Wildcards

Although not official until Thursday at noon, Varsity 845 has learned
Cornwall senior 125-pound Drew Bloss, Valley Central senior 140-pound
Mike D’Amato, Middletown senior 215-pounder Jared Rosado and Port
Jervis junior 285-pounder J.D. Zitone are expected to receive Division
I wild-card berths into the state tournament on March 8 and 9 at Blue
Cross Arena in Rochester.

All four were Section 9 finalists, who did not win Saturday.

D’Amato is a three-time state qualifier, who placed fourth in the state
at 135 pounds in 2007. He is Section 9’s all-time wins leader with 211
victories.

Bloss will make his second state-tournament appearance. He dropped two matches by two points each in the tournament last season.

Rosado and Zitone would be making their first state appearances.

“I was really upset after Saturday, said Rosado, who lost 8-4 to C.J.
Floor of Port Jervis. “If I do get the wild-card, I’m definitely going
to wrestle. I was upset. I was  thinking I’m done with wrestling.
I might see C.J. Floor in the second round.”

“I knew there was a shot,” Zitone said. “I knew what I did but I didn’t
know if I earned enough points. I’m glad to have another shot. I’m
looking forward to it.”