Newburgh Free Academy freshman wrestler Cooper Merli won the New York State Division 1 State Championship title in his weight class tonight. See the full video below.
Merli’s win came after he won the state semi-finals earlier today (story here). He has now become Newburgh’s first wrestler to win a state championship since Al Favata in 1968.
Earlier today, Merli secured a 7-0 win over Carthage High School’s Ryan Munn in the 107 pound division, which earned him the first place title in the NYSPHSAA state semi-finals for rights to advance to tonight’s final championship. The official results for tonight’s final match are not yet available.
Merli joined teammates Joseph Ponesse and Will Soto in the state championships today. As a team, Newburgh finished in 10th place in Division 1 with a score of 41.0.
Ponesse bowed out to Liverpool High School’s Owen Atchie in the 172 pound division during the Round of 16 with a fall at 5:57.
Soto won the 102 pound division in the Round of 16 with a 44-6 victory over Colonie High School’s Vincent Mastrianni. He advanced to the quarterfinals, where he lost to Longwood High School’s Anthony Lagala-Ryan in a close 10-8 decision.
The Newburgh Wrestling program is coached by Christopher Leggett, William Parks, and Frank Dinnocenzio.
