Congratulations to the Norwich wrestlers who competed in the NYWAY State Championship over the weekend. Pictured from L to R: Kole Downey, Maverick Beckwith, Malakai Hagenbuch, Jack Barnes, Briley Beckwith, and Kellen Downey. Missing from picture: Jaxson Shaver. (Submitted photo)

SYRACUSE – The 2024 New York Wrestling Association for Youth (NYWAY) State Wrestling Championship was held over the weekend of March 9 in the Exposition Center at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse.  Wrestlers who placed in the top six from eight regional qualifiers across the state participated.  The eight qualifying regions were:  Northern, Capital, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Central, Southern Tier, Western and Far West.  There were ten divisions based on the year the wrestler was born from 2006 to 2018.  All wrestlers had to qualify in their regional before earning the right to participate at the state competition.   NYWAY’s mission is to continue to be a homegrown, grassroots organization that is striving towards the growth of wrestling for athletes and their families in the State of New York.  Their goal is to increase participation in the sport of wrestling to ensure more student-athletes graduate as wrestlers. 

Freshman Maverick Beckwith, who won states for the varsity team this year, placed first and became a two-time NYWAY State Champion. Maverick participated in a 45 person bracket and advanced to the finals with a pin in his first match, a pin in his second match, a tech fall in his third match, a tech fall in his fourth match, and a pin in his fifth match. He then reached the finals, where he won by technical fall.

Fifth grader Kole Downey also finished first and became a two-time NYWAY State Champion.  Kole advanced to the finals with two pins.  He won a hard-fought finals match with a 13-7 decision.

Fifth grader Kellen Downey participated in a bracket of 19.  He lost his semifinal match to the eventual state champion and earned fifth place by defeating his opponent in the fifth/sixth place match by tech fall.

Junior Briley Beckwith wrestled to a fifth place finish.  This was her first time competing and she is looking forward to practicing and competing in the offseason to gain valuable experience for next year. She hopes more girls will join the Norwich team, so they can have a full girls team next year.

Seventh grader Malakai Hagenbuch went 3-2 on the day while junior Jack Barnes and freshman Jaxson Shaver competed and both went 0-2. 

The wrestlers all wrestled hard and are looking forward to continuing to practice and competing in the offseason to improve their skills as they look forward to next season.

The Norwich Wrestling Booster Club, parents, and coaches are all extremely proud of the efforts of these wrestlers.

Norwich High School Wrestling is offering opportunities for wrestlers to continue to practice in the offseason.  All students who are interested in wrestling are invited to come in and practice as well.  This is an opportunity to continue to learn and develop their skills in wrestling.  Anyone who is interested in being part of the Norwich Wrestling Program should contact Coach Sylstra, Coach Marvin, or Coach Garcia.

-Information from Norwich Wrestling