Tommy Askey came into the New York State tournament with an undefeated record, at 37-0. However he was seeded #2 in the 152 pound weight class bracket. When asked if that put a chip on his shoulders and was extra motivation, he gave a short, yet definitive answer. He said “yes.”

In the championship match on Saturday night at the Times Union Center, Askey was pitted against AJ Kovacs, the top seed in the 152 pound bracket and ranked fifth among high school wrestlers nationwide out of Iona Prep.

As the match drew to a close, Askey got a last second takedown of Kovacs, gaining control and clinching the 8-5 decision. The whistle blew as both wrestlers processed what had just happened. The referee raised Askey’s hand; he was the Division 1, 152 pound NYS Champion. He finished the season with a perfect 41-0 record.

“This is surreal. I had to push the pace, I knew I could get him in the third [period]. This is amazing,” he said. “It hasn’t [sunk in] all the way yet.”
Pine Bush’s wrestling coach Rich Ormsby talked about why Askey has had so much success this season, in the state tournament and how important stamina is to winning these matches.

“Tommy Askey has great energy from start to finish which is hard to find in wrestlers. He will wrestle against a guy coming out with all their fury because they know he’s an undefeated two seed, they bring their absolute best for the first two minutes, then in the middle of the match they’re still coming, but in the third period he’s still coming and he’s got energy to match. He’s a closer,” he said.

Askey’s approach was to take it one match at a time, focusing on how he would defeat each of his opponents. “I just wanted to wrestle hard and score points,” he said. “I’m not as nervous as I was last year.” In 2019 he lost in the 145 pound quarterfinals to Kovacs and went on to place fourth.

In the opening round on Friday afternoon, Askey defeated the 15 seed Dylan Collins, from Hamburg, in a 9-4 decision. He then defeated the 7 seed, Dennis Robin in a close 4-3 decision in the quarterfinals. Robin, the Section 1 champion out of Arlington went on the place third.

The semifinals and finals started on Saturday morning and first up for Askey was the 6 seed, Wenchard Pierre Louis, from Brentwood. Askey won in a 12-2 major decision and went on to defeat Kovacs with an 8-5 decision.

“A lot of opponents don’t realize he’s a good scrambler too. When things get going crazy, it’s almost a takedown, it’s not a takedown, you’re wondering what’s going to happen, he’s really good at that,” said Ormsby.

Ormsby had high hopes for his senior after he was able to advance to the semifinals. “Hoping that he wins both his matches and that Pine Bush has a state champion,” he said.

That wish came true.

Valley Central’s Matthew Romano (35-10) also advanced to the state tournament as a 132 pounder. Starting as the fifteen seed, he lost his first round match to the second seed Jayden Scott in a 7-1 decision. Beckett Herman then defeated Romano in the consolation bracket, with a much closer 4-2 decision.

Newburgh’s Jackson Merli (38-7) made it to the tournament for the 106 pounders and started as the eighth seed. He lost to the ninth seed Sal Esposito in the first round by a 5-0 decision. Merli then defeated the sixteen seed Lucas Randisi 10-6 in the consolation bracket. The seventh seed Vincent Ziccardi eliminated Merli in the next consolation round with a 6-0 decision.