Section 1 has it’s wrestling strongholds: Teams like Iona Prep, Yorktown, and Somers have dominated in recent years, winning across weight classes in the four-county section’s various tournaments and meets.
While this certainly presents obstacles for a team like the Rye High School Garnets, the team found itself on quite a few leaderboards this month, building on early-season momentum and setting the stage for what could be a turning point for the program.
The Garnets have had a busy January, hosting both John Jay and Sleepy Hollow High Schools, traveling to both Scarsdale and Henry Hudson, and rounding things out with Westchester County Championships on Saturday.
After a 38-27 loss to John Jay that featured individual wins from Ari Bisongi, Hunter Gillies, and Jason Gaylord, the team posted one of its strongest performances of the season at the Scarsdale Invitational, finishing tied for second with Clarkstown North and accumulating 183 points over the course of the tournament, ahead of 17 other schools participating.
The strongest individual performance of that tournament weekend was delivered by C.J. Luth, who won the tournament’s most-outstanding sophomore wrestler award, and 1st place in the 160-pound weight class. Other winners that weekend include Dylan Schneider and Gabriel Chared-Sandstrom, who finished first and second in the 131-pound class, and brothers Jack and Thomas Anderson, who each took second place in their respective weight classes (Jack – 190, Thomas – 285).
At the county championships hosted by Yonkers High School, Luth again was among the best wrestlers in the area despite also being one of the team’s younger wrestlers, placing third in the 160-pound class. Four other Rye wrestlers finished among the top six in their respective weight classes from among 20 or more competitors in each group: Ronan Sutter, Hayden Harvey, Jack Anderson, and Thomas Anderson.
The team heads to Eastchester on January 30th to wrap up the month, and will head into February hoping to continue developing momentum as they into the end of their season.
