Newburgh Free Academy wrestlers Cooper Merli, Joseph Ponesse, and Will Soto are proud to be heading to states next week.
At the 2023 Section 9 Championships, Merli clinched first place in his weight class (102 pounds). Ponesse (172 pounds) and Will Soto (102 pounds) captured second place victories in their respective weight classes.
Merli is a 9th grader at the NFA Main Campus and finished second in Section 9 last year before advancing to the quarterfinals. He is the first Section 9 Champion for Newburgh Wrestling in four years.
Ponesse is a senior at the NFA North Campus and finished four at last year’s Section 9 tournament.
Soto is an 8th grader at Meadow Hill Elementary School and will be traveling to states for the first time.
Also at the Section 9 Championships, Newburgh’s Kevin Segali placed third at 145 pounds, and Christopher Leggett placed fourth at 189 pounds. Matt Mercado placed fifth at 126 pounds and Jordan Busby finished sixth at 118 pounds. Newburgh Wrestling finished in 4th place as a team at the Section 9 Wrestling Tournament.
The State Competition will be held next week in Albany.
The Newburgh Wrestling program is coached by Christopher Leggett, William Parks, and Frank Dinnocenzio.
