As a sophomore in 2017, Cicero-North Syracuse wrestler Nate Osborne earned the 113-pound Section III Division I championship and a berth in that year’s state championship meet.
Two years later, Osborne was back at Albany’s Times Union Center, this time as an at-large entry, battling for state honors at 126 pounds – and earned a fifth-place finish, the first Northstars wrestler to reach the awards podium since Anthony Maiorano got sixth place at 119 pounds in 2007.
And it wasn’t just the fact that Osborne did so well – it was the way he finished off his state meet that would prove so special.
The fifth-place bout Saturday afternoon pitted Osborne against John Jay-Cross River’s Chris Cook, and after the early segment went 2-2, Cook appeared to put things away with a five-point run to go in front 7-2.
In the final period, though, Osborne pulled off a reversal to cut the gap to 7-4, and then executed a near-fall that, ultimately, produced five more points to turn what looked like a certain defeat to a 9-7 victory.
The way the bracket was set up, if Osborne won his opening-round bout Friday against the no. 5 seed, Clarkstown North’s Alexis Diaz, he would have a likely quarterfinal against Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA’s Tyler Kellison, who beat him in the Feb. 9 sectional final.
With a first-period takedown, Osborne moved ahead of Diaz, and he got another takedown early in the third period to make it 4-0. A reversal by Diaz cut the deficit in half, but Osborne nearly got a pin in the waning seconds and prevailed 10-2.
Seconds later, Kellison pinned Minisink Valley’s Jordan Suarez, so indeed it was Osborne against Kellison in the quarterfinals, and it proved to be a close one.
They went through the first period scoreless, but Kellison took down Osborne early in the second period for a 2-0 advantage. Though Osborne escaped for a point, another Kellison takedown made it 4-1 going to the final period.
Once more, Osborne gained a point for an escape, then moved within one when Kellison got docked for stalling. Still, Osborne could not get the takedown he needed for the upset and Kellison held on for a 4-3 decision.
So Osborne was now in the consolation bracket, where over the course of two days he would win three more times, starting with a pin of Elmira’s Luke Riley midway through the second period.
Saturday morning’s bout with MacArthur’s Jake Schneider had a podium spot as the reward, and with a second-period escape and takedown, Osborne went in front 3-0 and never got caught, eventually prevailing 5-2.
A chance at third place was denied by Arlington’s Dennis Robin, who beat Osborne 8-2, but the memorable comeback win over Cook provided a storybook ending to Osborne’s high school career.
Meanwhile, Kellison nearly did win the state title, knocking off top seed Zach Redding (Eastport-South Manor) 6-4 in the semifinals, only to take a 5-4 defeat to Hilton’s Ryan Burgos in the finals.
