Last season, when Cooper Merli won the NYSPHSAA Division 1 102-pound championship, it was the first time a wrestler from Newburgh Free Academy had won a state title in 55 years.

Just one year later, the Goldbacks returned to MVP Arena in Albany, and came away with two state champions.

Merli, who bumped up to the Division 1 108-pound bracket for his sophomore year, won each of his four matches, coming away with a thrilling 1-0 decision to win his second straight state title.

William Soto, competing in the 101-pound division, finished off a perfect 51-0 season, as the freshman won his first state championship in an 11-0 major decision.

“Us two going at it in practice everyday only makes us better,” Merli said of his teammate, Soto. “That just makes it so much more fun. We see each other sweat, cry, everything, so to be able to go out there and both win, it’s truly something special.”

“He’s a great partner,” Soto said of Merli. “He’s really pushed me, helping me get to where I am now.”

Merli had his first two matches during the first day of the tournament on Friday, February 23, picking up a 13-6 decision in his first match. In the 108-pound quarterfinals, Merli was tested by Hauppauge’s Gino Manta, but ultimately prevailed in a tiebreaker, 3-2.

In the semifinals on Saturday, Merli defeated Cullen Edwards, of St Francis, with a 5-0 decision, moving on to face another former state champion, Dunia Sibomana, in the finals.

The 108-pound title match went scoreless until the third period, when Merli went down and was then able to secure an escape – taking a narrow 1-0 lead.

“It became a ‘get out’ and figure the rest out from there,” Merli said. “I knew I could get it done if it got down to that point.”

As time wound down, Sibomana grew more aggressive and nearly took the lead in the final seconds. However, Merli kept his cool, holding on for the 1-0 win.

“I knew it was coming and I could feel the intensity,” Merli said. “He’s a great opponent.”

“That was a fun match. It really was, and I felt a lot better going into that one, than the one before,” Merli added, noting there wasn’t a lot of time to think in the match, given the fast pace.

“That’s why you spend so much time beforehand preparing, since you may not have a lot of time to think. It’s just muscle memory, and you have to make adjustments.”

Heading into the day, Merli (50-4 overall) did not have very much success against Sibomana in their previous encounters.

“It hasn’t been good before today. I wrestled him three times in the past year in tournaments and some out-of-season stuff and all those times he was pretty close to majors and tech falls,” Merli recalled. “This time I was able to keep it into my type of match, where I could pull things out at the end.”

Once the clock finally hit 0:00, Merli’s goal of a second straight state title was complete.

“There’s nothing better. I’ve won at some big stages, but in this arena, with all your fans, everyone in the section cheering for you, where both kids are loved by everyone, it’s awesome to be able to get a win in that kind of match.”

“I’ve got two more cracks at it, but we’ll go one at a time.”

Soto began his tournament on Friday in the 101-pound bracket with a 22-second pin in his first match, followed by a 9-0 major decision in the quarterfinals.

The Newburgh freshman breezed through the semifinals and championship matches on Saturday as well. He picked up a 17-1 technical fall in the semifinals, advancing to the final against Valley Central’s EJ Vass.

It was a battle of Section 9 counterparts for the state crown.

“It’s great for all the other sections to see how good Section 9 is,” Soto said of facing Vass. “For us to have two state finalists at the same weight, it’s amazing. EJ and I have wrestled a lot this season, so we knew what we were going to do and it was pretty cool to represent Section 9 like that.”

Soto used a takedown to take a 2-0 lead in the first period, and tacked on in the second with a reversal and nearfall. Two more nearfalls in the third period helped Soto clinch the 11-0 major decision and state title.

“I think it’s going to take time for it to soak in, for what I accomplished. But it feels really good,” said Soto, who came in third place in the bracket a year ago. “Last year, losing here in my quarterfinal match and having to do the wrestlebacks for like six matches, it was a lot of stress on my body. Cruising through this bracket, it really feels great.”

Also making the trip to Albany for the Goldbacks was 116-pounder Jordan Busby, who went 1-2 in his three matches.

At 131 pounds, Matthew Mercado went 3-3 at the tournament, finishing in eighth place. He fell in an ultimate tiebreaker 6-5 in the seventh place match.

Christopher Leggett, a 215-pounder, put together a 7th place finish with a 3-2 showing at MVP Arena.