Pearl River Sports: Rockland Wrestling Tournament

Pearl River will test its talents Saturday in the Rockland County Wrestling Tournament at Tappan Zee High School.

North Rockland won last year's tournament, with Tappan Zee finishing second. John Muldoon was the only Pearl River wrestler to reach the finals, winning his first county championship in the 113-pound title match.

Muldoon (33-3) continues a strong season despite competing in a very deep 120-pound weight class. He is likely to face one of the other top 120-pounders in Section 1, Blaise Benderoth of North Rockland, at the county finals. Muldoon defeated Benderoth, 7-3, Dec. 2.

One of the three wrestlers to beat Muldoon this season, Nanuet's Anthony Calvano, will also be at Tappan Zee Saturday, but he could be up at 126. Calvano won a 3-1 overtime decision against Muldoon Jan. 15.

The other teams competing are Clarkstown South, Clarkstown North, East Ramapo, Nyack and Suffern.

Many of the same teams wrestled in the Michael O'Connell Tournament this season at Pearl River. North Rockland won the team championship that day with Tappan Zee third and Pearl River fourth. 

Basketball Battles Today

The Pearl River girls basketball team favors a fast pace and the Pirates (10-2) know they will see exactly that 4:30 p.m. today at North Rockland (10-3).

The Raiders challenged the Pirates with a variety of defensive pressure and an aggressive offense when the teams played Monday, a 70-54 Pearl River victory. The Class AA Raiders and Class A Pirates are both playing for playoff seeding at this point. 

The Pearl River boys (7-5) will play at home at 7 p.m. Harrison (6-5) in a contest of two teams in the middle of the pack in Class A. 

The Pirates continue to work their way through a challenging schedule. Since a 50-34 loss the second game of the season at Clarkstown South, Pearl River has been in every game. The Pirates other four losses were by four points or less; twice against Tappan Zee, once against Class AA powerhouse North Rockland and once to Albertus Magnus, one of the top teams in Class A.

Pearl River will get another shot at Albertus Magnus next week, a 5:30 p.m. road game Jan. 31. The schools' girls teams will meet 4 p.m. that same day at Pearl River.

Upcoming Schedule

Friday's Events

• Pearl River girls basketball at North Rockland, 4 p.m.
• Harrison at Pearl River boys basketball, 7 p.m.
• Pearl River ice hockey vs. Byram Hills at Sport-O-Rama, 9:15 p.m.

Saturday's Events

• Pearl River boys and girls indoor track teams in New Balance Games at The Armory, 9 a.m.
• Pearl River wrestling in RCPSAL Tournament at Tappan Zee, 9:30 a.m.
• Pearl River ice hockey vs. Ossining at Sport-O-Rama, 7 p.m.

Share Sports Results, Pictures on Patch

Coaches, parents and other followers of Pearl River athletics, please send scores and information to ryan.buncher@patch.com or upload your pictures directly to stories about games as they are posted on Pearl River Patch. 

Don't forget this can include youth sports as well as updates on local athletes as they compete on the college level.