It was a holiday weekend, but many Empire State wrestlers got plenty of quality mat time by making the trip to New Jersey for the War at the Shore event or by competing at the Gene Mills Eastern Nationals.

At the War at the Shore, New York boasted a number of top six placers, including several wrestlers that stood on top of the podium.

One of the gold medalists was Elite’s Adam Busiello, who captured the crown at 82 pounds in Division 3. Busiello began with an 8-3 decision before recording a pair of technical falls and a 12-3 major over Craig Manno of Apex (NJ) in the title contest.

Joining him as champions in Division 5 were a pair of Long Islanders, Anthony Sparacio at 95 pounds and 2013 NYS medalist Jesse Dellavecchia at 107.  Sparacio notched two majors on his path while Dellavecchia won five matches, including a pin in the championship bout.

New York also featured a pair of titlewinners in Division 6, as Underground’s Zak Ryder won at 55, while Carmel’s PJ Duke took top honors at 60 pounds.  Both were dominant, as Ryder pinned all three of his foes with the longest match just over a minute.  Meanwhile, Duke registered two falls and an 8-3 decision.

After making the podium in Albany during the 2012-13 high school campaign, various wrestlers placed over the weekend in the Garden State.  They included: 631 Elite’s Matteo Devincenzo (2nd at 96), VHW’s Vito Arujau (3rd at 107), West Babylon’s Steven Lee (2nd at 114) and Ravena-Coeyman’s Alex Soutiere (3rd at 287).

Meanwhile, back in New York, over 80 champions were crowned at the Gene Mills Eastern Nationals event at Onondoga Community College, ranging from the lightest class (Bantam 40 pounds, won by Darren Bailey of Thorobred) to the 250-unlimited Varsity division captured by Brandon Yager from Mustangs. 12 of the brackets featured girls wrestling.

G2 World Wrestling Academy’s Jayden Scott collected two titles, grabbing first in both the Midget 70 and 75 pound classes. Stevo Poulin was a two-time finalist, taking gold in Junior 60 and silver in Junior 65.

2013 high school All-State wrestlers such as Kelan McKenna of New Hartford and Theo Powers of Pin2Win were victorious in their brackets, while state champion Luis Weierbach earned third at 120.

For full brackets see: www.trackwrestling.com and search “Gene Mills Eastern Nationals.”

For a list of New York placers from the War at the Shore, see below. (Please comment below with any additions).

Division 1

6th – Mason Franklin (Long Beach) – 44 Pounds; Chad Falcon (North Rockland) – 82 Pounds

Division 2

2nd – Stefon Thompson (Brentwood) – 105 Pounds

3rd – Tyler Benjamin (Thorobred) – 115 Pounds

4th – Ethan Ferro (Superior) – 78 Pounds

5th – Ivan Garcia (Apex) – 68 Pounds; JD Moore (VHW) – 96 Pounds; Ryan Stein (NY Titan) – 115 Pounds

Division 3

Champion – Adam Busiello (Elite) – 82 Pounds

2nd – Benny Baker (Rock Solid) – 87 Pounds; Anthony Sobotker (631 Elite) – 115 Pounds; Dominic Salerno (Thorobred) – 200 Pounds

3rd – John DeRidder (VHW) – 87 Pounds; Hector Colom (Scorpion/Cobra) – 99 Pounds

4th – Jake Silverstein (631 Elite) – 93 Pounds

5th – Michael Parrish (631 Elite) – 140 Pounds

Division 4

2nd – Mikey DiPalma (Islip) – 80 Pounds; Matteo Devincenzo (631 Elite) – 96 Pounds; Peter Pappas (631 Elite) – 102 Pounds

3rd – Ben Tepperman (631 Elite) – 102 Pounds; Eric Wakefield (Ironmen) – 190 Pounds; Larry Baker (Wantagh) – 250 Pounds

4th – AJ Aeberli (Olympic) – 140 Pounds

5th – Jonathan Gomez (Long Beach) – 85 Pounds; Nicholas Pagnotta (Rocky Point)  – 90 Pounds; Jake Colonna (631 Elite) – 128 Pounds; Kevin Parker (Journeymen) – 140 Pounds

Division 5

Champion – Anthony Sparacio (631 Elite) – 95 Pounds; Jesse Dellavecchia (631 Elite) – 107 Pounds

2nd – Sean Mc Garvey (Pearl River) – 95 Pounds; Kyle Mock (Huntington) – 101 Pounds; Steven Lee (West Babylon) – 114 Pounds; Sean Romanski (NY Titan) – 137 Pounds; Matt Caputo (Apex) – 142 pounds

3rd – Sean Miller (CWC) – 101 Pounds; Vito Arujau (VHW) – 107 Pounds; Joe Calderone (Walt Whitman) – 114 Pounds; JP Ascolese (Iron Horse) – 132 Pounds; Jakob Restrepo (VHW) – 142 Pounds; Alex Soutiere (Ravena-Coeymans) 287 Pounds

4th – Daniel McBrinn (Olympic) – 147 Pounds

5th – Jimmy Leach (631 Elite) – 132 Pounds; Jimmy Devine (NY Titan) – 154 Pounds

6th – Jake DiMarsico (North Rockland) – 137 Pounds

Division 6

Champion – Zak Ryder (Underground) – 55 Pounds; PJ Duke (Carmel) – 60 Pounds

6th – Jeremiah Carter (Lindenhurst Bulldogs) – 51 Pounds