Sleepy Hollow's DelMonaco Finishes Third in Section 1 Wrestling Tournament.

PLEASANTVILLE -- Pete DelMonaco faced a crossroads following his semifinal match yesterday at the Section 1 Large School Wrestling Championships.

The Sleepy Hollow senior had just sustained a 4-2 loss to Arlington's Greg Wetzel in a 160-pound championship semifinal. Now, with a sectional title no longer in his future, how would DelMonaco react to this disappointment?

Would DelMonaco rebound mentally and display the tremendous character a wrestler possesses when he is sent to the consolation round and wrestles back to finish third, or would the loss devastate and affect him the remainder of the day?

After the initial disappointment wore off, DelMonaco relied on his mental toughness and was motivated by one thing -- the highest possible finish available.

"I thought about how I wanted to end my year," DelMonaco said. "Did I want to end it with a disappointing loss or did I want it to end with a good win. I wanted to finish in third place."

DelMonaco did just that, winning his consolation semifinal and capping his final scholastic wrestling season with a 3-2 win over Scarsdale's Colin Muldoon in the third-place match at Pace University.

Teammate, practice partner and good friend Dondrey Sharrock finished fifth in the 171-pound weight class.

"It took me a little while to focus because I was thinking about what happened in that match," said DelMonaco of his semifinal matchup with Wetzel. "My coaches spoke to me and I was able to refocus."

DelMonaco returned to the match and handled Mike Morettoni of John Jay-East Fishkill, 7-1, in a consolation semifinal. In the consolation final, DelMonaco and Muldoon were even at 1-1 in the third period when DelMonaco executed a takedown for two points and the lead. Muldoon escaped to draw within one point, but DelMonaco's defense was difficult to penetrate.

"I felt I wrestled smart in the third-place match," said DelMonaco, who is considering either wrestling or football in college. "I knew that if I left with a loss it would eat away at me. I did not want to end my high school career with a loss."

Sharrock made his first sectional appearance a positive experience with a fifth-place medal. Sharrock rebounded from his consolation semi-final loss to beat John Jay-Cross River's Wyatt Gilchrist in the fifth-place bout.

"Once again, after my loss I got the look from Coach," said Sharrock of veteran Sleepy Hollow coach Brian Tompkins. "There was no way I was coming here for the second day and not do anything. I wanted to be all-section."

Sharrock wrestled a good match, specifically from a defensive standpoint, not allowing Gilchrist to finish a shot attempt.

"I think I wrestled to my full potential in that match," said the affable Sharrock. "That's the way I should've wrestled from the beginning of the season.

"Now, this is going to helping me next year. I know I have the ability to be a sectional place finisher. If I step it up next year in every match, maybe I can be a sectional champion."

Sharrock looked forward to next year, but he will miss DelMonaco.

"Pete and I are like brothers," Sharrock said. "I'm happy for him that he finished third. Pete is a great person. If he wrestles in college he will do great."