GUILDERLAND — For two Guilderland wrestlers the years of dedication and hard work have finally paid off.

Kyle Hussey and Ian DeSol, both seniors who have been on the varsity team for three years, took home titles in the 275-pound and 145-pound weight classes respectively at the Class A meet at Niskayuna High School on Friday and Saturday.

Though DeSol and Hussey were number-one seeds, they had trials and tribulations to reach the top of their weight classes.

Matt Cubillos, a sophomore, who has been in the line-up since he was in eighth grade, also won the title in the 119-pound weight class.
"I’ve never coached three Class A champions," said Guilderland Coach Regan Johnson. It’s damn nice to. All the kids in the finals wrestled hard. Josh Sawyer and Robert Romeo did great jobs. The kids worked real hard. The 275-pound match might have been the most exciting of the night. I’m real proud of the guys. I can’t say that enough. It takes a lot to put up with me."

It was a successful day for the Dutchmen who finished fourth overall in the team standings, behind Shenendehowa, Colonie, and Niskayuna. Guilderland finished a half point behind Niskayuna, 157 1/2 to 157.

The Dutch had a lot of individual success on the mat. Out of the 11 wrestlers who competed at the meet, nine placed in the top six to qualify for the Section II State Qualifier meet at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Friday and Saturday.
"That is awesome," Johnson said. "I ask our guys to do the extra work. They stay after practice and they come in the morning and lift. That is why we are able to have success. You can’t stay with the status quo with the Suburban Council or you’ll end up in the bottom. The teams below will pass you."

Besides the three champions, Guilderland got two second-place finishes from Josh Sawyer in the 160-pound weight class and Robert Romeo in the 125-pound weight class.

Travis Wolanski finished third in the 96-pound weight class and Bobby Dygert was third at 130 pounds.

Tyler Qulia was fifth in the 215-pound class and Greg Serafin was sixth at 135 pounds. Both will wrestle in Glens Falls this weekend.

Wrestling with adversity

Five Guilderland wrestlers competed under the dimmed lights of the championship matches and all five put forth tremendous efforts.

Hussey was the most dominant in his match. Though he didn’t pin Garrett Moldoff of Columbia, he controlled the match from the outset before posting a 15-3 win.

Hussey led, 4-1, after the first two-minute period. He scored two takedowns in the period and just gave up an escape.

Hussey got another takedown on Moldoff and led, 6-2, at two periods. Hussey got nine points in the third period. Hussey got another takedown and had Moldoff in control on the mat and garnered three back points. After giving up an escape, Hussey scored another takedown and got two more back points.
"I didn’t know what to expect," Hussey said. "He has improved since I wrestled him in the Class A final. He really has. He has tremendous strength and he gave me some trouble. I was happy to finish on top."

The win was the second in a row for Hussey, and the second he did without a full season of wrestling under his belt.

Last year, Hussey missed most of the season because of a knee injury. This winter was also difficult for Hussey.
"This meant a little bit more," Hussey said of this year’s title. "This year, I got mono at the middle of the season. I found that out on the Friday the weekend before Christmas and my dad died that Sunday. This is a good one to win."

Hussey admitted it was tough to come back, but he did it because of his love of the sport and his love of his coach.
"I was talking to Coach J," Hussey said of Johnson. "No matter what was going on in my life, you have to move on. I am lucky I have sports to turn back to. With all the stuff that has happened to me, I’m glad I had this opportunity. Coach Johnson is like a second dad to me. He really helped me get another Class A title."

Hussey was able to keep his focus and has not lost a match since he came to wrestle in late January.
"I was able to concentrate and focus on the year," Hussey said. "I will not settle until I win sectionals and states."
"He’s had a lot of adversity thrown at him the last two years," Johnson said. "Since he’s been on varsity, he comes to practice every day. He’s a great kid to be around and his attitude is infectious. He’s always asking questions to try and get better. He deserves everything he gets. I’m happy he is going to Albany, so then I can see him play football."

Hussey hopes to qualify for the state meet, after losing in the semifinals last year at the Section II qualifier meet.

Hussey didn’t even have to wrestle this season. He has committed to play football at the University at Albany after being one of the best offensive and defensive lineman in Section II this fall.
"I felt like I owed another year to Coach Johnson," Hussey said. "He’s like my second dad and I wanted to give him one more year.
"I love wrestling," Hussey added. "It’s one of the only sports where it’s just you. You’re by yourself on the mat. You decide if you win or lose."

He hopes to have three more weeks of wrestling before he focuses on college and football full-time. He will also have his father with him.
"He’s always in the back of my mind," Hussey said. "It would be nice to win the section and states. He was always a huge supporter and interested in what I did."

Finally a champ

DeSol has been on the varsity team for five years. He was a Class A place finisher as a freshman but he has never been able to reach the top level of the champion’s podium until this year.
"This feels pretty good," DeSol said. "It took long enough. This is my fifth year and Coach Johnson has beat in my head what I can do. It shows that the last five years of work has paid off.
"This has always been on my list," he added. "But number-one is to win a Section II title and go to states. This is a good step on the way."

DeSol came into the tournament as the top seed, and lived up to his billing as he cruised to the championship match.
"Being the top seed, there is some pressure," he said. "I know what I can do and everyone is expecting that from you. That’s cool and it can work into your favor before you walk into the gym. But it’s just one of those things. You have to wrestle no matter who it is and what seed you are."

And DeSol did wrestle, though his competition in the final made it tough. He scored a 4-2 win over Josh Simmons of Columbia.

DeSol led, 2-1, after the second period but scored a takedown to go up 4-1. An escape by Simmons cut the lead to two, but DeSol held on to win the 145-pound class.
"We wrestled in a dual meet and I beat him I think, 7-4," DeSol said. "I wrestled a bit better today, though it was closer. He wasn’t doing much. He was stalling and I was pushing, trying to open things up."

DeSol will have a short time to enjoy the win.
"I’ve got all day tomorrow to enjoy it," DeSol said on Saturday. "Come Monday, Coach J will be in my face."

The win in the championship match was the 100th for DeSol, a big milestone for wrestlers.
"I had it inside a notebook, and I just looked at it," Johnson said. "I saw how many career wins he had and how many he needed to get 100 takedowns. He is close to that record. I saw that, if he wins the tournament, he gets his 100th win. It’s great to win Class A championship and get the 100th win. Both of those things can’t be taken away from you. They’re great accomplishments. There are not too many kids walking the halls that can say they won a Class A championship."

DeSol is looking to wrestle in college and is interested in Clarion, Bloomsberg, the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown, or Binghamton University.

"Matt’s Matt"

The first Guilderland champion to be crowned on Saturday was sophomore Matt Cubillos. He won the 119-pound class with an 8-2 decision over Jason Chudzinski of Colonie. He joins his older brother, Mike, as a Class A champion.

Cubillos scored a takedown in the first period, two in the second period, and another in the third period to take the win. He gave up just two escapes to Chudzinski.
"The last two years, I was in the finals," said the softspoken Cubillos. "It’s good to win. It’s been my goal all year. But I want to win the sectionals next week, I want to win that."
"Matt’s Matt," Johnson said. "He’s wrestling hard. He’s a two-time runner up. It’s nice for him to finally break the ice and get a championship under his belt."

With Cubillos’s early success, he can go down as one of the best wrestlers in the long, strong history of the Guilderland program.

He definitely has the confidence.
"It’s not that hard of a tournament," Cubillos said. "I expected this, because I wrestle against most of these guys. I’m happy it’s done."

Romeo falls

The most entertaining of Saturday night’s matches came in the 125-pound match. Robert Romeo put together a strong effort to try and knock off Kyle Kilburn of Ballston Spa.

Romeo trailed, 2-0, at the end of the first period and was down, 4-1, in the second period when he made a comeback.

Romeo scored a takedown but trailed, 7-3, late in the period when he reversed out of a hold by Kilburn in the final seconds for two points to make the score, 7-5.

But Kilburn was able to hold on for a 9-6 win and Romeo, a junior, had to settle for second.
"I did pretty good," Romeo said. "I wrestled the best that I ever had. I worked harder and that all shows"This is the first time I made it to the finals."

Romeo was the second seed in the class and is looking forward to this weekend’s large school tournament, where Class A and Class B schools will determine who will go to the state meet at the Times Union Center in Albany.
"We’ll see how it goes," Romeo said. "We’ve done a lot better than last year. We have a good team this year, and everyone works hard and we have a good coach."

Sawyer wrestled tough in the 160-pound final but was on the short end of a 5-2 decision against Alex Steciuk of Ballston Spa.

Sawyer trailed just 2-1 at the end of the first period and 4-2 at the end of the second, but couldn’t catch Steciuk in the final two minutes.

But Johnson is happy with the way his wrestlers competed in the two-day tournament.
"It’s just an awesome feeling," he said. "To be associated with young men like that is why I went into coaching and teaching. It’s an absolute pleasure to be with these guys."