Lupi Finishes Third in State Mat Tournament
Nick Lupi won four-of-five matches, including three in overtime to capture third place in the New York State wrestling tournament last weekend in Albany. The Huntington High School senior closed out his final scholastic season with a 35-2 mark.
If there was every any doubt about whether or not Lupi was in tip-top physical condition, the teenager squashed it by going the distance and then some in his five bouts. In his opening matches, he battled his way to a 6-4 preliminary round decision of Churchville-Chili junior Sam Eagan and then topped Minisink Valley senior Josh Bonneau in double overtime, 3-2.
Lupi's only loss came in the semi-final round when he dropped a 3-2 decision to eventual state champion Richard Sisti, a Monsignor Farrell junior. "It was a tough, tough match," Blue Devil assistant coach Travis Smith said. "Nick showed a lot of heart by bouncing back and winning his next two matches."
In the consolation bracket, the Huntington senior outlasted Eagan a second time, 3-2 in triple overtime and then beat back Bonneau in a rematch, 5-3 in double overtime. The third place finish capped off an outstanding career for the Blue Devil great.
"Placing in the state tournament twice is quite an accomplishment and we're very happy for Nick," Smith said. "His only loss was pretty tough to take. He just as easily could be leaving Albany as the state champion. But, he gave it his all."
Huntington's John Arceri and Anthony Puca were not as fortunate as Lupi. Arceri, who was seeded No. 1 at 99 lbs. went 2-2 in the tournament. Puca finished 1-2 at 285 lbs., splitting one-point overtime matches.
Arceri (38-4) opened the tournament with a 4-1 decision of Pearl River sophomore James Kelly. He then dropped a 3-0 decision to nationally ranked Syosset eighth grader Vito Arujau. "John never really got started," Smith said. "He was never able to get anything going."
Thrown into the consolation bracket, Arceri responded by coasting to a 16-1 technical fall of South Glens Falls junior Anthony Sgorrano. The freshman was knocked out of the tournament when he lost 2-1 to Monroe-Woodbury sophomore Vinny Vespa.
"Johnny had a great season," Smith said. "He's Huntington's first ever freshman county wrestling champion. We didn't accomplish here what we wanted to do, but it's been a great experience for him and he certainly intends to work hard and make it back here and win here one day."
In his opening round match, Puca (32-5) topped Greece junior Ian James in overtime, 3-2. He then lost to Smithtown West senior Mike Hughes, 9-2. Hughes had pinned the Blue Devil in the Section XI finals in 34 seconds. In the consolation bracket, Puca dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision in an ultimate tie-breaker against Yorktown senior David Varian.
"Anthony lost a very tough match," Smith said. "Fortunately, he's only a junior so if he does everything he should do in the off-season, he will have a chance to return to the state tournament next year and attain his goal."
Smith and fellow Blue Devil coaches Kieran Mock, Peter Fusco and Lou Giani have been around long enough to know that nothing is guaranteed at the state wrestling tournament, regardless of a wrestler's record coming into the competition or where they might be seeded. "It's a very tough tournament and everyone is trying to finish the season on a high note," Smith said.
Blue Devil Notes: Huntington finished 31st in the school standings with 20.5 points . . . Section XI (Suffolk) won the sectional team battle, scoring a record shattering 312 points . . . Section VIII (Nassau) was second with 222.5 points.