fourth place match.

Nephew, meanwhile, recorded a 4-2 decision over Allegany Limestone's Kyle Roosa in the wrestlebacks before suffering an 8-4 loss to Wilson's Matt King.

Nephew then captured his fifth/sixth bout with a 10-4 decision over Warsaw's Zak Griffith.

Beekmantown's Joey Roberts (140) and Saranac's Mike Ahern (215) were defeated in their wrestleback matches on Sunday and eliminated from contention.

NYSPHSAA Wrestling

Championships

Sunday

Section VII results

96

Semifinals- Arik Robinson (VII, Peru) pinned Colton Dalberth (V, Marion), :32.

Championship- Robinson dec. Dylan Kavanaugh (III, Vernon Verona), 8-1.

140

Wrestlebacks- Nick Lalone (III, Cato Meridian) pinned Joey Roberts (VII, Beekmantown), 4:47.

145

Semifinals- Kenny Betts (VI, Fredonia) pinned James Charland (VII, Northern Adirondack), 5:37.

Wrestlebacks- Charland pinned David Rice (I, Edgemont), :27.

Third/fourth place- Josh Mayville (V, Marion) dec. Charland, 10-5.

171

Wrestlebacks- Josh Nephew (VII, Beekmantown) dec. Kyle Roosa (VI, Allegany Limestone), 4-2.

Wrestlebacks- Matt King (VI, Wilson) dec. Nephew, 8-4.

Fifth/sixth place- Nephew dec. Zak Griffith (V, Warsaw), 10-4.

215

Wrestlebacks- Julius Anglikas (XI, Southampton) dec. Mike Ahern (VII, Saranac), 14-10.

285

Semifinals- Dustin Frederick (VII, AuSable Valley) pinned Chris Pike (III, Sherburne Earlville), 1:16.

Championship- Frederick pinned Art Garvey (VI, East Aurora), 2:24.

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