The last time they competed at the Section 9 Division I wrestling tournament, Cooper Merli and William Soto could not both win the championship, as both wrestled at 101 pounds, and squared off in the finals.

Merli won the championship and Soto finished second. Both went to states where Merli became the Goldbacks’ first state champion in 55 years and Soto finished third.

This year, they were in different weight classes, winning two of Newburgh’s three Section 9 championships on Saturday at Monroe-Woodbury High School.

“This was much better,” said Merli, a Newburgh Free Academy sophomore, who wrestled at 108 pounds. He won his third straight championship with a 10-0 win over Wallkill’s Marco Futia. “It wasn’t as quiet and had some cheers. That was much better, got to watch him win before me to get the momentum going.”

Soto, a freshman, won his first Section 9 championship when he defeated Valley Central eighth grader E.J. Vass, 13-3 in the 101-pound final.

“Feels good,” Soto said. “Going into states I’m feeling confident. I beat the No. 2 kid and that pushed my confidence up a lot.”
They started a mostly successful finals for the Goldbacks, who placed four wrestlers in the finals, and won three championships.

Junior Matthew Mercado won his first Section 9 championship when he overcame Middletown’s Jacob Roger, 9-2, at 131 pounds.

“It feels nice that all my hard work paid off,” Mercado said.

Unlike his two teammates, Mercado’s match was far from a sure thing. He scored two points a minute into the match, but Roger made an escape in the first period and another in the second to tie the match.

They were locked up for most of the third period until Mercado scored a reversal with 38 seconds to go.

“I was trying to get an escape because I didn’t want it to go into overtime,” Mercado said. “I wanted to keep it in the third period.”

He made even more certain there would be no overtime when he picked up two back points with 23 seconds left to give himself some breathing room. He finished the match with three more back points, giving the Goldbacks their third championship of the night.

Jordan Busby also reached the finals for the Goldbacks, but he was beaten by Warwick’s Brady Judd in the 116-pound championship. Last year, Busby would have had to wrestle third-place finisher Santiago Chrisjohn of Saugerties to earn his berth in the state tournament.

However, Section 9 had the most power points of any section in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and is sending three wrestlers to states in each weight class.

All finalists qualified when they won their semifinal match.

“That changes it a little bit,” Merli said. “It takes a little bit of the pressure off, but you still always want to win no matter what.’

That did open up an opportunity for 215-pounder Christopher Leggett, who clinched his state berth when he beat Middletown’s Julani Graham, 8-3, in the third-place match.

All five will compete at the New York State Federation championships on Feb. 23 and 24 at the MVP Arena in Albany.

The Goldbacks finished tied for third in the tournament with the Washingtonville Wizards. Both teams scored 157 points.

Minisink Valley won the tournament with 291.5 points.

Ivan Duran finished fifth at 138 pounds when he beat Valley Central’s Maximus Smith, 12-9, in the fifth-place match.

“We have youth kids here watching and our modified coach is here coaching with us,” Merli said. “He’s reporting back to them telling them it’s possible. So, if we all keep winning, it will help the program build as a whole.”

Section 9 Division I Championships
Team results: 1. Minisink Valley - 291.5; 2. Middletown - 177; 3. Newburgh - 177; 3. Washingtonville - 157; 5. Warwick - 133; 6. Wallkill - 129; 7. Monroe-Woodbury - 101.5; 8. Saugerties - 96; 9. Valley Central - 91; 10. Pine Bush - 89.5.

Most Outstanding Wrestler: P.J. Duke (Minisink Valley)

Michael DeCapua Most Exciting Final: 138: D.J. Aviles (Midd.), Wyatt Boice (MV).

Finals
101: William Soto (NFA) def. E.J. Vass (VC), 13-3
108: Cooper Merli (NFA) def. Marco Futia (Wall.), 10-0
116: Brady Judd (War.) def. Jordan Busby (NFA), 6-0.
131: Matthew Mercado (NFA) def. Jacob Roger (Midd.), 9-2.
3rd Place
215: Christopher Leggett (NFA) def. Julani Graham (Midd.), 8-3
5th Place
138: Ivan Duran (NFA) def. Maximus Smith (VC), 12-9.
Consolation Semifinals
138: Griffin Petzold (War.) pinned Ivan Duran (NFA), 2:48
215: Christopher Leggett (NFA) pinned Timmy Duke (MV)
Semifinals
101: William Soto (NFA) tech. fall Anthony Noboa (Midd.), 15-0.
108: Cooper Merli (NFA) pinned Owen Millmore (Wash.), :25.
116: Jordan Busby (NFA) def. Gianni Gennaro (Wash.), 14-7.
131: Matthew Mercado (NFA) def. Joseph Uhrig (MV), 11-3.
215: Jacob DeJesus (Wash.) def. Christopher Leggett (NFA), 11-5.
Blood Round
160: Liam Dakin (FDR) tech. fall Mateo Morell (NFA), 15-0.
190: Ryan Calfe (VC) tech. fall William Coughlin (NFA), 16-0.
Quarterfinals
101: Will Soto (NFA) tech. fall Griffyn Alfalla (PB), 16-0.
108: Cooper Merli (NFA) pinned Juan Landa-Cruz (Saug.), :27.
116: Jordan Busby (NFA) def. Gregory Schaefer (Gosh.), 16-2.
131: Matthew Mercado (NFA) pinned Maximillian Wickrath (MV), 3:55.
138: Joseph Uhrig (MV) def. Ivan Duran (NFA), 7-2.
160: Isaiah Grant (MW) def. Mateo Morrell (NFA), 10-7.
190: Chris Herriman (FDR) pinned William Coughlin (NFA), 5:35.
215: Christopher Leggett (NFA) def. Timmy Duke (MV), 11-1.

Round of 16
116: Liam McCarthy (Wall.) pinned Jacob Pettitt (Saug.), 1:09; Jordan Busby (NFA) pinned Ronald Brigman (Mont.), 2:21.
124: Jacob Burgos (Wash.) pinned James Corbett (NFA), 4:12.
131: Matthew Mercado (NFA) pinned Jahvarri McIntosh (Mont.), 1:25; Maximillian Wickrath (MV) pinned Joseph Bell (NFA), 1:25.
138: Ivan Duran (NFA) pinned Goldstein (FDR), 1:40; Maximus Smith (VC) pinned Kyan Spirig (NFA), 4:43.
152: Michael Accardo (War.) def. Trey Walker (NFA), 13-2; Jude Betancourt (Bea.) def. Liam Ehlers (NFA), 15-5.
160: Mateo Morrell (NFA) pinned Zyon Lowe (VC), 1:17.
170: Ezra Cafaldo (Saug.) pinned Kayvon Haines (NFA), 3:50.
215: Christopher Leggett (NFA) pinned Jazre-El Williams (Wall.), :53.