Grappler Fall Classic Results

The Grappler Fall Classic went down this weekend in Sandusky, Ohio where New York was well represented both in the numbers and in the results. Clubs from New York including KD6, Gorilla Grapplers, and the New York Military Academy brought their studs to put it on the line and #GETSOME. New York finished with three finalists in Ashten Haley (Cobleskill-Richmondville), Maverick Beckwith (Norwich), and Julia Duro (Shaker) with 12 total medalists across the elite boys and girls divisions.

Ashten Haley was the surprise of the day having entering the tournament unseeded. The Gorilla Grapplers wrestler got surgery right after the state tournament and had been recovering all spring and summer which is why he missed some big tournaments including NHSCA's and Fargo. Everyone that follows New York wrestling is aware of just how good Haley is, however, he has been flying under the radar to the rest of the wrestling community nationwide. The state runner-up introduced himself to the wrestling world in an emphatic way by running through the bottom side of the 138lb bracket that included nationally ranked individuals in Jovani Solis (Florida), Landyn Shaffer (Deposit-Hancock), and DJ Clarke (Georgia). In the quarterfinals Haley would beat teammate Landyn Shaffer, who is currently ranked 18th in the country and a Fargo National Finalist, in a 1-0 low scoring affair. The Section II wrestler would then pull out a massive win over Jovani Solis (Florida), who is ranked as high as 9th in the nation and was a Fargo National Champ (beating Shaffer in the national finals). Shaffer was a huge part in helping Haley gameplan for that match, and Haley would win in ultimate tie-breaker before falling to nationally ranked Braylon Reynolds (Indiana) in the finals. The 138lb bracket that Haley made the finals in ultimately included 54 state placers, 12 state champions, and 6 nationally ranked kids.

The other boys finalist for New York was Haley's teammate Maverick Beckwith. Beckwith was the #2 seed in the 144lb bracket and wrestled to his seed. He notably beat New York state medalist Trevor DellaPenta 5-3 in the quarterfinals before winning his semifinal match over Ohio state runner-up Antwain Adams (Ohio). The 2x state champ's run would come to an end in the finals as he lost a close bout to Mason Basile (Florida) by a score of 5-1. Beckwith's bracket included 23 state placers and 7 state champions.

Cooper Merli finished the weekend with a 3rd place finish after he entered the tournament as the #3 seed. Merli was one of three wrestlers who were nationally ranked going into the tournament, and he ended up beating both of those individuals on the backside of the bracket. Merli would pin or tech his way to the quarterfinals before he dropped a match in ultimate tiebreaker to Lazaro Soto (Florida), who was a 3A state champ this year, 8-6. On the backside of the bracket Merli would then beat 2x Fargo All-American Layne Martin (Michigan) by a score of 7-4. Martin is currently ranked in the top 20 nationally at 113 lbs. In his consolation semifinal bout he would then knock off Junior Fargo All-American and National Prep Champ Liam Davis (Florida) 6-1 who is ranked as high as 5th in the country. In his third place bout he racked up the points over another Florida state champ in Noah Lyttle, winning 15-4. Merli's GFC bracket included 34 state medalists, 14 state champs, and three nationally ranked kids.

Both Chris Noto and Wyatt Boice would end up finishing 8th after they medically forfeited out of the tournament. Both sustained injuries in their blood round bouts which prevented them from competing further. Noto originally pinned or teched his way to the quarterfinals before dropping a match to top ranked Antonio Mills (Georgia) who would go on to win the tournament. In his blood round bout he would get the best of Demetrios Carrera (Illinois) who had placed 3rd at the Illinois state tournament earlier this year. Similarly, Boice would make the quarterfinals where he would wrestle nationally ranked Jay'Den Williams (Michigan). The match was closely contested as Boice got out to an early lead. In a high scoring affair, Williams would score a takedown and a set of nearfall, where Boice was losing 10-7 late in the match. Having to go for broke, he ended up giving up a takedown late and lost the match 14-7. In his blood round bout he would major state medalist Ryker Cox (Coxsackie-Athens) by a score of 12-4 before medically forfeiting out.

The St. Francis & KD6 crew showed out at the Cedar Point Sports Center having placed Mason DellaPenta, Cullen Edwards, Zach Caldwell, and Dominic Darch. Edwards originally made the semifinals where he notably knocked off top 150 recruit Colin Strayer (Indiana) in the quarterfinals before dropping his semifinal bout to U15 Pan Am Gold Medalist Jensen Boyd (Indiana). Edwards would drop his consolation semifinal bout to South Dakota state runner-up Brendon Oehme before a win over Florida state medalist Lucas Barrios for 5th.

Dominic Darch ended up showing the nation why he is such a captivating recruit for the incoming freshman class. Darch would major Wisconsin state blood rounder Quinton Ortegon in the quarterfinals which set up a match with top 75 2028 recruit Jeremiah Chavis (Florida). Darch would take the Florida state medalist and NHSCA National Champ to tie breakers before ultimately dropping the match. Both Darch and Zach Caldwell ended up making it to the third place bout where they did not wrestle each other.

Boys High School Elite

106 - Wyatt Sartori (Dansville-Wayland Cohoctan), 7th
106 - Mason DellaPenta (Eden), 8th
120 - Cooper Merli (New York Military Academy), 3rd
126 - Cullen Edwards (St. Francis), 5th
132 - Chris Noto (Honeoye Falls-Lima), 8th
138 - Ashten Haley (Cobleskill-Richmondville), 2nd
144 - Maverick Beckwith (Norwich), 2nd
165 - Wyatt Boice (Minisink Valley), 8th
215 - Zach Caldwell (St. Francis), 3rd
215 - Dominic Darch (St. Francis), 4th

Girls High School Elite

105 - Julia Duro (Shaker), 2nd
140 - Kiara Richard (Shaker), 3rd