GUILDERLAND — Guilderland junior Matt Cubillos made the trek to Rochester as the lone wrestler representing his school.

Cubillos was going to compete in the New York State Wrestling Championships at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester. And compete he did.

Cubillos finished fourth in the 125-pound weight class to earn a spot on the podium at the event.

“It was one of the toughest wrestling classes there,” said Guilderland Coach Korey Rogotzke.

Cubillos opened the tournament by facing the wrestler who won the 119-pound weight class at last year’s state event.

Cubillos lost the first match by one point, 9-8. But he bounced back to win four matches in a row in the wrestlebacks and earned a spot in the third-place match.

“I was upset that I lost the first match,” Cubillos said. “I lost my shot at the finals. Fourth place in the state is pretty good.

“He got a five-point move on me and it was hard to recover from that,” Cubillos added.

Cubillos then had to face a wrestler who ranked seventh in the nation in the weight class. He had been upset in the first round. Cubillos lost the match, 6-1, to place fourth.

“He is the sixth wrestler to finish that high,” Rogotzke said. “I’m really happy for him. He finished the season with 39 wins and a 39-5 record. That is a terrific record.”

“I was nervous going into my other matches but not my last one,” Cubillos said. “I was happy where I was.”

It was the second year in a row that Cubillos went to the state meet. He did not place last year.

Wrestling in a big arena did not bother the high school junior.

“It feels like it’s really big,” Cubillos said. “It’s exciting, especially when the warm-up music starts playing. That’s kind of cool.”

It was a good end to the season for the Dutchmen; the team had six wrestlers place at the Section II meet in Glens Falls two weeks ago. The Dutchmen finished eighth as a team at the tournament. They finished third in the Class A meet the previous week.

Devan Van Auken finished third in the 285-pound weight class. He lost in triple overtime in the semifinal to fall to the third-place match.

“He beat three kids that placed at states during the season,” Rogotzke said. “He is right in the mix at the state level.”

Senior Josh Sawyer finished fifth at the sectional meet.

“He is a three-time sectional place-finisher,” Rogotzke said. “It was a great finish to his career. He is in the top 10 all-time in career wins.”

Eugene Sellie placed fourth at the sectional meet in Glens Falls. He lost in triple overtime in the third-place match.

Senior Robert Romeo advanced to the semifinals in the 130-pound class.

“He lost a heart-breaker,” Rogotzke said. “He lost a one-point match in the semifinals to a kid he beat twice during the year.”

That wrestler finished sixth at the state meet in Rochester last weekend.

“Robert would have been one of the top 130-pounders in states,” Rogotzke said. “He ended up with a great record, 35-6. That’s pretty outstanding. He provided us with great leadership. Him and Josh, and Matt were great leaders. Josh and Robert will be missed in the line-up.”

Travis Wolanski finished fifth in the 112-pound class at the Section II meet.

“He beat a kid that was second in the As,” Rogotzke said. “He beat him to place fifth. That was a nice finish to the season.”

“Devan and Robert definitely should have been able to go,” Cubillos said of making the state meet. “They had a setback in sectionals.”

Rogotzke was pleased how his team did at the sectional tournament.

“All the guys won matches,” he said. “We had guys that were close to placing. I am extremely proud of them. They were consistent throughout the year and went above expectations.”

Moving up

With one more year left, Cubillos has a chance to add more to his legacy as a Guilderland wrestler. He was named a captain as a junior, but he has been on the team since the eighth-grade.

“I thought it might be because of my experience,” Cubillos said.

“He could be a four-time sectional place-finisher,” Rogotzke said. “And he’ll probably have a chance to be number-two on the all-time career wins list.”

Roger Sawyer is the all-time leader with 158 wins.

Cubillos will wrestle for the ATWA club during the off-season and will travel to Fargo, N.D. to wrestle in the national competition. Cubillos, who wants to wrestle in college, has set team and personal goals for next season.

“State champion,” he answered quickly when asked about his goal. “I definitely want to move up.”

Cubillos’s state tournament was the icing on the cake of a successful season, one which saw the Dutchmen win 10 dual matches.

“It was a pretty good year,” Rogotzke said. “It was my first year so I am excited about that. We get most of the whole team back. I’m excited for next year.”