Stella falls short at states
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Nic Stella's first appearance at the New York State Championships is one he'd like to forget.

The Sweet Home junior went 2-2 at 140 pounds and was one match away from placing. The event was held last Friday and Saturday at the Times-Union Center in Albany.

"I don't why but I just wrestled real bad," said Stella. "I probably could have prepared better and trained harder. I really don't know what happened."

"He had a good couple weeks of practice," said Sweet Home coach Chris Nadeau. "I thought he was prepared. I just think he was feeling the pressure more than anything."

In the first round, Stella beat Ramsey Locke of Section X, 10-4, but in the quarterfinals he was pinned in 1:15 by Austin Meys of Shenendehowa (Section II).

"I did exactly what I thought he was going to do but he cradled me," said Stella. "I just didn't want to bail out and he caught me."

Stella said the loss to Meys, last year's state champion, hurt because he really wanted to place. He also wanted to come back strong in wrestlebacks and he did in his first match, turning over Cory Mahoney of Canandaigua (Section V) at least five times in a 15-2 decision.

But on Saturday, Stella locked up with a much bigger wrestler in Mike Fennell of Commack (Section XI) and was defeated 11-4. Early in the match, Fennell gave Stella a bloody nose.

"He was big and I couldn't handle his strength," Stella said.

Stella finishes the year 41-2 and with nine tournament first places. He had 106 takedowns, 27 escapes, 86 near falls, 11 pins and 17 technical falls.

He said he will be competing in numerous tournaments in the offseason, including junior nationals in three weeks in Virginia Beach, to train for next season.

"I'm going to train 10 times harder than last year," Stella said. "I don't plan on losing next year at all."

e-mail: pnagy@beenews.com