Long Islanders Finnegan O'Brien, Jonathan Hoffman advance at state wrestling championships
Jonathan Hoffman of Kellenberg, right, wrestles Logan Pennell of Pine Bush in the 170-pound quarterfinals at the state championships on Friday. Credit: Newsday/J. Conrad Williams Jr.
ALBANY — Finnegan O’Brien is looking to make his mark on Chaminade wrestling.
After finishing third in the 124-pound weight class at last year’s state championships as a Locust Valley eighth grader, O'Brien was determined to dominate again — this time with the Flyers.
The Chaminade freshman won both of his matches at 124 pounds on Day 1 of the state wrestling championships Friday at MVP Arena to advance to the semifinals.
O'Brien, the No. 2 seed, scored five takedowns in the first and second periods and held his opponent scoreless in the third in his 17-5 decision over No. 7 junior Charles Przymylski (Mahopac) in the quarterfinals.
LIers in Saturday's Division I semifinals
101 - Jon Tutku (Massapequa) vs. Trevor Patrovich (Hauppauge)
108 - Austin Bronco Campsey (East Hampton) vs. Connor Sheridan (Hauppauge)
116 - Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez (Long Beach) vs. Anthony Lagala Ryan (Longwood)
124 - Finnegan O’Brien (Chaminade) vs. Nico Rivera (Mohonasen)
131 - Matthew McDermott (Smithtown East) vs. Ryan Ball (Somers)
138 - Camryn Howard (Bellport) vs. Vinny Tripaldi (Iona Prep)
152 - Eric Wolf (Farmingdale) vs. Anthony Tresch (Minisink Valley)
160 - Jason Kwaak (Brentwood) vs. Dj Avilles (Middletown)
170 - Jonathan Hoffman (Kellenberg) vs. PJ Duke (Minisink Valley)
“He has a history of pinning guys in the last moments, so I knew I had to be smart,” O’Brien said. “It was my first full match of the tournament, but I’ve been preparing for this, and I was able to control it at the end.”
O’Brien (29-5) defeated Ryder Depadua-Reese (Elmira) by technical fall 17-2 in 1:22 in the second round. He will face Mohonasen senior Nico Rivera in the semifinals Saturday.
“He’s very mat savvy," Chaminade coach Scott Cole said. “He is a real student of the sport. He wants to put himself in a position to win a state title.”
While O’Brien is the school’s only representative in the tournament, he hopes next year will be different.
“The plan is to get a bunch more guys upstate with me,” O’Brien said. “I think we have a lot of talent and we’re only going to get better. The future holds a lot of promise for Chaminade wrestling.”
According to Cole, his impact is already calculable.
"[O’Brien is] the highest caliber wrestler we’ve ever had at Chaminade,” Cole said. “All of the kids look up to him, even though he’s only a freshman. He’s brought a lot of young wrestlers with him. All of us are really excited about the next few years.”
Kellenberg’s Jonathan Hoffman joins O'Brien as the second wrestler from the NSCHSAA to advance in the two-day tournament. Hoffman, the No. 13 seed, used his second takedown of the quarterfinal match to pin No. 5 Logan Pennell (Pine Bush) in 5:15 at 170 pounds.
“I wanted to get the takedown since he took me down first,” Hoffman said. “Then, I just had good position and was hoping for the pin.”
Hoffman (28-0) defeated West Babylon’s James Dauch by major decision 15-2 before pinning James Capasso (Ballston Spa) in 5:34. He will face three-time state champion and Penn State commit P.J. Duke in the semifinals.
Added Hoffman: “It’s just fun to be on the mat and have this special experience after not making it here last year.”
