Ellis, Marianetti a thrilling final
Brighton star tops friend in rematch
www.rochesterdemocratandchronicle.com
James Johnson Staff writer

KRIS J. MURANTE staff photographer

Brighton junior Zach Ellis defeated Greece Athena's Alex Marianetti in the Division I 119-pound final at SuperSectionals. Ellis clinched his third trip to the state championships with the 4-3 decision.

(February 24, 2008) — HENRIETTA — The scene of Zach Ellis and Alex Marianetti wrestling in a one-point match during the SuperSectional finals was certainly familiar.

So was the remarkable ending to their Division I 119-pound final.

Ellis, a junior at Brighton, beat the clock and his friend from Greece Athena on Saturday night at Rochester Institute of Technology with a throw late in the third period.

The 4-3 win for Ellis clinched his third trip to the state championships, held this year in Rochester's Blue Cross Arena on March 8-9.

Ellis defeated Marianetti in dramatic fashion during the SuperSectional finals while both were sophomores.

"Same exact thing with about the same set-up," Ellis said.

"It was weird."

The result seemed like an instant replay to the coaches who watched Ellis beat Marianetti two years ago.

Marianetti recovered from that stunning loss to finish fifth at the state championships.

"I have all the respect in the world for Alex," Ellis said. "It meant a lot to be out there with him. Once we made it to the finals, we knew we both were going to states.

"He wanted to get one more takedown. That's what you have to do.

"I know from experience, if you wrestle trying to hang on, that's when you get taken down. He was doing the right thing."

The loss could be meaningless for Marianetti, who could receive an at-large bid into the state championships this week. Wild-card berths will be announced on Wednesday.

Warsaw junior Ian Paddock, Letchworth senior Mike Nevinger and Palmyra-Macedon senior Alex Ekstrom, all 2007 Division II state champions, won't need a wild-card entry into the season-ending tournament.

KRIS J. MURANTE staff photographer

Spencerport's Justin Melia, left, scores a 3-2 decision over Gates Chili's Chester Demanchick in the 112 final.

They reminded folks why they deserved to return by posting easy wins.

So did Spencerport senior Bryan Bourne, who was named the Division I outstanding wrestler of SuperSectionals.

Bourne was joined by Spencerport teammates Justin Melia (103) and Chris Collura (140) as automatic entrants into states.

Webster Thomas senior Robert Eskander defeated Paul Glover 3-2 in overtime for his first win over the Spencerport 215-pounder in three meetings this season.

Eskander was seconds away from winning when Glover surged to an escape on a restart. After that stunning turn, Eskander later used a forward shoulder roll to earn an escape of his own and the win.

Penfield's Jeff Goff gained a bit of redemption too with his 6-5 overtime win over Fairport senior Seth Elvin.

This was the third time Elvin and Goff wrestled this season, and eighth time overall. Goff had one other win over Elvin, a quarterfinal match at last year's SuperSectionals.

"I've lost to him every other time by a point," Goff said after he earned his first trip to the state meet as a participant. "I'm floating right now, cloud nine.

"This is what I've worked for all summer, all year."

Nevinger caught Hornell 140-pounder Austin Dwyer early and won by pin in 1:38. Ekstrom had very few problems with the funky style of Lyons 135-pounder Craig Scott. A two-time state champion, Ekstrom pinned Scott in 5:18.

Paddock was a little more frustrated during the Division II 130 final, but he registered a 10-0 win over Attica's Nick Napierski.

JAMESJ@DemocratandChronicle.com