Holy Trinity's Hopeton James wins CHSAA 285-pound state title with a pin at 4:46

Hopeton James only started wrestling two years ago to help him become a better football player. Never did he think he’d become a state champion, even though coaches and teammates told him he would.

Looks like they knew best as the Holy Trinity senior claimed the 285-pound wrestling state CHSAA championship at St. Anthony’s High School on Saturday. James pinned Thomas Tyndorf, of St. Joseph by the Sea, in 4:46 to win the state championship.

“I’m usually just in the moment,” James said. “Everyone said it, my coach believed in me Day One and said I would be a state champ. I kind of brushed it off but it happened. I didn’t think it would.”

James was one of three Long Island wrestlers to win a state CHSAA crown. Lucas Griffin, of Chaminade, pinned Albert Lula, of Monsignor Farrell at 101 pounds in 1:31 and Justin Castillo, of St. Anthony's, pinned Michael Smith, of St. Joseph By The Sea, at 124 pounds in 1:00 to win state titles.

The three qualify for the NYSPHSAA state championships at the MVP Arena in Albany, starting February 23.

James said when his coaches told him he’d be a state champion, he just thought of it as them showing their belief in him. Even as James improved, he still wouldn’t allow himself to see past his next match. He’s a defensive end and outside linebacker on the football field, but James quickly realized wrestling is unlike the gridiron.

“I thought wrestling was going to be easy coming straight out of football season,” he said. “I had a whole season, my conditioning was good but the first day of practice was crazy. There’s nothing like wrestling. It’s a whole different mindset. Playing both sports, I think wrestling is way harder than football, but I think it helps a lot.”

Griffin also reflected on his early days of wrestling after winning his state crown. The Chaminade junior recalled going 3-16 as a freshman and was uncertain of his future in the sport.

“There were some points in my freshman year where I questioned if I really wanted to do this, if I wanted to wrestle,” Griffin said. “But obviously, it’s all worth it now.”

Griffin won three of his four matches via pin, winning the fourth by technical fall in a dominating day. He said he’s a big goal-setter and wrote down a list of goals for himself – one being becoming a state champion. Even though it wasn’t always easy for him, Griffin is glad he stuck with wrestling.

“It’s just this sport,” Griffin said. “It teaches you a lot of life lessons. Keep working hard, be resilient and now, here I am.”

Castillo had redemption on his mind when he took the mat in the final. Not for himself, but for a St. Anthony’s teammate who lost to Smith during the tournament. That little additional motivation put forth a dominant effort in his third pin on the day.

“My friend lost to him so I said I’m going to get his payback, so I needed to win,” Castillo said. “It was just ‘Go, go, go.’ That was amazing, 100% amazing.”

Castillo wouldn’t put down his championship bracket he was awarded as the winner. Seeing his name standing alone at the end was everything the junior worked toward.

“This has been my goal since the start,” Castillo said. “I wanted to be a catholic state champ. That was it. It’s really special, I love it and I’m going to post this up in my room.”