Cover photo courtesy of Cal Phillips, CWPhotography
Dual meet results and notes for the week of Tuesday, January 14th – Thursday, January 16th.
Tuesday, January 14th
The Legends improved to 15-1 overall with a non-league win over a strong Marauders squad in Lancaster. The Legends won eight of thirteen contested bouts, five by pin, and collected two forfeits. This was the last big dual test for the Marauders against public schools as two Monsignor Martin duals and the CHSAA Dual Meet Championships are on the horizon. Ronnie Jones continues to impress and did so again in this match with a big pin at 170-pounds. Lancaster’s second tough test of the week comes the following night…
#2 Iroquois 54 – HM Grand Island 24
The Chiefs are 22-3 overall with a road win over a respectable Vikings squad.
East Aurora 42 – Williamsville South 38
Alex Skowronski delivered for the Blue Devils in the last match of the night with the dual tied 38-38 by earning a major decision at 126-pounds to push East Aurora to victory. The Devils entered a full lineup and collected three forfeits, however only pinned at one weight. South won seven contested matches to EA’s five, pinning in five of those bouts, however a trio of forfeits could not be overcome. Nonetheless, the Billies have made their ECIC II matches interesting this season and are currently 6-4 overall. East Aurora improved to 3-1 in ECIC II and 13-10 overall with the win.
St. Francis 72 – Gow School 18
The Raiders improved to 2-0 in Msgr. Martin with an important league dual at St. Mary’s coming up the following day.
CSAT 39 – Medina 37
The Eagles notched their first win of the season with a road win over the Mustangs.
Randolph 36 – Gowanda 28
Wednesday, January 15th
#3 Newfane 66 – Akron 19
The Panthers cruised to the program’s seventh straight Niagara-Orleans League title and N-O undefeated season posting a 5-0 league mark this year and a 35-0 record over the past seven. Without a handful of regular starters in the lineup, this was the Panthers’ closest league dual of the 2019-2020 season. Newfane improved to 20-4 overall with the win.
#1 Falconer 65 – Olean 16
The Golden Falcons improved to 5-0 in CCAA I and 25-1 overall this season with a win at league rival Olean. Falconer entered a full lineup, collected four forfeits, and won seven of the eleven head to head matches. Bryce Baglia earned another huge win for his record with a third period pin over another small school contender at 152-pounds. The league title will be decided next week in Falconer when Fredonia comes to town.
After going down 26-3 to start the match on senior night, the Hillbillies scored 46 straight points in the middle and upper weights to capture their fifth CCAA I win, improving to 5-0 in the league. The Thunderbirds won all five of their matches between 106 and 138 pounds (sans 120), however Fredonia won the dual’s final nine weights to secure the victory, improving to 21-5 overall this season. With the Golden Falcons improving to 5-0 in the league on the same night, next week’s showdown in Falconer will be for the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division I title. The Golden Falcons are looking for their ninth consecutive CCAA title while the Hillbillies are looking for their first since the 2010-2011 season.
The Legends overpowered an up and coming Bulldogs squad at home to remain perfect at 5-0 in the highly competitive ECIC I division this season. While Hamburg has certainly been impressive, the solid Lancaster squad showed that their collective experience had them well prepared to fend off a league rival looking for an upset win. Lancaster captured ten wins and five pins in the dual to improve to 16-1 overall this season. The Bulldogs fell to 2-1 in ECIC I and 16-4 overall. The Legends visit Frontier next week.
NO FORFEITS. The Red Devils got revenge on the Falcons for a loss at the Duals and more importantly their fifth ECIC I win of the season, now at 5-0. After being down 25-12 after seven bouts, Clarence would win seven of the final eight matches (five by pin) to storm to the nineteen point win. 7th grader Jefferson Long was impressive in a critical win at 120-pounds. Clarence wrapped the dual up with a match to go with pins by Jake Slowinski and Aiden Rabideau at 145 and 152-pounds, respectively. Next on the league slate is a crucial home dual against Hamburg.
#4 Niagara Falls 54 – Kenmore 30
Kenmore entered a wrestler in all but one weight again showing improvement for a program undergoing a rehabilitation, however the high powered Wolverines lineup collected ten wins out of the fifteen weight classes to improve to 5-0 in Niagara Frontier League action and 13-7 overall. Falls collected seven pins in the dual. At 1-3 in NFL matches, Kenmore’s three losses have all been to the top three squads in the league, and all by similar scores: 22-56 against Wheatfield, 30-52 against Grand Island, and 30-54 against Niagara Falls. With a more manageable schedule down the stretch, the Devil Dogs have a chance to win out in league matches and settle into the 4th place position like in 2018-2019. Niagara Falls visits a solid Orchard Park squad next week, then league rival Lewiston before a regular season finale at Grand Island in which the league title might be on the line.
HM Grand Island 54 – CSAT 24
The Vikings moved to 5-0 in the NFL with a win at the Eagles, and without a handful of regular starters. GI visits Wheatfield for a critical league showdown next week.
#4 Pioneer 57 – East Aurora 23
A night after an exciting win over Williamsville South, the Blue Devils made the short trek down Route 400 to Yorkshire to take on the Panthers. Pioneer cruised to its fifth ECIC II win and 20th of the season as they won ten matches, collecting eight pins in those wins. While Dan Kirsch and Alex Skowronski didn’t meet, a different Kirsch/Skowronski match went down at 99-pounds as Matt Skowronski was a tight 3-2 winner over Xander Kirsch. The 99-pound weight class in Division II is shaping up to be one of the best for postseason. With the win Pioneer sets up another league title showdown at home next week. Pioneer currently sits at 49-0 in ECIC II and III duals over the last seven seasons and looking for the program’s seventh straight league title.
These ECIC II rivals contested all but one bout (a forfeit for Starpoint at 99) in Angola. The Spartans captured ten wins and six pins to stay perfect in the league at 5-0 and 13-5 overall. Starpoint went on two bigs runs winning five in a row from 99 to 126 and 170 to 220-pounds. Starpoint will travel to Yorkshire next week with the ECIC II title on the line. The Spartans are looking for their first division title since the 2016-2017 season.
St. Francis 65 – St. Mary’s 11
St. Francis improved to 3-0 in Msgr. Martin duals and sit alone atop to the league standings as of Wednesday. The Raiders entered a wrestler in all but one weight (a double forfeit at 220) and collected eleven wins, three by forfeit, and pinned in all but one head to head match. Austin Hill (17-3) has quietly put together a solid season at heavyweight for St. Francis and earned a quality pin over a Lancers star in the dual.
#2 Iroquois 84 – Maryvale 3
The #8 state ranked Chiefs dispatched of the Flyers in a rather dominate fashion to improve to 4-0 in ECIC III and 23-3 overall. Iroquois needs two more division wins to secure the league title.
#1 Niagara Wheatfield 58 – North Tonawanda 27
The Falcons improved to 4-1 in the NFL while the Lumberjacks fell to 1-3, and just like their rivals in Kenmore, have wrestled the league’s top three teams to respectable scores: 27-51 to GI, 24-53 to Falls, and 27-58 to Wheatfield. It would seem that parity is on the rise in the NFL (hint: that’s good for the league). Wheatfield entered a wrestler in all but one weight and accepted three forfeits. NW won seven head to head matches and every bout between 99 and 160, however the ‘Jacks swept 170 to 285, including a big pin from Chris Kinney at heavyweight.
Lockport 48 – Lewiston-Porter 39
The Lions are back in the NFL win column after missing out last year with a nine point victory over the Lancers. Lockport had twelve wrestlers on the mat either wrestling or accepting a forfeit while Lewiston had nine signaling better turnout than some points earlier this season for both squads.
HM Amherst 51 – Williamsville South 28
The Tigers cruised to their third ECIC II win collecting nine individual wins against a dangerous Billies team. South claimed five wins in the lower seven weight classes while Amherst dominated from 145 to heavyweight winning all but one match. As the regular season starts to wrap up, Amherst has two more manageable league wins on the schedule along with two Msgr. Martin crossovers as well.
#7 Williamsville North 69 – West Seneca 16
The Spartans cruised to their first ECIC I win of the season after having faced Hamburg, Lancaster, Clarence, and Frontier to start the league slate.
#9 Orchard Park 66 – Jamestown 21
The strong Quakers finally got into the ECIC I win column after having wrestled three of the league’s top teams already. Orchard Park is 1-3 in the division, 11-9 overall, and hosts a strong Niagara Falls team before three straight league road matches to end the season.
#10 Albion 52 – Medina 36
The Purple Eagles finish 4-1 in N-O good for second in the league. Albion is currently 8-3 overall.
Alden/Depew 46 – Sweet Home 24
The Bulldogs in the ECIC II win column with a victory over the Panthers. SH’s Sammy Esaleh pushed Mike Alberti in a 4-2 loss, perhaps suggesting Esaleh might be one to keep an eye on for this weekend’s ECIC championships.
Springville 39 – Cheektowaga 36
Strength in numbers helped the Griffins to their third ECIC III win of the season. Springville has two league duals left, next being a quality road test at Lackawanna. SGI has already far surpassed last season’s league and overall win total.
Maple Grove 60 – Cattaraugus-Little Valley 15
The Red Dragons are 4-1 in CCAA II.
Franklinville 59 – Dunkirk 24
The Panthers pulled even at 2-2 in CCAA I. The teams combined for eleven contested bouts in this dual, an outstanding sign for both squads working to improve participation in their respective programs.
Randolph 48 – Frewsburg 27
The Cardinals are 3-2 in CCAA II currently in third place in the league standings.
Gowanda 43 – Salamanca 42
The Panthers captured five head to head wins to earn the squad’s first CCAA II win of the season.
Eden 35 – Tonawanda 18
The Raiders pulled even in ECIC III with 2-2 league record. In the marquee match Giovanni Schifano bumped a weight and was a winner by pin over Tonawanda’s returning sectional champion in a battle between two wrestlers with state tournament experience.
Barker/Royalton-Hartland 45 – Wilson 26
The Rams conclude the 2019-2020 season with a 3-2 N-O record after going 0-5 one season ago.
Thursday, January 16th
The Panthers notched their 19th win of the season with an exciting CCAA crossover match in Mayville. Chautauqua Lake did edge Portville eight wins to seven, however the Thunderbirds only pinned in three of them and picked up a forfeit at 106. CL won every match but one between 99 and 152-pounds. In Portville’s seven wins, they collected four pins and three huge forfeits in the upper weights that have plagued CL all season. Junior Braxton Stone appeared in only his eighth dual of the season but came up huge with a pin at 132-pounds to help the Panthers cause.
#8 Southwestern 48 – Franklinville 27
The Trojans finish an even 3-3 in CCAA I this season with a win over the Panthers in their league finale. SW won nine matches to Franklinville’s seven, collecting two forfeits and pinning in four of them. However, even in the loss, Franklinville wrestlers Cleon Lawton and Nolan Palmatier earned solid wins that will help bolster their resumes further when it comes to postseason tournament seeding.
#3 Newfane 57 – Holley/Kendall (V) 13
A night after wrapping up the N-O title the Panthers took the nearly hour long ride east to Holley HS for an inter-section dual. Newfane captured eleven individual wins to improve to 21-4 this season.
Lockport 48 – St. Mary’s 33
After going winless in 2018-2019, the Lions earned wins in back to nights with a well deserved victory over the Lancers. Lockport won six of the ten head to head matches, all by pin, to contribute to the winning effort.
#1 Falconer 52 – Eisenhower, PA 21
NO FORFEITS. The Golden Falcons held their annual meeting with Knights in Russell, PA. Falconer won nine of the fifteen bouts, eight of which came by way of pin. The Golden Falcons upper weights continue to star as they won six of the dual’s first seven matches from 152-285. In the bottom of the lineup at 106 (99 is not contested in PA) Brayden Newman captured his 100th career win and Austin Chase followed up with a pin at 113 to put Falconer ahead 42-3 after nine bouts. The 25-1 Golden Falcons will rest this weekend before hosting Fredonia for the CCAA I title next week.
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