Coy Raines becomes Saints first State Wrestling Champion
Three Saints wrestlers, led by Coach Justin Raines, competed in the NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championship Tournament held February 23 and 24 at the MVP Arena in Albany.
Gael Sanchez, Cael Raines, and Coy Raines all competed and represented Churchville-Chili and Section V in the tournament. New York has 30,000 wrestlers statewide and only 540 earn the opportunity to compete at State Championship.
Gael (285 lbs.) finished in eighth place and Cael (138 lbs.) in the top 12 in their respective weight classes.
Senior Coy Raines became the first State Champion in the Churchville-Chili wrestling program’s history. He defeated Section I’s Alexander Berisha in a 3-1 decision in the final round to secure the 215 lb. championship.
Coy is just the third student-athlete in Saints history to win a state championship in any sport. Nikki Prad won the state title in long jump in 1994 and John Carr won the 55 meter hurdles in 1995, both for indoor track.
Additionally, Coy was selected to receive Section V’s Sportsmanship Award and led his Section V wrestler teammates to the awards ceremony, closing the tournament.
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Photos from @CCCSDWrestling
Elijah Diaklomihalis of Hilton (right) and Coy Raines of Churchville
Photo above from @CCCSDWrestling
Elijah Diakomihalis continues family wrestling legacy
Hilton junior Elijah Diakomihalis had an undefeated season (46-0) and was the No. 1 seed going into States. He dominated his opponents – pinning one in just 39 seconds, and getting a 13-0 major decision in the final – to win the NY State Division I Wrestling Championship in the 190 lb. weight class. He is the 13th State Champion (23rd individual title) in Hilton wrestling history, joining older brothers, Yianni and Greg. Top photo from @HiltonCadets on X.
