From left to right: Mike Parise of Brewster became the school’s firstever two-time Section 1 champion. Putnam Valley’s John Messinger won via pin in the finals to take the Division 2, 170-pound title. Mahopac’s Mike Spinelli raises hand in victory after winning the 195-pound title at Sunday’s Section 1 Championships at Pace University. PLEASANTVILLE—Mahopac, Brewster and Putnam Valley each placed two wrestlers in Sunday’s finals, and each school came away with one champion and one second at the Section 1 Wrestling Championships at Pace University.

Fox Lane won the Division 1 team title with 172 points, North Rockland was second (168.5), New Rochelle was third (119), Somers took fourth (115) and Yorktown was fifth (104). Mahopac placed sixth with 99.5 points, and Brewster was seventh at 94.5. Carmel, which has had a tough season, did not place.

Mahopac put two wrestlers in the championship finals, and it was topranked Mike Spinelli (42-3 this season) who walked off with a championship at 195 pounds after thoroughly dominating Greeley’s Scott Wymbs, posting a 12-2 major decision.

Skip Pearlman At 138 pounds Mahopac also had the top seed in Jake Srednicki, but Srednicki (37-5) lost to second seed Tom Grippi of Fox Lane, 8-0, in the finals, and had to settle for second.

Max Bachmeier finished fourth at 138 pounds, and Aaron Gallagher and (160) and Zach Boker (113) each placed fifth, taking All-Section honors.

“I was happy with the team finish,” Mahopac coach Dennis DiSanto said. “We were hoping for top five, but we lost two kids to injuries. Both would have probably placed…. but we had two in the finals, so I was happy with that.

“Mike dominated all of his matches,” DiSanto added of Spinelli. “He had three pins, then won 15-2 in the finals. I expect him to do well at states. And Jake had beaten Grippi at the Super 16, but he was a little off…. it happens. We’re still hoping for a wild card (invitation to states). Max also did very well, he was fourth last year and has been a consistent All- County wrestler for two years now. Fourth is a very nice way to finish.”

Brewster senior captain Mike Parise, another top seed, won his second sectional championship, barely getting past No. 2 seed and freshman Blaise Benderoth, 3-2, in the 106-pound final. Parise improved to 49-2 this season.

Benderoth trailed 2-0 after a period, but pulled to within a point – at 3-2 – in the third, and stayed on top of Parise, unable to score the equalizer as time expired.

“It was 3-2 for most of the third period,” Bears coach Tom Looby said. “Mike is better on his feet, so Blaise was trying to stay down and turn him….. at the end it was a little nerve-racking, but Mike fought well and hung in.”

Putnam Valley’s Anthony Gentile took a second place at 152 pounds, after falling to Scott Porter of Pawling, 2-1, in the Division 2 finals. Kyle McAlpin of Brewster placed second at 152 pounds, losing to two-time state champ and five-time All-Section pick Brian Realbuto of Somers. Jake Srednicki of Mahopac tries to get a grip on Tom Grippi in Sunday’s finals match. Srednicki lost, 8-0, and took a second at 138 pounds. Brewster’s Kyle McAlpin (39-10) wasn’t as lucky. McAlpin, the No. 3 seed at 152, ran into a buzz saw known as Brian Realbuto – the top seed, a two-time state champion and a five-time All-Section selection. Realbuto pinned McAlpin in 1:18.

“Kyle definitely had a tough match in the finals,” Looby said. “But he gave it his all, and I was very happy to see him get to the finals.”

Skip Pearlman Liam Erickson took a third for the Bears at 120 pounds, and Tom Gonska was fourth at 126 pounds.

“Liam lost a tough match in the semis, and didn’t wrestle his best,” the coach said. “He was disappointed, but he wrestled well again after that – he went out and got two wins to finish third. And Tom also did a nice job, he had a real tough match to get to the consolation finals, and did very well.”

Gonska picked up his 100th career win as well, and improved to 36-8 for the season.

Putnam Valley’s John Messinger, a top seed at 170 pounds in the Division 2 finals, pinned Chris Kim of Edgemont in 3:32 to win that crown.

PV’s Anthony Gentile, a No. 3 seed, finished second after losing to Scott Porter of Pawling, 2-1, in the 152-pound final.

The Tigers – who finished third in the Division 2 team competition behind Edgemont and Nanuet - also had four third-place finishers in Adam Mirabal (113), Chris Bruno (132), Kyle Kelvas (138) and Angelo Zegarelli (145).

Will Messinger took a fourth at 182, eighth-grader Noah Kelvas was fifth at 99, and Christian Gonzalez was sixth at 126 pounds.

“John Messinger did a great job for us,” PV coach Will Carano said. “He did what we knew he’d do. He was injured early in the season, took his time coming back, and now he’s at another level… And all of our thirdplace guys were impressive, and had to fight through the brackets. It’s not easy to do. We had 12 guys out there, and 10 placed, with eight finishing in the top five. It was pretty impressive.”

Weight class winners advance to the state championships in Albany on February 24 and 25.