Winning at the Eastern States Classic isn’t supposed to be easy, but that’s not how Newburgh’s William Soto made it look over the weekend.

As one of the state’s most competitive regular season wrestling tournaments, held at Clifton Park’s Impact Athletic Center last Friday and Saturday, Soto breezed through his bracket to win the 108-pound title.

“Throughout the two days, my goal was to dominate everyone,” Soto said. “I wanted to show everyone that nobody could beat me, and that I’m meant for this. I really wanted to prove that I’m the best at this weight class.”

It is just another medal to add to the growing collection for the sophomore. Last season, Soto also won a title at the Eastern States Classic, as well as his first NYSPHSAA championship. Over the summer, he earned a gold medal at the U15 Pan-American Games in El Salvador.

Throughout the Eastern States Classic over the weekend, Soto secured three straight pins in his first three matches, in times of 19 seconds, 1:37 and 2:30.

In the quarterfinal round, Soto picked up a 15-0 technical fall, a result he repeated in the semifinals, winning 16-0.

Up against East Hampton’s Austin Bronco-Campsey, Soto secured a third straight technical fall, in the first period, to win the Eastern States title.

“I just needed to stick to what I’m best at, getting takedowns and getting into my offense,” Soto said of what he was focused on throughout his matches.

Merli takes 2nd place
Cooper Merli, another defending state champion, finished second in the 116-pound bracket after losing in the championship match in an ultimate tiebreaker, which is the fourth and final overtime period used in high school wrestling.

Merli secured pins in each of his first two matches, and in the third round of the tournament he staved off Monsignor Farrell’s Brennen Sprague with a 15-12 decision. In that hard-fought win, the Army wrestling commit used an escape with 30 seconds remaining to take the lead. He then secured a takedown with 12 seconds on the clock as insurance.

In the semifinals, Merli pinned Wallkill’s Marco Futia in the first period, moving on to see a familiar face in the championship, Dunia Sibomana.

Last year, Merli lost to Sibomana at the 2024 Eastern States Classic, but went on to defeat the Long Beach wrestler in the state championship match.

“Looking at the seeds coming in, there was a good chance,” Merli said on whether he expected to face Sibomana again. “Any match like that, where you know each other really well from wrestling over the years, it’s definitely difficult.”

During the title match on Saturday, Merli tied things up 4-4 in the third with an escape.
The match remained tied through the sudden-victory and tiebreaker rounds of overtime, and headed to an ultimate tiebreaker.

Merli was on top for the UTB period, meaning he couldn’t allow Sibomana to escape, in order to win.
“It’s a difficult task, and one slip-up can really cost you, which it did,” Merli said.

With eight seconds remaining in the 30 second period, Sibomana was able to get a reversal and a nearfall on Merli, collecting six points to get a 10-4 UTB decision over the Newburgh junior.

“Just knowing that I have to keep going, keep working hard to get better everyday,” Merli said of what he takes away from the tournament.

“Obviously I wanted to win, but at the end of the day the one that really matters is states.”

Leggett takes 2nd place
Newburgh senior Chris Leggett navigated his way through the 215-pound bracket as Eastern States, all the way to the championship match.

The Sacred Heart football commit picked up 13-7 and 11-6 decisions in his first two matches, moving on to the semifinals.

Leggett then earned a dramatic win over St. Francis’ Zach Caldwell, with a 7-5 decision, advancing to the championship.

While Leggett led 4-2 early in the third period of the semifinal, Caldwell got a takedown with 1:16 on the clock, taking a 5-4 lead.

The Goldback senior responded with a reversal with just over a minute remaining, to lead 6-5. Caldwell was called for an unsportsmanlike violation at the end of the match, resulting in a one-point penalty to make it 7-5.

“It was just about making sure I stayed on top,” Leggett said of the win. “In my mind, going back to remember all those hard days at practice and staying tough to hold on until the end.”

In the 215-pound championship, Leggett dropped an 8-1 decision to Fox Lane’s Alexander Berisha.

4th Place Goldbacks
Newburgh finished up at the Eastern States Classic in fourth place overall for teams, with 93.5 points. It was the only program with multiple second place finishes.

“It’s always fun watching your teammates win. Will ran through his matches, and Chris wrestled really well,” Merli said. “Matt Mercado had a good tournament as well. [Jordan Busby] had some tough matches, but winning matches here is difficult. It’s exciting watching what we were able to do.”

St. Francis came in first overall with 146.5 points, while Minisink Valley was second with 99.5 and Iona Prep was third with 97 points.

In addition to the success of Soto, Merli and Leggett, Mercado went 3-2 overall in the 131-pound bracket. He picked up a pair of technical falls, and a favorable 8-7 decision.

Busby went 1-2 overall as a 116-pounder. He won his first match in the consolation bracket with a 10-5 decision.

“The way we support each other is really cool,” Soto said. “We’re always in each other’s corner and cheering each other on. Even in the [practice] room, we’re pushing each other to get better, and it shows out here.”

“It’s just energy,” Leggett added. “When one person wins, you want to win too. It helps that we can build off each other like that.”