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July 24, 2008

More than 40 local athletes in Empire Games

By COURTNEY LEWIS

Arik Robinson took home a freestyle wrestling silver medal from last year's Empire State Games, narrowly losing the championship match in the closing seconds.

This year, Robinson is aiming for gold in both freestyle and Greco-Roman competition.

"It makes me feel like I should try to do better this year," Robinson said of his finish last year, when he lost the final period of his match against Western's James Montante, 4-3. "I felt like I did pretty well. He just got me at the end.

"I'm hoping to go have pretty good matches. And I'm hoping to win both styles."

Robinson, who will be a sophomore at Peru this year, is one of more than 40 local athletes who will compete for the Adirondack region at the 2008 Empire State Games in the Binghamton area. Competition starts this morning and runs through Sunday.

Robinson will wrestle at 106 pounds in the scholastic division, with freestyle matches starting today and Greco-Roman starting Friday.

He won a NYSPHSAA championship at 96 pounds in March. Robinson said he is relatively new to the two wrestling styles contested at the Games. At last year's Games, he competed only in freestyle.

"I'm better at freestyle, but I think Greco is more fun," Robinson said, adding that what makes the latter fun is "being able to throw people."

"Usually in freestyle I get more concentrated. In Greco I just go out there and have fun. I'm usually more aggressive in Greco."

Last year was Robinson's first time at the Empire State Games.

"I thought it was really fun," he said. "How the tournament was set up, how they set up the rooms we wrestled in -- it was a fun tournament.

"All my matches were really close. They were good matches."

Although the high school wrestling season has been over for months, Robinson has had plenty of work on the mats leading up to the Games. Earlier this month, he competed at the Junior National Freestyle/Grecco-Roman Dual Meet Wrestling Championships in Oklahoma City, Okla. He said he usually trains all summer and goes to about 10 tournaments.

Six other local wrestlers are slated to compete at the Games this week, including Robinson's Peru teammates Pappy Hogan and Troy Seymour.

Five area athletes will play for the Adirondack women's hockey team. Ann Cantwell of Saranac Lake and Madelaine Guay of Chazy were on the team that won the gold medal last year. Chazy's Astrid Kempainen, Lake Placid's Rebecca Lindsay and Bloomingdale's Emilee Hazelden are newcomers to the team, which begins play Friday morning against the Western team.

The Adirondack squad has won five golds since the sport was added to the Games in 1999.

Adam Parker of Lake Placid wasn't on the Adirondack open men's soccer team that won gold last year, but he'll help the team try to repeat. Adirondack faces Hudson Valley this morning.

Swimming and track and field will feature the largest contingents of local athletes. Plattsburgh State assistant track and field coach Ted Santaniello, who claimed silver in the 400 meters last year, will run the open men's 100 and 200. Jenny Hutchinson, a bronze-medal winner last year, is entered in the open women's pole vault.

clewis@pressrepublican.com

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