Sports

SWR’s Pirraglia falls in quarters, still alive in wrestlebacks

Shoreham-Wading River senior Dom Pirraglia pinned Alan Clement of Canton in 1:50 in the first round Friday of the state wrestling championship.

Shoreham-Wading River senior Dom Pirraglia went 2-1 on the first day of the New York State Wrestling Championships Friday in Albany. Pirraglia lost in the quarterfinals, dropping him into the wrestlebacks where he won his lone match. 

Pirraglia will wrestle again Saturday morning at Times Union Center for a chance to finish third at 182 pounds. He would need three consecutive wins to do so. One win would put him on the podium.

Pirraglia opened the tournament with a first-period pin against Alan Clement of Canton. In the quarterfinals, he lost 7-1 against Collin Pittman of Spencerport.

Pirraglia pinned Mark Friske of Jamesville Dewitt in 57 seconds in a wrestleback match.

Shoreham junior James Szymanski, who was third in the county at 120, made the trip to Albany as the first alternate. Four wild card spots were awarded and Szymanski was fifth in the order. He would have needed someone to bail, either by injury or failing to make weight, to get in the tournament. That did not happen.

The wrestler whom defeated Szymanski at the county tournament, Jesse Dellevechia of East Islip, was the No. 2 seed in the bracket and advanced into the semifinals. Another Section XI wrestler, two-time state champ Nick Piccininni of Ward Melville is also in the semifinals as the No. 1 seed.

Click below for a live blog from Friday’s tournament.