By P.J. Harmer

Staff Writer

UNIONDALE — Oxford’s J.P. O’Connor became part of a select group of wrestlers Saturday night at the Nassau Coliseum.

Senior O’Connor beat Section Five’s Phil Lombardo (Greece Olympia), 11-4, to win the Division I 145-pound state championship.

It was the fourth straight state title for Harvard-bound O’Connor. He won the D-I 130-pound title last year, the D-II 119-pound championship in 2004 and the 96-pound crown in 2003 — the year before the tournament split into two divisions. O&[an error occurred while processing this directive]#rsquo;Connor also placed third at 96 pounds in 2002.

O’Connor, who finished with an overall high school record of 239-12, is the third person in state history to win four titles. Shoreham-Wading River’s Jesse Jantzen was the first (1997-2000), and Troy Nickerson of Chenango Forks won five from 2001-05.

Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton’s Eric Decker became the sixth Section Four wrestler to win three state titles Saturday. Senior Decker, who won the D-II 160-pound championship, joined O’Connor, Nickerson, Ithaca’s Mark Iacovelli (1975-77) and Brandon Lehman (1996, 1998-99) and Whitney Point’s Chris Hand (2002-04).

According to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association, a total of 15 New York wrestlers have won three or more state titles.

Waverly junior Colin McDonald (152, D-II) could be next. He won his second straight state title Saturday.

ROSA SETS RECORD: Delhi’s Geoff Rosa set a school record for victories in a season, capping his senior season with a 37-2 mark.

Rosa won four straight after dropping his first match Friday en route to a third-place D-II finish at 140 pounds. Oneonta State wrestler Kyle Hauptfleisch set the previous record of 34 in 2002.

Micci Mason and Rosa earned Delhi’s first two Section Four championships this season. Mason injured his right shoulder in his first D-II match at 119 pounds and withdrew from the tournament, giving Rosa the opportunity to become the Bulldogs’ first wrestler to place at states.

HARPURSVILLE GETS FIRST STATE TITLE: Harpursville’s Dave Marble won the D-II 125-pound state title with a 9-6 victory over Mt. Sinai’s Jared Rueda. That gave the Hornets their first state wrestling champion.

Marble (29-1), a two-time Section Four champion, placed third in the state at 125 last season. He will wrestle for Division I Bucknell next year.

ATTENDANCE RECORD FALLS: Three sessions of the state championships drew a total of 17,755 fans at the Nassau Coliseum, beating out last year’s total of 17,323 at the Pepsi Arena in Albany.

This year’s championship round drew 9,340 fans, way up from last year’s announced total of 6,432. The tournament will return to Albany in 2007.

SECTION FOUR CHAMPS: Section Four crowned six champions this weekend — four in D-II and two in D-I.

Greene’s Nick Wilcox, an eighth-grader, joined Decker, McDonald and Marble in D-II. Wilcox beat Watertown IHC freshman Ken Kampnich, 6-4, in the 103-pound final. Wilcox beat Warsaw freshman Ian Paddock, 4-3, in the semifinals. Paddock was the 96-pound champion last season.

Besides O’Connor in D-I, Deposit senior Bryant Deinhardt won the 275-pound championship for Section Four when he beat Sewanhaka’s Joe Goetez, 8-0.

Casey Lanave of Chenango Forks fell short in his bid to become the first seventh-grader to win a state championship. He dropped the D-I final at 96 pounds, 9-5, to Wantaugh freshman Paul Liguori.