By:Steve Siniski
Win or lose, it's a hectic two-day period that can be made all the more enjoyable by success.
Baldwin's Chris Weidman, a Nassau County Champion, at 171 pounds, took to the mats at the New York State Wrestling Championships on March 2-3, looking to go straight for the top. The Bruins junior, 32-2 entering the tournament, won four of his six matches over the course of the two days in Syracuse, NY, earning a fourth place finish in his weight class along with All State honors.
On a good day, Chris could have won, Baldwin coach Steve Shippos said. Chris belongs there and showed that he does with his performance in a competitive weight class.
Wrestling in his first-ever state tournament, Weidman won his first match by decision (14-4) over John Ames (Section V). At this level, every kid's a champion, Shippos said of the competition. Ames was also Section Five's most outstanding wrestler, and we weren't quite sure what to expect.
Weidman came out on top in several flurries, one of which amounted to five points when he put Ames on his back. It was close early, but Weidman really started to open things up.
The competition stiffened in the second round, where Weidman squared off against Ron Foster (Section VII), a senior wrestling in his third state championship. Chris fell behind 4-0 but closed the gap to 4-2 in the third period, Shippos said of Weidman's early struggles. The lead was opened to 7-2, but Chris made a late run that included a takedown. He was certainly in it until the very end.
But despite the 8-5 loss and getting bumped from the first-place bracket, Weidman would start to make a run up the consolation bracket.
In his first wrestleback match against Mike Karben-an opponent he had already defeated once (an 8-0 blanking at a Holiday Tournament in Kingston, NY)-Weidman decided he couldn't wait around for a decision. He pinned Karben to advance to the semifinals of the consolation round.
Jared Lackie (Section II) was up next, and Weidman left nothing to chance. He didn't win by pin, but his 6-0 decision was certainly a telling statistic of his strong performance. The victory set up a rematch with Foster, an opportunity Weidman wouldn't pass up.
Chris completely dominated Foster in their second match, Shippos said. He started the match with a takedown and came close to pinning Foster. Chris never let him become offensive, winning a 7-0 decision.
Weidman had won three consecutive matches, including two by a combined score of 13-0 and was primed to even another score, this time with Rex Harris (Section I), who had defeated him at Kingston earlier in the year (9-8 in overtime). However, after a grueling day that included four matches from 11 a.m-6:30 p.m., Weidman came up short and was pinned for the only time this year. His run in the state tournament ended, but not before he went home with the distinction of winning more matches than any other Nassau County representative.
