Posted Thursday, February 27, 2020
Section Four champions Cody Merwin and Scott Barnhart will represent the Walton/Delaware Academy team at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association wrestling state championships this weekend at the Times Union Center in Albany.
Both wrestlers are Walton juniors. Merwin is a three-time state qualifier and Barnhart will compete at states for the first time.
Merwin, who won his second Section Four championship two weeks ago, is 32-6 this season, and 139-29 over his varsity wrestling days. He’ll compete at 126 pounds.
Fifth-seeded Merwin will face Putnam Valley junior Hunter Lundberg (26-6) in the opening match. Should Merwin win his first two matches, he could oppose top-seeded Jordan Titus (35-0), a junior from Center Moriches who won a state title at 120 last year, in a state semifinal.
Barnhart is 39-5 this year, and 72-50 at varsity. He’ll compete at 220 pounds.
Barnhart drew the No. 8 seed and will meet Windsor’s Collin Bidwell in the opening round. Barnhart faced Bidwell in the Section Four finals two weeks ago, winning 4-3 in an ultimate tiebreaker.
If Barnhart wins his opener, he could face top-seeded Jeff Crooks (13-0), a junior from Cobleskill-Richmondville.
Wrestling begins Friday at 10 a.m., with preliminaries, quarterfinals, and wrestlebacks. The tournament will resume at 10 a.m. Saturday with semifinals. Consolation finals are slated for 2 p.m., with the state championships for Division I and II scheduled for 6:30 p.m.