How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
The men's wrestling team traveled to Ithaca, N.Y., last weekend, where Cornell University hosted the New York State Intercollegiate Wrestling Championships.
Topics
Although the Violets did not do as well as they had hoped, three grapplers placed in the top eight of their weight classes, qualifying them for All-State honors in New York. NYU's final score, 34.5 team points, earned them 12th place overall.
"Overall, we wrestled tough," captain Matt Magill said, who placed sixth at 157 pounds. Magill, a junior, was NYU's highest placer alongside sophomore Jamie Myers, who finished in sixth place at 197 pounds. Freshman Sabino Galassi rounded out the All-State qualifiers with an eighth-place finish at 184 pounds.
It was a big test for the Violets, who recently suffered two team injuries — junior Gregg Martino and senior Kyle Christensen are sidelined as of now — but Magill was glad the team stepped up in their absence.
"The guys who competed wrestled [hard]," Magill said. "[Galassi] put together a nice two days."
NYU's finish this year was down from last year's tournament, where the wrestlers placed 10th with five All-State qualifiers. Also noteworthy was that only two of the five previous All-State grapplers, Magill and Myers, competed in this year's tournament. Both grapplers earned the honor for the second time.
With the state tournament behind them, the team is now looking forward to the final month of its regular season. Its remaining competition includes the Metro New England Duals hosted by Williams College and, later the UAA Championship and the all-important national qualifier.
Despite this defeat, the team continues to look toward the future for victories.
"If we can win UAAs, that'll be a big accomplishment for us," Magill said.
