History made, Schenectady's Zamora back to business

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

Antonio Zamora, right, who became the first Schenectady High School wrestler to win a Section II title since 1993, is seeded eighth in the 145-pound class at this weekend's state wrestling tournament at the Times Union Center.

When his most recent victory was complete, Antonio Zamora jumped up, slapped his hands to his hips, then locked his fingers into fists for a quick pump.

The celebration lasted all of five seconds. A couple of handshakes later, the Schenectady High School wrestler was off the mat and back to his normal stoic demeanor.

“It was just like another win for him,” said Chad Languish, Zamora’s coach. “Almost.”

Yeah. Almost.

That victory came at this month’s Section II Division I wrestling championships, making the 145-pound Zamora the first Schenectady wrestler to win a sectional title since Jason Hall in 1993.

In other words, more than a lifetime ago for a high school kid.

Just don’t expect Zamora, the second-youngest of 11 children in his family, to get too worked up about it. That’s not his way.

“He’s business-like. He’s not one to joke around too much with you,” said Languish, who has been around Zamora since he was in middle school. “Sometimes, you can’t really get a read on his emotions. He’s stone-cold, blank-faced, and here to do work.”

That last part was what was on Zamora’s mind after the immediate joy of winning his sectional title faded.

“I mean, I was excited to do it for Schenectady, but after I calmed down, it was time to get settled and back to work,” said Zamora, who had a pair of older brothers wrestle for the Patriots.

Along with the rest of Section II’s top wrestlers, Zamora has spent the past week and change readying for what comes next: the two-day state tournament at the Times Union Center in Albany, which starts Friday. Two of his teammates — fellow seniors Collin DerBoghossian (170) and Josh Reed (126) — are also in the field, part of a class of Schenectady wrestlers that has worked for years to return the program to the state-level stage.

“We’ve worked so hard to try to get these guys to believe in themselves and that they’re capable of doing things like anyone else,” Languish said.

Zamora’s Feb. 14 championship win — a 4-2 decision over Albany Academy’s Kyle Jasenski — made sure Schenectady received at least one bid to the state championships, while sectional runners-up DerBoghossian and Reed were at-large selections.

“We’d talked about it all the time at practice for the past couple years, how it’s been our goal to get a sectional champ — even if it’s not you yourself,” DerBoghossian said. “If it’s your buddy who wins, it’s your victory, too.”

But Zamora — whose 100th career victory came during the sectional tournament — was the one who got his hand raised, becoming only the second wrestler in Schenectady High School history to win such a title.

“And he really had his eyes set on winning that title,” Languish said. “He was on a mission for that. Every time he’s stepped out onto the mat, he’s been sharper.”

The Schenectady wrestler will need that trend to continue for him to have success at the state championships. From Section II, only Shenendehowa’s Kevin Parker (Division I, 182 pounds) and Hadley-Luzerne/Lake George’s Jason Hoffman (Division II, 160 pounds) received No. 1 seeds, while Ballston Spa’s Tyler Barnes (Division I, 170 pounds) and Schuylerville’s Orion Anderson (Division II, 106 pounds) are the lone No. 2s.

Zamora has been slotted as a No. 8 seed. If he wins his opening match against Long Beach’s Charlie Spada, his opponent in the quarterfinals would likely be Penfield’s Frankie Gissendanner, a No. 1 seed who won a state title last year at 138 pounds.

That matchup is daunting, but Zamora said nothing about the state tournament makes him afraid.

“I’m excited to go there and wreak havoc,” Zamora said.