South Side's Mosher returns to states

For Kyle Mosher, a trip to Albany in late February is nothing new but never gets old.

The South Side sophomore is headed the New York State wrestling championships for a fourth consecutive year after earning a wild-card berth following a runner-up finish in the Nassau Division I 138-pound weight class. Mosher, who was defeated by five-time county champ Vito Arujau, 20-10, last Sunday night at Hofstra, is seeking a third straight All-State (top six) campaign.

“My ideal goal is to take one step higher on the state podium,” said Mosher, who achieved All-County status for a fourth time and takes a record of 36-5 upstate. “It’s always fun to wrestle at states.”

Mosher, seeded No. 2 behind Arujau, reached the county finals for a third consecutive season in convincing fashion. After earning a first-round bye, Mosher got rolling last Saturday morning by pinning Bethpage’s Liam Colwell in 1:26 and then knocking off Matthew Rogers of Wantagh, 12-6, to advance to Sunday’s semifinals.

In the semis, Mosher shutdown Matt Callejas of Roosevelt in an 11-0 major decision, setting up a second tussle with Arujau in less than a month. Arujau beat Mosher, 10-6, in the previous meeting in the semifinals of the Eastern States Tournament Jan. 14 at Sullivan Community College.

“Kyle wrestled a great match the last time he saw Vito and I think that match helped both kids,” South Side/East Rockaway coach Mike Robinson said. “Kyle’s no slouch and it’s rare for someone to put Vito on his back. Vito’s one of the best high school wrestlers in America. He’s super quick and has excellent technique and strength.”

Robinson believes there’s a chance Mosher, who has a career varsity record of 144-25, will cross paths again with Arajau at Albany’s Times Union Center. “Kyle could see him again, but there’s certainly no guarantees or easy opponents upstate,” Robinson noted. “They’re ranked first and third in the state.”

Joining Mosher at the county tournament for South Side/East Rockaway were senior Cliff Cornell (126), a four-time qualifier, senior Dan Schwartz (195), junior Austin Halik (152), a first-year participant from East Rockaway, junior Tygah Scott (285), junior Jacob Rubin, the qualifying champ at 113, and sophomore Nick Shimkin at 113.

Cornell, no stranger to the big stage at Hofstra, opened in style with a pin of MacArthur’s TJ Mauro in 1:24 on Saturday morning. Cornell followed with a hard-fought 6-2 loss to Mepham’s Kyle Althenn, dropping him into the wrestleback bracket. There, he knocked off Justin Kotler of Syosset, 5-3, and lost to Calhoun’s Dylan Jainchill. “Cliff has a nice career and had 20 wins this season,” Robinson said.

Halik and Shimkin also finished with 20 victories after splitting a pair of bouts at Hofstra. Halik earned a 4-2 decision over John Grassi of Sewanhaka West, while Shimkin topped Manhasset’s Max Guagliardo, 10-0. Rubin split four matches at Hofstra and was one win away from All-County status.