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LOCH SHELDRAKE – In one of the biggest tournaments held during the season, five members of the Norwich Purple Tornado wrestling team returned home as sixth place finishers after the 17th annual Eastern States Classic.

A tournament which features 174 teams from nine different states saw approximately 575 wrestlers in two days of action on the mats.

Norwich’s Dante Geislinger, who made an appearance at the tournament last season, placed second – the highest of the five Tornado wrestlers.

Geislinger met Shenedehowa’s Stevo Poulin, a wrestler from Section II who holds the No.1 ranking in the country, in the finals. Poulin, undefeated on the season, picked up his 19th win with the 11-0 major decision against Geislinger.

The Norwich 106 pounder didn’t have an easy path to the finals though. Chase Liardi of Massapequa was a Division-I runner up last year at the New York State Championships. Geslinger defeated Liardi by a 5-1 decision.

The Tornado junior squeezed out the win over Warsaw’s Muskan Monger by 5-4 decision and pinned Jyden Rampolla of Arlington as the second period ended in the earlier matches of his journey to the finals. Another match he had was against Cooperstown’s Avery Leonard.

Prior to the match, Leonard was a perfect 22-0 for the season but Geislinger ended that with a 15-0 tech fall, ending the match just over a minute and half into the second period.