Port Jervis cruises to Section 9 Division II wrestling title, five champions

Port Jervis dominated the Section 9 Division II tournament at Mount Saint Mary College on Feb. 15, 2026, scoring 323 team points and crowning five individual champions, well ahead of runner-up Red Hook’s 185. The Red Raiders’ margin of victory - 138 points - reflected a broad roster performance rather than a single breakout weight class.

The final team standings underscored Port Jervis’ control of the field: Port Jervis 323, Red Hook 185, Our Lady of Lourdes 169, Highland 148.5, Chester 120, Onteora 100, Saugerties 83.5, Rondout Valley 77, Liberty 69 and Marlboro 52.5. Port Jervis’ total dwarfed typical sectional spreads and left Our Lady of Lourdes and Highland fighting for position behind the leaders.

Port Jervis’ Amato Natale provided a clear individual highlight, winning the 157-pound championship with a 13-3 decision over Marlboro’s Charles Huggins. Natale built a 3-0 lead after the first period, extended it to 10-2 after the second, and closed out the final 13-3, sending Huggins to a runner-up finish for Marlboro’s young program.

Highland’s Jacob Declair claimed the 150-pound crown by pinning Onteora’s Jayden Thiel in 4:33, and reflected on the moment afterward. “I’ve been waiting for this moment all year, so it’s pretty cool,” Declair said. “I came in knowing I was the best. That’s how my mindset was coming into this. I was a little nervous, but I knew my abilities.” Declair was Highland’s lone sectional champion as the program placed fourth with 148.5 points.

Our Lady of Lourdes supplied multiple big moments as well. Bryce Reilly took the 118-pound title by technical fall over Marlboro’s Lorenzo Caserto, though outlets differ on the final math - one report lists the score as 19-4 while another lists it as 16-1 with Caserto’s lone point coming on an escape. Connor Wilson of Our Lady of Lourdes won at 175 by pinning Highland’s A.J. Nugent and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler; the reported pin time varies within coverage from 1:22 to 1:33.

Port Jervis’ depth showed beyond Natale. Senior Mason Witkowski placed second at 215, sophomore Hunter Franck finished third at 132, and freshman Benjamin Rivera placed third at 190. The Port program also entered the tournament with returning sectional champions and top seeds on its roster - Markus Ferrara listed as a top seed at 144 after a 2025 title at 138, and Nick Oosterom seeded No. 1 at 285 after winning the 285 crown in 2025 - underscoring the program’s sustained strength.

That strength carried through earlier in the season in duals as well; reporter Mike Carey noted Port Jervis won the Section 9 Division 2 Dual Meet Championship, beating Highland 76-6 in the semifinal and Our Lady of Lourdes 64-18 in the final, and advanced to the NYSPHSAA Dual Meet Championships at the SRC Arena in Syracuse on Jan. 31.

Marlboro’s first-year Marlboro Iron Dukes program finished 10th with 52.5 points while placing two finalists - Lorenzo Caserto at 118 and Charles Huggins at 157 - a notable milestone for a new team. Social response to Port Jervis’ sectional title ran strong on local pages, with a community post noting the five champions and drawing dozens of reactions and multiple shares.

Coverage contained a few result discrepancies in finals reporting - notably the Reilly-Caserto technical fall score and the Wilson-Nugent pin time - that should be checked against the official Section 9 bracket or host results for final verification of individual scores and the full list of Port Jervis’ five sectional champions.