Cover photo courtesy of Tim Walters
The Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association (CCAA) Division I league will be well represented at the upcoming NYSPHSAA Federation Championships, Feb. 23-24, at MVP Arena in downtown Albany as ten wrestlers representing four of the league’s seven teams earned advancement to the state tournament at Saturday’s Section VI Division II Championships.
Southwestern led the field of thirty-two teams from Section VI schools with BEDS numbers of 599 and less with three individual title winners with one wrestler earning a state qualification by way of his runner-up finish. Section VI dual meet champion Chautauqua Lake crowned one champion in defending NYS champion Jordan Joslyn at 138-pounds while three more Eagles wrestled to runner-up place finishes.
Southwestern's Kenji Walters // Walters
Also representing CCAA I will be Falconer’s 108-pound Section VI champion Dylan Newman and Portville/Cuba-Rushford’s runner-up Ethan Coleman at 145-pounds.
Twenty-six Section VI small school wrestlers will represent at the 61st NYSPHSAA Intersectional Wrestling Championships again led by two defending NYS champions – CL’s Joslyn and Southwestern’s Tavio Hoose – and seven more returning place winners. Six first time Section VI small school champions were crowned on Saturday while twelve wrestlers total qualified for the state tournament for the first time.
The section was allocated for two automatic qualifiers to the state championships again this year: each of the thirteen individual sectional weight class winners as well as the runner-up in each bracket.
Joslyn was awarded the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler award for his 3-0 performance on Saturday and an impressive 6-4 finals decision over fellow returning 2023 state finalist in Newfane’s Aidan Gillings.
2024 Section VI Division II championships at Lake Shore HS
101
Newfane senior and returning NYS 4th place winner JJ Lucinski defended his lightweight Section VI title on Saturday with pins in the quarterfinal and semifinal before a 6-0 decision in the title match over Eden’s Mason DellaPenta. The 3-seeded freshman defeated 2-seeded Southwestern star Adrian Torres with an overtime takedown in the semifinal. Torres wrestled back to a 3rd place finish defeating 4-seeded Alex Bourgeois from Chautauqua Lake in the consolation final but DellaPenta’s runner-up finish would eliminate a potential true second place match and his own first trip to the state federation tournament.
2024 Section VI Division II 101-pound place winners:
1. JJ Lucinski (12th grade) – Newfane
2. Mason DellaPenta (9) – Eden
3. Adrian Torres (10) – Southwestern
4. Alex Bourgeois (8) – Chautauqua Lake
5. Camren Driscoll (9) – Olean/Allegany-Limestone
6. Rocco Muscarella (8) – Fredonia
108
Top seeded Lewiston-Porter junior Jaron Barrientos pinned each of his first two opponents including a first period fall over Medina’s impressive 4-seed Reece Senske in the semifinal to reach the Section VI title match for the first time. Chautauqua Lake’s 2-seeded Gavin Burchanowski cruised to the final as well with two pins including a semifinal pin over 3-seeded Falconer senior Evan Newman. In the title match, Barrientos would secure his first sectional title with an impressive 11-4 decision. Meanwhile in the consolation bracket, Senske met 5-seeded Frewsburg freshman Logan Fuller for the second time on the day, ultimately earning an 8-6 decision to secure 3rd place and set up a true second place match with Burchanowski.
In that true second place bout, Senske would tie the score at 3-3 in the third period with an escape but after six minutes the score remained tied. With thirty five seconds remaining in the first overtime period Senske would get the takedown to claim true second and a trip to the state federation championships.
2024 Section VI Division II 108-pound place winners:
1. Jaron Barrientos (11) – Lewiston-Porter
2. Reece Senske (11) – Medina
3. Gavin Burchanowski (9) – Chautauqua Lake
4. Logan Fuller (9) – Frewsburg
5. Evan Newman (12) – Falconer/Cassadaga Valley
6. Hani Nashir (9) – Lackawanna
Lewiston-Porter's Jaron Barrientos
116
Returning state tournament qualifier Dylan Newman defended his top seed at 116-pounds with an impressive performance for his first Section VI title on Saturday. Newman earned two championship round pins to set up a meeting with Chautauqua Lake’s 2-seeded freshman Thandon Bensink in the final. Bensink was an impressive winner by pin over Southwestern’s 3-seed Miles Torres early in their semifinal bout. In the final, it was all Newman though as the Falconer freshman was a 17-6 major decision winner over Bensink to guarantee a return to the state championships. In the consolation final, Iroquois 4-seed Josh Pfeiffer earned a pin over Torres to set up a true second place match with Bensink. Ultimately, Thandon defended his runner-up performance with a 6-0 decision over Pfeiffer to advance to Albany.
2024 Section VI Division II 116-pound place winners:
1. Dylan Newman (9) – Falconer/Cassadaga Valley
2. Thandon Bensink (9) – Chautauqua Lake
3. Josh Pfeiffer (10) – Iroquois
4. Miles Torres (9) – Southwestern
5. Jack Aderman (9) – Olean/A-L
6. Parker Paterson (10) – Randolph
116-pound Section VI Division II top-4 place winners // Walters
124
Now four time Section VI place winner Caden Barrientos captured his first sectional title as the top seed in the 124-pound Division II bracket. Both Barrientos and 2-seeded returning Division I finalist and NYS 8th place winner Trevor DellaPenta from Eden cruised to the title match in their respective sides of the bracket on Saturday. In the final, Caden was an 8-2 decision winner over Trevor, advancing to the state tournament for the first time in his career. Pioneer’s 8-seeded 8th grader Evan Wright won three straight consolation matches after losing in the quarterfinal to earn 3rd place and a shot at DellaPenta in the true second place match. However, Trevor was able to ensure a second straight trip to the state tournament with a first period pin over Wright in that match.
2024 Section VI Division II 124-pound place winners:
1. Caden Barrientos (12) – Lewiston-Porter
2. Trevor DellaPenta (10) – Eden
3. Evan Wright (8) – Pioneer
4. Luke Duffina (10) – Medina
5. Gabe Lundmark (11) – Falconer/Cassadaga Valley
6. Issiah Ruiz (10) – Fredonia
Lewiston-Porter's Caden Barrientos
131
The only bracket to feature three returning NYS federation tournament qualifiers. Two time defending Section VI champion and state tournament place winner Carmine Calimeri from Southwestern earned the top seed in the weight class followed by 2-seeded returning state qualifier Victor Cusatis from Wilson and 3-seeded defending sectional champion Kenji Walters from Southwestern. While Calimeri cruised to the final on the top side of the bracket, Walters and Cusatis met in the bottom side semifinal where Kenji jumped out to a 5-0 lead with only seconds remaining in the second period of the match. Walters would eventually win by a 6-2 margin to advance back to the sectional title match. Cusatis did wrestle back to 3rd place, however Calimeri was a 9-4 decision winner in the title match, ensuring two Trojan qualifiers to Albany at 131. Also in the wrestle backs, Lackawanna’s Adam Algawani started the day as the 9-seed but defeated 4-seeded Israel Walker from Lewiston-Porter to guarantee a top-6 sectional place finish.
2024 Section VI Division II 131-pound place winners:
1. Carmine Calimeri (10) – Southwestern
2. Kenji Walters (12) – Southwestern
3. Victor Cusatis (10) – Wilson
4. Domanick Clark (11) – Randolph
5. Luke Fay (10) – Barker/Royalton-Hartland
6. Adam Algawani (11) – Lackawanna
131-pound Section VI Division II top-6 place winners // Pataky
138
A NYS tournament final quality match was the marquee bout on Saturday as returning state champion Jordan Joslyn met defending state finalist and three time state placer Aidan Gillings from Newfane in the title match. After leading 4-2 at the end of the first period, a reversal early in the second period gave Joslyn a 6-2 lead going into the third period. A reversal by Gillings late in the third period cut the lead to 6-4, however time would run out in the match as Joslyn would hold on to win the Section VI title and automatically qualify for the state tournament. In the consolation bracket, Pioneer’s 3-seeded Wyatt Opferbeck, who was upset in the quarters by Gowanda’s 6-seed Nathan Warrior, wrestled back to a 3rd place finish to set up a true second place bout against Gillings. However, Aidan secured a fourth trip to the state tournament with an 18-5 major over Opferbeck in the true second match.
2024 Section VI Division II 138-pound place winners:
1. Jordan Joslyn (12) – Chautauqua Lake
2. Aidan Gillings (11) – Newfane
3. Wyatt Opferbeck (11) – Pioneer
4. Maxximus DeYoe (11) – Portville/Cuba-Rushford
5. Nathan Warrior (10) – Gowanda
6. Abdulhamid Albanna (10) – Lackawanna
145
Wrestlers with state tournament place finishes met in the Division II 145-pound title match with top seeded Portville/Cuba-Rushford senior Ethan Coleman taking on returning finalist and NYS 6th place winner Ayden Buttery from Newfane. Coleman, a 2022 NYS 5th place winner, was recently a 4-2 decision winner over Buttery in their Class C/D final meeting on Feb. 3. This time, Coleman got the first takedown but a reversal by Buttery shortly after eventually put Coleman into criteria where Buttery would secure the first period pin for his first individual Section VI title. Pioneer’s 7-seeded Lane Dziekonski fell in the quarterfinal but won three straight consolation matches including over the 6, 4, and 3-seeded wrestlers in the bracket, taking 3rd with a 6-4 decision over Iroquois’s Sam Donovan. Coleman would go on to defend his runner-up finish and return to the NYS tournament, holding off the Pioneer senior with a first period pin in the true second match.
2024 Section VI Division II 145-pound place winners:
1. Ayden Buttery (11) – Newfane
2. Ethan Coleman (12) – Portville/Cuba-Rushford
3. Lane Dziekonski (12) – Pioneer
4. Sam Donovan (11) – Iroquois
5. Charlie Reichenbach (11) – Falconer/Cassadaga Valley
6. Cody Freyburger (11) – Maryvale
152
Randolph junior Caden Inkely impressed with three wins by major decision on Saturday to capture the Section VI 152-pound title for his first trip to the state championships. Inkley, who placed 3rd in the sectional tournament a season ago, started the day as the 2-seed in the weight class. Returning state tournament qualifier Alex Schiffhauer from Iroquois entered as the top seed in the 152-pound bracket on Saturday, earning two pins to reach the title match. On the bottom side of the bracket, Inkley met 3-seeded Michael Horth from Gowanda in the semifinal for a rematch of the Class C/D final where Inkley was a 4-2 decision winner. This time, Inkley was an impressive 12-2 major decision winner to advance to the title match. A 10-1 major over Schiffhauer earned Caden his first Section VI divisional title after having placed top-5 in the last two sectional championships. Meanwhile, Horth defeated 4-seeded Sam Zeigler from Portville in the consolation semifinal before securing 3rd place with a 10-1 major over Akron’s 5-seed Christian Klonowksi to set up a true second place match against Schiffhauer. In that bout, Horth was an 8-2 decision winner to earn the runner-up finish and qualification to the state tournament, the first Gowanda wrestler to do so since 2019.
2024 Section VI Division II 152-pound place winners:
1. Caden Inkley (11) – Randolph
2. Michael Horth (12) – Gowanda
3. Alex Schiffhauer (10) – Iroquois
4. Christian Klonowski (12) – Akron
5. Mason Kilmer (12) – Falconer/Cassadaga Valley
6. Sam Zeigler (12) – Portville/Cuba-Rushford
160
Returning Section VI champion Jacob Stephenson from Wilson repeated on Saturday as the section’s 160-pound small school champion. Stephenson met 3-seeded Ronan Klug from Barker/Royalton-Hartland in the final for a rematch of the Class C/D title match where Jacob was a second period winner by pin. The all-Niagara-Orleans final on Saturday ended in the same manner as the previous week with Stephenson securing the second period pin to ensure a return trip to the state tournament while becoming Wilson’s first two time sectional wrestling champion. Klug’s 4-2 upset over 2-seeded Brady Wilkinson in the semifinal proved to be crucial as Wilkinson went on to a 3rd place finish, leaving no need for the true second place match.
2024 Section VI Division II 160-pound place winners:
1. Jacob Stephenson (11) – Wilson
2. Ronan Klug (11) – Barker/Royalton-Hartland
3. Brady Wilkinson (11) – Iroquois
4. Jake Zeigler (10) – Portville/Cuba-Rushford
5. Patrick Braley (9) – Falconer/Cassadaga Valley
6. Treyden Saxer (12) – Williamsville South
170
After two straight 3rd place finishes in the Section VI championships, Southwestern’s Neves Hoose was finally able to punch through to the state tournament by way of winning the Division II 170-pound title on Saturday. Hoose pinned each of his first two opponents to reach the title match for the first time. On the bottom side of the bracket, Franklinville’s Evan Leonard, another title hopeful from a year ago, pinned both of his first round opponents as well, including over unseeded Evan Fedowicz from Iroquois who took down 3-seeded Brad Smith from Pioneer in the quarterfinal. In the title bout, Hoose was a 3-1 winner over Leonard, a closer score than the 10-3 margin of victory from the week before in the Class C/D final, but enough to capture the 170-pound title nonetheless.
Newfane’s 4-seeded Colin Doxey wrestled back to a 3rd place finish, taking down Smith in overtime, 5-3, before defeating Southwestern’s unseeded Peter Conley for 3rd place. However, Leonard ensured a trip to the state tournament with a convincing 16-4 major decision over Doxey in the true second place bout.
2024 Section VI Division II 170-pound place winners:
1. Neves Hoose (12) – Southwestern
2. Evan Leonard (12) – Franklinville
3. Colin Doxey (10) – Newfane
4. Peter Conley (12) – Southwestern
5. Brad Smith (12) – Pioneer
6. Evan Fedowicz (12) – Iroquois
170-pound Section VI Division II top-4 place winners // Walters
190
Southwestern’s Tavio Hoose claimed his third straight Section VI title on Saturday as he tries to repeat as the small school NYS champion. 2-seeded Chautauqua senior Jayden Malecki just missed qualifying for the state tournament a season ago, taking 3rd at 172-pounds in Section VI. On Saturday, Malecki reached the championship match for the first time, but it was Hoose who claimed the 190-pound title by way of an 11-4 decision. In their first meeting this season, Hoose was a 4-3 winner on Dec. 8th. In the semifinal, Malecki was a convincing 13-2 major winner over Pioneer’s 6-seeded Takota Smith, who improved his season record to 3-1 against Williamsville South’s 3-seeded Austin Knab with a pin in the quarterfinal. 5-seeded Medina junior Brody Fry eventually met Smith in the 3rd place bout where Fry was a 9-6 decision winner to have a chance at true second. However, Malecki would not be denied a trip to Albany as he defended his runner-up finish with an 18-3 technical fall.
2024 Section VI Division II 190-pound place winners:
1. Tavio Hoose (10) – Southwestern
2. Jayden Malecki (12) – Chautauqua Lake
3. Brody Fry (11) – Medina
4. Takota Smith (10) – Pioneer
5. Austin Knab (12) – Williamsville South
6. Kolden McCall (12) – Maple Grove
Tavio Hoose vs. Malecki – 190-pound final // Walters
215
Returning state tournament qualifiers Matt Trim from Maple Grove and Mason Maring from Chautauqua Lake met in the sectional final for the second year in a row for a rematch of the 2023 189-pound Section VI championship. In 2023, Trim was a 4-3 decision winner in the final, but this time around, the returning NYS 8th place finisher earned the second period pin to repeat as Section VI champion. In the previous round, Maring was a winner by pin over 3-seeded Southwestern sophomore Brayden Potter, who eventually wrestled back to 3rd in the bracket posting two close scores in the consolation bracket. Potter edged out Pioneer’s 4-seeded Luke Mathies in the consolation semifinal, 1-0, before earning a 3-0 decision over Medina’s 6-seed Sawyer Kingsbury for 3rd place. Trim and Maring will once again both represent Section VI in Albany.
2024 Section VI Division II 215-pound place winners:
1. Matt Trim (12) – Maple Grove
2. Mason Maring (11) – Chautauqua Lake
3. Brayden Potter (10) – Southwestern
4. Sawyer Kingsbury (12) – Medina
5. Henry Chamberlain (11) – Portville/Cuba-Rushford
6. Luke Matheis (12) – Pioneer
285
An all-Wilson Lakeman final put returning sectional 4th place winner William Wortkoetter against defending finalist and NYS 8th place finisher Hamza Merrick in the title match for their third meeting against one another of the season. Top seeded Wortkoetter earned two pins on the way to the final including a semifinal fall over Cheektowaga’s returning sectional 6th place winner Jermaine Parsons. On the bottom side of the bracket, Merrick drew a dangerous opponent in Salamanca’s 7-seeded Keegan Hardy in the quarterfinal but passed the test with a second period pin. In the semifinal, Hamza was pushed again, this time needing sudden victory overtime to defeat Pioneer’s 3-seeded Chris Howatt by decision, 2-1. In the title match, ‘Willy’ earned the bout’s only point with a second period escape, eventually claiming the Section VI title to advance to the state tournament for the first time. In the consolation bracket, Hardy earned a quality win over Parsons to wrestle for 3rd, however, Howatt emerged victorious in overtime this time around with a 2-1 decision victory.
2024 Section VI Division II 285-pound place winners:
1. William Wortkoetter (10) – Wilson
2. Hamza Merrick (11) – Wilson
3. Chris Howatt (12) – Pioneer
4. Keegan Hardy (12) – Salamanca
5. Jermaine Parsons (12) – Cheektowaga
6. Joe Lipski (11) – Williamsville South
2024 Section VI Division II Wrestling Championships
State qualifiers by team
Chautauqua Lake – 4
Southwestern – 4
Newfane – 3
Wilson – 3
Eden – 2
Lewiston-Porter – 2
Barker/Royalton-Hartland – 1
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley – 1
Franklinville – 1
Gowanda – 1
Maple Grove – 1
Medina – 1
Portville/Cuba-Rushford – 1
Randolph – 1
2024 Section VI champions by league
CCAA Div. I – 5
Niagara-Orleans – 4
CCAA Div. II – 2
Niagara Frontier – 2
2024 state qualifiers by league
CCAA Div. I – 10
Niagara-Orleans – 8
CCAA Div. II – 4
ECIC III – 2
Niagara Frontier – 2