As Wyatt Boice accomplished his biggest wrestling moment, the Minisink Valley junior’s thoughts turned to his support system.
Boice felt a sense of gratitude after his 4-2 win over Rory White of St. Francis in the state Division I 175-pound final.
“It feels amazing,” said Boice, who finished the season undefeated at 35-0. “I’m just so grateful for everything and everyone who has put the time and effort into me to get to this moment.”
Wallkill senior Marco Futia captured his school’s first state title with a 10-7 win over East Islip’s Rocco DeStefano. Futia closed his career with a 198-28 record.
Monroe-Woodbury’s Kelly Sullivan (126 pounds) and Minisink Valley senior Zach Filip (215) each finished second.
Connor Wilson of Our Lady of Lourdes (175) was Section 9’s highest Division II finisher, taking second.
Boice completed a goal that he immediately set after placing third at 160 in the state last year. He said that he worked “two times as hard” this offseason and season to earn the milestone.
“To be honest, he worked really hard at it,” Minisink Valley coach Kevin Gallagher said. “There was never a doubt in his mind or in our mind that he was going to do it.”
Boice changed up his style a bit during the tournament after tweaking his knee Thursday, one day before his first state match. He wrestled less on his feet as usual and grinded it out more. Gallagher said Boice wrestled “smart, tough and proved he could win in a lot of different ways.”
“It was not easy,” Boice said. “I banged up my knee and I don’t know what’s wrong with it. It’s very swollen. That definitely changed the game plan a lot. The pain was really, really bad before matches. Definitely, adrenaline helped me a lot this weekend.”
Boice’s first-place finish is the sixth straight state championship a Minisink Valley wrestler has won a state title.
“Champion” will be added to Boice’s name on the wall of Minisink Valley’s wrestling room.
“I just love representing Minisink and I love winning in the Minisink singlet,” Boice said. “Doing that and keeping the train rolling and getting a state title in six consecutive years, it feels great.”
Two-time state champion Will Soto of Newburgh Free Academy (110) and Monroe-Woodbury’s Elijah Brown (144) each placed third. Minisink Valley’s Joe Uhrig (150) took fifth place.
Valley Central’s Maximus Smith (150) was sixth and teammate Evan Gomez (103) finished seventh.
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