SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Springs varsity wrestling team was crowned Section 2 champions last Thursday, defeating Averill Park in the semifinals, and then Burnt Hills in the finals. The Blue Streaks will now head to Syracuse this weekend to compete in the dual meet state championships.
Coach Jake Zanetti said the title win was “not the type of thing you just flash-in-the-pan win randomly one year. That was a total program effort for years in the making; youth to modified to JV to varsity.” Zanetti credited assistant coach and youth head coach Brendon Polcare with developing young talent. “We’ve got solid coaching at every single level and the kids are taking advantage of it,” Zanetti said.
In the matchups against Averill Park and Burnt Hills, Zanetti said the team’s “studs did their job; they went out there and they took care of business.” In the first match of the night, Hayden Passaretti struggled early but came back in the final seconds to score a victory. Taylor Beaury, who was sidelined with an injury earlier this season, has been undefeated since returning to action. The Blue Streaks defeated Averill Park 50-10, and then beat Burnt Hills 40-26.
“I don’t think we knew we were going to win as much as we did, especially in the semifinals,” Zanetti said. “We really brought it against Averill Park and then just kind of kept the momentum going through the Burnt Hills match in the finals.”
As the team prepares for its trip to Syracuse, a balance is being struck between having realistic expectations but also being ready to compete. “We’re not going to go in on a victory cruise, just happy to be there, just content to be there,” Zanetti said. “We want to go to compete, and we know we can hang with the best teams, but we’re not putting too much pressure on the boys.”
The dual meet state championships are on Saturday at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse.
