Recco advances to state semis

Photo by Mike Wertman – Lyndonville’s Tony Recco is in state semis

Surviving a marathon quarterfinal round match this afternoon, Lyndonville High junior Tony Recco (113) has advanced to the semifinals of the state wrestling championships being held at the Times Union Center in Albany.

Recco, who captured a state title in 2012, opened the competition with a quick pin over Taylor Benson of Red Hook (Section IX) in just 1:54.

However, the quarterfinals proved to be a bit of a tougher task as he outlasted Ryan Hetrick of Southwestern (Section VI) 2-1 in triple overtime.

“His first round was a fairly easy match but the quarterfinal was definitely a tough one,” said Lyndonville Coach Jeff Gress who noted that the match deciding point came on a penalty point as Hetrick was called for locked hands.”It was a taxing match for Tony but he kept working and it came out OK at the end.”

Recco, who is now 46-3 on the season, will face top seeded Derek Spann, a sophomore from Adirondack Section III) in the semifinals on Saturday. Spann registered pins in his first two matches.

The finals are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

Newfane’s Nate Martin (145) has also advanced to the semifinals after registering victories by a major decision and a decision in his first two matches.

Akron’s Johnny Fiebelkorn (99) lost by a major decision in his opening round match.