WNY Wrestling Dual Meet Roundup Five

Cover photo courtesy of St. Mary’s Wrestling 

Dual meet results and notes for the week of Tuesday, January 18th – Friday, January 21st, 2022.

Tuesday, January 18th

HM Orchard Park 39 – #5 Clarence 33

The Quakers pick up a huge home win against ECIC I rival Clarence on the eve of the Red Devils’ Border War showdown with Lancaster. Check the history books, because OP may have secured wins against Clarence in back to back seasons for the first time maybe in program history (split one win apiece in spring 2021). On a night where Orchard Park claimed three forfeits and entered a full lineup, the best ability may have been availability for head coach Jared Teal’s squad who jumped out to an 18-0 lead before Clarence stormed back to tie it and eventually pull ahead, 33-27. Max Landwehr’s pin at 215 evened the score while the Quakers’ Ben Ciesielski received a forfeit at 285 to seal the win outright. OP earned seven wins and six – 6 point team score wins while Clarence earned six wins and five – 6 point team-point matches.

#4 Pioneer 47 – #7 Portville 18

In a battle of top ten Panthers it was the Pioneer type that reigned supreme on Tuesday in Yorkshire. Both teams traded two forfeits each, however Pioneer dominated with seven head to head wins and four pins compared to two head to heads for Portville who were also held without a pin. Pioneer improved to 9-2 overall on the season while Portville dropped only its second dual, now sitting at 12-2 overall.

St. Mary’s 60 – Gow School 12

The Lancers earned a crucial MMHSAA win to set up a Friday night showdown with Canisius that will have implications on the race to qualify for the CHSAA duals. St. Mary’s and Gow combined to field four female wrestlers in the varsity match (is that a record?) and five total including an exhibition match. Also, senior Trevor Sheehan is the new owner of the Lancers’ program wins record at 93 victories. With over a month left in the season, Sheehan could and should be the Lancers’ first 100-match winner in program history.

Lake Shore 36 – Maryvale 30

The Eagles entered a wrestler in all but two weights in a road ECIC III win, improving Lake Shore’s league record to 3-1. All six of the Eagles’ wins counted for six team points, however the Flyers boasted five wins in seven head to head matches on the night.

Williamsville South 50 – Cheektowaga 15

Lackawanna 40 – Tonawanda 30

Wednesday, January 19th

#1 Newfane 53 – Barker/Royalton-Hartland 9

The Panthers notch the first dual meet league title of the 2021-2022 season in WNY capping off the program’s 8th consecutive Niagara-Orleans title and unbeaten season. Over that time, Newfane is now 40-0 in N-O duals. Against B/R-H, the Panthers captured eleven total wins and seven pins to complete the league slate at 5-0. Newfane will have a chance to claim it’s third straight N-O All-League Tournament title this weekend when the six Niagara-Orleans squads convene at Albion on Saturday for the 53rd edition of the event.

#1 Lancaster 39 – #5 Clarence 21

The Legends move one step closer to the outright ECIC I title with a home victory in the annual Border War against a Red Devils squad looking to rebound from the previous night’s loss. Three forfeits (18 team points) hurt Clarence, however both split with five head to head wins apiece with six of those ten matches ending in decisions…three for each team. Also, each team split with only two pins apiece. If the Red Devils fielded a full lineup, perhaps that eighteen point margin would’ve been a lot less, and maybe even resulted with the upset rivalry match win. Next up for Lancaster is a road dual with #9 Jamestown and a home match with #8 Hamburg to end the ECIC schedule while Clarence visits #10 Williamsville to end the season on February 1st.

#7 Amherst 36 – #5 Iroquois 24

The Tigers pull off the upset on Wednesday night in the Jungle to mix things up in the ECIC II standings with only one week remaining. Amherst has to hope for an Iroquois upset at #2 Starpoint next week to get a share of the league title while a Chiefs win would earn them a three-way tie for the ECIC II crown as well. Amherst and Iroquois combined for 12 contested matches where the Tigers earned the duals’ only forfeit. Iroquois won only five head to head bouts with two pins while Amherst claimed seven wins and three pins with an especially big pin courtesy of Riley Kirst at 132-pounds. Amherst improved to 4-1 in ECIC II and 14-2 overall while Iroquois fell to 3-1 in the league.

HM Orchard Park 48 – #9 Jamestown 21

OP earned its second top-ten ECIC I win in as many nights taking down a quality Red Raiders team at home. The Quakers claimed nine wins in thirteen weights including the night’s only forfeit while earning six team pins. Orchard Park claimed all of their wins in packs as they won all five weights from 118 to 145 and all four bouts from 172 to 285. Jamestown had four winners on the night including three pins in less than thirty seconds. After starting the season 0-3 in ECIC I, the Quakers are now dead even at 3-3 with one final league showdown against arch rival Frontier next week. Coach Teal and staff are doing incredible work with this program. OP and Jamestown are both teams to not lose sight of going into next year.

#4 Pioneer 57 – Springville 9

The Panthers made the short drive over the hill for a matchup of ECIC III unbeatens. At 4-0 in the league and 10-3 overall, the surprising Griffins have certainly shown improvement this season, however the mighty Panthers continue the quest for another ECIC title and undefeated season. Pioneer earned two forfeits in the match and won nine contested bouts including six pins. Sectional finalist Brady Heckathorn bumped a weight and gutted out a 3-2 decision win over the Griffins’ Nick Brown who is also having a great season. Pioneer will meet Eden in both teams’ league finale while Springville hosts a scrappy Lake Shore team next week in what should be for the runner-up position in the final league standings.

Kenmore 36 – Lockport 34

The DevilDogs and Lions combined for 12 of 13 contested matches in another impressive showing for strong participation amongst NFL squads in 2021-2022. While Lockport edged Kenmore in victories (7 to 6), head coach Dave Wilcox’s team showed why pins are all-too important in dual meet wrestling as all six of Kenmore’s wins were pins and accounted for maximum bonus points. Kenmore’s Charles Marzec did a nice job to hold the Lions’ defending Section VI champion Stefaan Fearon to only a major decision at 285-pounds. The saviors of the night for the DevilDogs were Alexander Grohman and Aidan O’Malley at 152 and 160-pounds, respectively. With Kenmore down 34-24 with only two matches to go, Grohman and O’Malley earned devastating pins to seal the victory to bring Kenmore to .500 in the NFL standings.

#8 Hamburg 44 – #10 Williamsville North/East 22

The Bulldogs improved to 4-2 in ECIC I with a quality win over a quality Spartans team at home. Hamburg won nine of thirteen bouts and collected five pins while conceding the duals’ only forfeit. Williamsville earned bonus team points in all four of their wins. Only one league dual remains for each team as the postseason is already right around the corner.

#7 Southwestern 51 – #10 Gowanda/Cattaraugus-Little Valley 19

The Trojans cruised to their 4th CCAA I win with a road victory over the Panthers. Only eight matches were contested in this one, with SW earning five wins and four pins while collecting four forfeits. Next up for Southwestern is a home league finale showdown against #2 Falconer while winnable league matches against Fredonia and Dunkirk remain for Gowanda.

#6 Frontier 60 – West Seneca/Depew 10

Frontier is one of three 4-2 ECIC I teams with only one week remaining. The Falcons will pay a visit next week to an OP team currently rolling after two big league wins this week.

#2 Starpoint 66 – Williamsville South 9

At 5-0 in ECIC II the Spartans control their destiny with only one match to go for the outright league title: a home tilt with an always rugged Iroquois squad. If Starpoint can hold off the Chiefs for the third time this season the league title is theirs.

Wilson 42 – Albion 32

Net two forfeits for Albion wasn’t enough to hold off an improved Wilson squad in a Niagara-Orleans showdown on Wednesday. The Lakemen conceded three forfeits but earned one and collected six wins out of the nine contested bouts  to pull off the victory, all six of which were pins. After a top four team placement at the Lockport Invitational last weekend, coach Mike Carlo’s team may be catching some momentum at the right time as a handful of Lakemen should be in position to earn high class placements and advancements to the sectional championships.

Lake Shore 42 – Eden 24

The Eagles improve to 4-1 in ECIC III with a league finale showdown at Springville next week against the 4-1 Griffins. While a lack of numbers has held the Raiders back in dual competition this year, coach Tom Page’s core group of athletes continues to impress. The top four Raiders’ combined record right now is 99-22 after the Wednesday match.

#2 Falconer 72 – Salamanca 3

#2 Falconer 66 – Fredonia 12

#3 Chautauqua Lake 60 – #9 Maple Grove 10

#8 Randolph 48 – Franklinville 18

HM St. Joe’s 60 – Gow School 6

North Tonawanda 64 – CSAT 6

Grand Island 43 – Lewiston-Porter 18

East Aurora 36 – Lackawanna 33

Sweet Home 30 – Cheektowaga 27

Dunkirk @ Olean

Thursday, January 20th 

HM St. Francis 53 – HM St. Joe’s 21

The red hot Red Raiders earned a decisive MMHSAA win over the arch rival Marauders to improve to 3-0 in league duals. With only one more Msgr. Martin match left, St. Francis is headed toward the team’s first league dual title since the 2018-2019 season. The win stopped a three match win streak for St. Joe’s in the league series and is the biggest differential since the Marauders’ 61-15 win in 2011. Both teams traded two forfeits each, however St. Francis claimed seven contested wins with six pins. Raiders senior Tyler Wilkinson captured his 100th career victory in the dual as well. ‘Joe’s final league dual record is 2-2 for the 2021-2022 season.

#8 Randolph 48 – Salamanca 24

#8 Randolph 53 – Frewsburg 12

It only took two nights for the defending league champions to go from 0-1 in CCAA II to 3-1 in the league duals. Next up for Randolph is a league rivalry showdown with #9 Maple Grove with bragging rights on the line to end the season. Maple Grove (159) and Randolph (189) are the second and third smallest schools, respectively, in Section VI by 2021-2022 BEDS numbers that still maintain their own, uncombined teams.

#6 Portville 57 – Fredonia 12

The Panthers improve to 13-2 overall with a CCAA crossover win at Fredonia.

North Tonawanda 52 – Tonawanda 19

NT entered a full lineup, won nine of thirteen weights and six of ten contested bouts, and cruised to a fourth straight win in the rivalry to retain the ‘T-NT Wrestling Classic’ belt.

Medina 42 – Barker/Royalton-Hartland 26

The Mustangs and RaiderRams traded only forfeit each but Medina earned seven wins in eleven bouts including four pins courtesy of the powerful trio of Dominick Callara, RaShawn Bloom, and Gavin Ciarfella as well as Noah Skinner at 215 who was also just named to the NYSSWA 3rd team all-state in Class C football this week. While Newfane led the N-O again this year, the 2nd – 5th place teams in the standings will all end up with at least two league wins each this season.

Medina 48 – Akron 21

Medina goes from no league wins two years ago, to three ‘super league’ wins in the spring and now finishes with a 3-2 record in the final 2021-2022 N-O standings.

Barker/Royalton-Hartland 51 – Akron 17

Friday, January 21st

#2 Falconer 42 – #7 Southwestern 25

The Golden Falcons completed another clean sweep of CCAA I for the sixth straight season to capture the team’s 11th consecutive league title and 10th unbeaten season in the last eleven. Falconer and Southwestern combined to contest 12 matches with the Golden Falcons receiving the night’s only forfeit. Falconer claimed seven wins and five pins while SW earned five wins and three pins in the dual. The loss puts the Trojans firmly in the three spot in the league standings, moving up two places from the spring 2021 season. Neves Hoose earned a high quality pin for SW, but 8th grader Carmine Calimeri (21-1), a Section VI 4th place finisher is back at 102-pounds and continues to impress. Also, let’s not forget about 2019-2020 sectional champion and NYS 6th place finisher Donte Hoose (senior, 23-1) at 215-pounds.

#6 Portville 53 – Salamanca 9

The Panthers cruised to their third CCAA II outright division title in the last three seasons in the league finale for both squads. The Panthers claimed titles in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, and were runners-up in the spring 2021 season. The program renaissance continues on for head coach Matt Milne and staff who find themselves as arguably the perennial favorite in CCAA II. The Panthers will host two very good teams next week to the end the season as #3 Chautauqua Lake comes to town as does a strong Bolivar-Richburg (V) team only two days later.

St. Mary’s 36 – Canisius 28

The Lancers grab a critical Msgr. Martin win at home in the league finale for both squads. The result makes three teams in Msgr. Martin (St. Mary’s-Canisius-St. Joe’s) all even with 2-2 league records which will make things interesting for CHSAA Duals considerations.

#1 Newfane 66 – Lockport 9

The Panthers get a big win over the neighboring Lions on the eve of the Niagara-Orleans tournament. However, the dual did produce an especially interesting result as Lockport’s Stefaan Fearon was a 3-2 decision winner over Charles LaRose in a matchup of both defending Section VI heavyweight champions. Newfane owns the best dual record in WNY at 17-1 overall this season.