Hilton's Velieri wins Monroe County wrestling title
James Johnson . Staff writer . February 1, 2009
www.rochesterdandc.com

WEBSTER - Minutes after John Velieri became a two-time Monroe County league wrestling champion, someone told him that he has his swagger back.

Velieri is undefeated through 31 matches this season after winning the 160-pound title Saturday. A senior at Hilton, he qualified for last year's state high school meet.

There are plenty of wins on Velieri's record, but for some people who watch him wrestle, there are moments they believe he is his own toughest opponent.

"I always kind of froze during matches," Velieri said. "(Lately,) I've been trying to wrestle like it's practice.

"I would barely get the job done. The matches I was losing, it would be in double overtime or by a point. Once it gets down to that, it's anyone's match."

Velieri kept himself out of that pressure situation during the 160-pound Monroe County final against Batavia's Ryan Darch, winning 7-1 at Webster Schroeder.

"When he lets his athleticism take over, he's very tough to beat," Hilton coach Chuck Partridge said. "This weekend you could see a more aggressive attack mode."

Partridge and Hilton assistant coaches are in a 1½ year-long pep talk to keep Velieri moving forward and looking to score.

"Making stuff happen," Velieri said. "He (Partridge) said athleticism wins. I don't know what it was, but it was kind of weird. Instead of flowing, I was doing one move at a time, thinking too much."

Darch, armdrag.com's top-ranked Section V Division II 160 pounder, scored first with an escape.

He paid for an attempt at a takedown at the whistle for a restart later in the second period.

Velieri quickly folded Darch's leg against his body and collected three more points after two for a takedown. Armdrag.com's top-ranked Division I 160 pounder held a 5-1 lead and remained in control.

"This feels so good," said Velieri, one of the meet's most outstanding wrestlers.

Winning feels normal to the team at Spencerport.

The Rangers were expected to claim their 19th consecutive league championship.

They delivered that by the end of the semifinals, as 14 of 15 wrestlers finished in the top-six in their weight classes.

"The big thing is that in our (practice) room we never take a break," said Paul Morabito, one of five champions from Spencerport. "Every match we wrestle, we treat it as if it's the state final. We don't take anyone lightly."

Spencerport finished with 264.5 points. The real race was for second, which was won by Penfield (163) - a good piece of news for the Patriots since they edged rival Fairport (138). Penfield can vault from ninth in the Division I or large school state rankings if it can beat No. 4 Fairport at home in a dual at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"I think we'll be ready," said Brandon Ling after he won the league's 103-pound title. "Obviously, Fairport will be, too."

Joe Bonaldi (37-2) was far from ready the first time he wrestled Gates Chili 135-pounder Lewis Crunchier, a 6-3 winner over the Greece Olympia sophomore during a tournament in Penfield a month ago.

"I've talked to kids who wrestled him since then and they beat him pretty good," Bonaldi said. "They told me to just stay calm and don't get into all of the stuff he does to fluster you."

Bonaldi was ahead 5-0 after a single-leg takedown, followed by an arm bar to get back points, about a minute into the rematch. He won 6-3.