Falcons Three-Peat As Niagara Frontier League Wrestling Champions

Matt O'Rourke
Jan 29
2 min read

Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky

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With a 72-0 road victory over Charter School for Applied Technologies in Buffalo on Wednesday, WNY #2 large school Niagara Wheatfield secured a third straight outright NFL dual meet title and unbeaten season in the conference. The Falcons end the 2024-2025 season with another perfect 7-0 league record to extend the team’s current league win streak to twenty-one consecutive matches. NW has not lost to a league opponent since Jan. 28, 2022.

On Tuesday, the Falcons travelled to North Tonawanda for the first of back-to-back road league matches this week to take on the WNY #4 and Lumberjacks also sitting at 5-0 in the NFL.

After taking a 21-0 lead after four weights, North Tonawanda stormed back to take a 29-27 lead with only three bouts remaining. Returning NYS tournament qualifier Eian Peterson retook the lead at 124-pounds, 33-29, for NW before Muntathar Abbas sealed the match against a the ‘Jacks who were looking to upset the Section VI Dual Meet champions. After an Aiden Johnson pin to end the contest, Wheatfield secured the 45-29 victory.

The Falcons were led by returning NYS tournament qualifier junior Chase Richards who posted a 7-0 individual record in NFL matches this season followed by seniors Garrett Chase (returning state qualifier), Muntathar Abbas, and Dylan Pringle all with 6-1 records in conference duals.

Richards // Pataky

Chase // Pataky

Wheatfield improved to 14-2 overall on the season and will compete in the 7th NYSPHSAA Dual Meet Championships in Syracuse on Saturday at Onondaga Community College. The unseeded Falcons will meet top seeded Section IX power Minisink Valley and 8-seeded Section I champion Briarcliff/Byram Hills/Valhalla/Westlake in the Saturday morning pool duals.

The Falcons are led by 23-year head coach Rick Sweney and assistant coaches Bill Ploetz, Gary Chase, and Tony Kuhn.