AMSTERDAM — The Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth boys' wrestling team came into this season with a lot of question marks, having just graduated three top performers from a year ago.
On top of losing Renso Montalvo, a NYSPHSAA Division I runner-up in the 138-pound division, Amsterdam also lost Ryan Reagan and Andrew Mickel, two of the top 189-pounders in Section 2.
Knowing that his team would be losing two of its heavyweights, Mason Earley has stepped up in a big way this season for Amsterdam.
During his freshman season last year, Earley earned a fifth-place finish at the Section 2 Class B Tournament and advanced to the Section 2 Division I championships. However, he posted an overall 6-9 record on the season.
After spending a chunk of his offseason putting work in at Hammer Wrestling Club in Latham, Earley has been a staple in the 190-pound spot for Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth as a sophomore this time around.
So far, he has put up a 22-9 record, earning a third-place finish at the Leo J Sammon Tournament earlier this month, and sixth place finishes at the Bill Andersen Memorial Tournament and 66th Windsor Christmas Tournament.
“Mason has grown a ton since last year,” said Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth head coach Brandon Giaquinto. “He works very hard and goes to the gym every day, and he has put in a lot of time in the offseason. He has a very good shot of making it to the state tournament, or at least very high at the state qualifiers.”
“It just really shows that if you put the work in,” Giaquinto added, “that you can be someone competing at the highest level, competing to get to the state qualifiers and state tournament.”
Earley has been put to the test quite a bit, as seven of his nine losses have been from opponents outside of Section 2.
“We really try to go to these high-caliber tournaments,” Giaquinto said, “so that when we go to sectionals or states, they’ve seen a lot of top guys and have experience in that kind of tough competition.”
During Wrangle on the Plains on Dec. 9, Earley picked up three wins, but fell to Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake’s Sam Karlitz. His other Section 2 loss came on Thursday during a dual meet against Scotia-Glenville’s Ethan Robar — who has put together an 18-7 campaign so far for the Tartans.
In a tight contest, Robar was able to pin Earley with mere seconds remaining in the third period.
“That match could have gone either way,” Giaquinto said. “Sometimes you have a down match, and you’ve just got to learn from it.”
Carlos Rivera-Russe (101/108) has also posted a strong season for Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth with an 11-6 overall record, while Messiah Grant (116/124) is 15-10.
Breyana Montalvo, a female wrestler for Amsterdam/Broadalbin-Perth, has participated in multiple mix-competition matches for far this season, as well as multiple all-girls tournaments. On Thursday, she was able to faceoff against Scotia-Glenville’s Kaydence Proulx during a dual meet, where Montalvo was able to pick up a second-period pin.
“So we ended up moving Breyana to 116 because 101 and 108 were going to be forfeits,” Giaquinto said on Thursday’s match. “It worked out where they had another girl at 116, so it was a win-win for Scotia and us, to get them a match.”
Overall, Montalvo has accumulated a 10-7 record to start her freshman season. On Sunday, she will head to the Section 2 girls’ qualifiers at Cambridge High School, with hopes of making it to the state invitational on Jan. 26.