Dual meet and tournament results and notes for the week of Wednesday, Jan. 3rd – Saturday, Jan. 6th, 2024.
Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
Wednesday, Jan. 3rd
NO FORFEITS! Trailing 30-29 in the team score, senior Killian Simonson saved the day for the Tigers in the final bout of the night coming up with a 4-1 decision at 190-pounds in a crucial ECIC II road victory for Amherst. The Bulldogs have been quietly improving each week over the course of this season under first year head coach Jordan Kayes and came into the dual with a 3-0 league mark, tied with the Tigers and Pioneer atop the standings. Hamburg won seven matches to Amherst’s six, but Coach Bauer’s squad earned four pins to Hamburg’s three and a crucial tech fall from Zak Saeed for two bonus points at 152-pounds. Throughout the dual, there were EIGHT team score lead changes including six just in the first seven weights(!). Hamburg’s Evan Braunscheidel put the Bulldogs ahead, 30-29, with one weight to go, but Simonson’s victory in the last match secured the win for Amherst and the eighth and final lead score change of the dual.
NO FORFEITS! The Wolverines improved to 4-0 in the NFL with a crucial road victory over a quality Vikings squad and also reached the double digit win mark for this season with the team’s 10th dual win. ‘Falls is on a five match win streak going back to opening weekend where they posted a 5-3 record at the Southtowns Duals at St. Francis. After the Section VI Duals, the Wolverines will face another tough road test when they visit #10 North Tonawanda on Jan. 10th. Despite big losses at 2023 graduation, coaches Eagan and McCoy have this youthful team following the winning formula that has made NFHS one of the most consistent programs in WNY wrestling.
HM Medina 34 – #10 Wilson 25
A number of forfeits undermined a top-10 Niagara-Orleans showdown on Wednesday. The Lakemen collected two forfeits but gave one back at 108 while both 101 and 116-pound went uncontested. Mustangs won five of the eight head to head matches including four crucial pins. Wilson’s Willie Wortkoetter finally saw action in the lineup in week five and in Wednesday’s dual against Medina and could be a ‘contender’ in Section VI Div. II to make it to the NYS individual championships. Medina moved to 2-1 in the league with the win over the Lakemen. A showdown with the also 2-1 Barker/Royalton-Hartland squad on Jan. 10th could keep either team’s N-O title hopes alive albeit they would need help from another league rival to unseat 3-0 Newfane at some point this month.
It’s not often one sees a Wednesday night, non-league, inter-division, inter-athletic association, top ranked dual between teams over an hour apart in WNY, but two great programs and coaching staffs made it happen in Falconer on Wednesday. The visiting Raiders were treated to the true Golden Falcons home experience but left with a quality win over WNY’s current #1 ranked small school squad. After eight weights, F/CV jumped out to a 27-15 lead where twelve of St. Francis’s points were by forfeit, but Red Raiders won all five of the last weights with one pin and four technical falls to improve to 9-2 on the season. St. Francis Sophomore Kole Haseley saw action for the first time this season and earned a statement win with a 5-4 decision over returning NYS tournament qualifier Dylan Newman at 124-pounds in the dual. Next up for Falconer is a huge CCAA I showdown on Jan. 9th at #3 Southwestern.
#6 Jamestown 48 – Frontier 24
The Raiders improved to 3-0 in ECIC I and remain tied atop the league standing after the sixth week of wrestling with both #2 Williamsville North/East and HM Lancaster. Jamestown and Frontier combined for eleven contested bouts with each team receiving one forfeit. The Raiders won eight of those eleven matches, five by pin, including a five match win streak from 124-152 where they have been strongest all season. Jamestown will host Lancaster on Jan. 10th for a critical league showdown next week that will have implications on the league title race.
HM Lancaster 45 – Orchard Park 18
The Legends remain unbeaten in ECIC I with a quality road win over league rival Orchard Park. The teams combined for one double forfeit at 101 and twelve contested matches, eight of which were won by Lancaster with seven of them being pins. The Legends jumped out to a 27-3 lead after the first seven weights. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, Lancaster visits #6 Jamestown on Wednesday for a big showdown of 3-0 league teams.
#5 Pioneer 65 – Starpoint 9
Returning ECIC division champion teams met in Yorkshire to renew the rivalry. These schools are also the farthest away from one another amongst all ECIC wrestling squads. The Panthers accepted the night’s two forfeits and entered a full lineup in the contest. Pioneer won nine head to head bouts and every weight from 124 to 285-pounds with eight pins and one technical fall including an impressive pin result from Lane Dziekonski at 145-pounds. The Panthers (4-0 ECIC II) visits league rival #8 Hamburg (3-1) and hosts #5 Amherst (4-0) in each of the next two weeks, respectively, for two of the most important league matches left this season.
Eden 41 – Springville 34
Despite giving up more forfeits than received (three to two), the Raiders found a path to victory at home against the Griffins in an ECIC III dual. Eden won seven weights (101-145-pounds) and earned four pins while Springville won six weights (152-285) but picked up only two pins in the dual. Trevor DellaPenta earned the extra team point with a technical fall at 131. Going into the last three weights, Eden trailed in the team score 34-23. Mason DellaPenta accepted a forfeit at 101 and Troy put Eden ahead 35-34 with a pin at 108. At 116, freshman Ruger Pastwik sealed the win for the Raiders with a late third period pin. Even though they are without a wrestler at the two heaviest weight classes any given night, Coach Page has gotten this team to 2-2 in the league in their first season back as an independent squad. The Raiders visit East Aurora on the 17th but host Lackawanna for the league finale on the 24th.
Clarence 42 – West Seneca/Depew 27
A double forfeit at 101 was the only uncontested match of the night as both squads fielded nearly full lineups. Shoutout to Coach Recor and the gang in West Seneca for the job they have done rehabbing this program in this season and the recent past. Clarence won seven of the twelve contested bouts, all by pin to improve to 2-1 in ECIC I heading into Duals weekend. The Devils won’t have much time to rest though as they host 3-0 Williamsville North/East on Wednesday.
#8 Gowanda 58 – Franklinville 18
Gowanda fielded a full lineup in this dual while the section’s SMALLEST wrestling school team by BEDS – Franklinville – sent a wrestler out at all but one weight(!). A shoutout is in order for both Franklinville for the improved participation and Gowanda for the win and great performance so far this season. The Panthers won nine of the contested twelve bouts, eight by pin, and still got bonus points with a major decision from Michael Horth at 160. Horth also claimed his 100th career win in the victory. Coach Logan and the staff at Gowanda really seem to have something going in Gowanda and they will have a chance to be in the spotlight when the team makes its second appearance in program history at the Section VI Duals on Saturday.
Williamsville South 45 – Sweet Home 24
Although they fielded a limited lineup, the wrestlers who were there for Sweet Home battled the Billies tough as the Panthers won four of six contested bouts. South is 2-2 in ECIC II right behind three top-8 ranked area teams.
Kenmore 48 – Lockport 24
The Lions forfeited a number of weights but they won five of six head to head matches with three pins against the DevilDogs. Kenmore is an even 2-2 in the NFL.
Tonawanda 49 – East Aurora 21
The Warriors won seven of ten contested matches including six pins and Tonawanda is now 3-0 in ECIC III tied with Iroquois atop the league standings. Shoutout to Coach Balling and staff for a Tonawanda program that seems to be headed in the right direction.
#1 Niagara Wheatfield 61 – Lewiston-Porter 10
The top ranked Falcons are 4-0 in the NFL
#4 Newfane 78 – Albion 0
The Panthers are squarely in command of the N-O League at 3-0.
#9 Randolph 64 – Salamanca 6
The Cardinals are in sole possession of first place in CCAA II at 3-0.
Maple Grove 51 – Frewsburg 18
Cheektowaga 40 – Lake Shore 21
Thursday, Jan. 4th
Neighboring ranked teams picked up their rivalry with a non-league contest on Thursday at Jamestown High with the Trojans earning an impressive victory over a quality Red Raiders squad, despite handing over two forfeits. Trojans won eight of ten contested matches, pinning or earning bonus points in seven of them. Jamestown hosts HM Lancaster for a critical league showdown on Wednesday while Southwestern hosts Falconer for a critical league dual of their own on Tuesday…right after the sectional duals.
#10 North Tonawanda 46 – CSAT 30
NO FORFEITS! The ‘Jacks and Eagles combined for a NO FORFEIT! ™ special on Thursday for NT’s senior night and both squads’ 4th Niagara Frontier League dual of the season. North Tonawanda won eight head to head bouts, seven by pin. CSAT won five bouts with four pins, three of which came in a row from Nathan Rodriguez at 190, Dezmond Johnson at 215, and James Arroyo-Morales at 285. NT improved to 3-1 in the league with the win and hosts #7 Niagara Falls on Jan. 10th for what could be a very good dual.
#2 Williamsville North/East 50 – Frontier 15
Williamsville improved to 3-0 in ECIC I and 2-0 in home league duals beating Frontier on Thursday. WNE won nine of twelve contested matches and accepted the only forfeit of the night at 101. After the sectional duals, North visits Clarence and then hosts Jamestown on the 17th for two important league duals.
Canisius 37 – Lafayette/Buffalo Public Schools 29
The Crusaders may have spoiled the first ever home varsity dual for the newly formed BPS team, however the match was competitive and the night was nonetheless historic for the city school district and WNY high school wrestling at large.
For a more information on Thursday’s match please visit the below link:
#4 St. Joe’s 73 – St. Mary’s 0
HM Medina 34 – Cheektowaga 20
Barker/Royalton-Hartland 36 – Akron 27
Friday, Dec. 5th
Attica/Batavia (V) 36 - #5 Pioneer 21
NO FORFEITS! The Panthers crossed sectional lines for a Friday night showdown with one of the top small school wrestling teams in our neighboring athletic association. A/B claimed eight wins but were held to only three pins. Pioneer picked up five wins and one pin making this dual perhaps one of the longest of the season in either region with only four total falls. Plus, three of those pins came in the second period while one of them was secured half way through the third period of the 160-pound match, meaning the four pins in the dual weren’t even themselves quick. Chris Howatt at 285 earned the Panthers’ only pin while Luke Matheis (215), Brad Smith (170), Wyatt Opferbeck (138), and Evan Wright (124) all earned wins for Pioneer who are 5-3 overall on the season.
Holy Trinity (Long Island) 54 – St. Mary’s 18
CHSAA’s Holy Trinity paid a visit locally to St. Mary’s over the weekend for a rare regular season sighting of a non-Buffalo area Catholic School team in WNY. Nonetheless, the Titans and Lancers squared off for a Friday night showdown ahead of Saturday’s Lancer Duals. Holy Trinity captured seven of ten head to head matches against St. Mary’s and collected a trio of forfeits to claim the victory. Quinn Martin (124), Tanner Hartwig (152), and Landyn Elliott (160) all earned pins for St. Mary’s in the loss.
Kenmore 60 – Lafayette/BPS 18
A night after their home dual, BPS paid a visit to Kenmore West HS to take on the DevilDogs for a non-league match. Kenmore entered a full lineup in the dual while BPS conceded only one forfeit, at 108-pounds. All twelve contested bouts ended in pins – nine for Kenmore, three for Buffalo, including seven straight for Kenmore from 131 to 190-pounds. The DevilDogs host a ranked Grand Island team for an NFL dual on Wednesday while Lafayette visits Sweet Home on Thursday and hosts CSAT Friday.
Saturday, Jan. 6th
32nd Annual Ahonen Takedown Cancer Duals @ Victor HS (V)
St. Francis 4-1 at brutal Victor duals, earns huge win over Fairport, narrowly falls to Hilton
Simply put, the Ahonen Duals was one of the best one day dual tournaments you’ll find this season as seven powerhouse squads to include four currently state ranked teams battled at Victor on Saturday.
St. Francis was the only Buffalo area team in attendance against an all Section V field of powerful large school squads and a supremely talented small school team – Honeyoe Falls-Lima. The Raiders posted a 4-1 overall record against the rugged field where their largest margin of victory was only fifteen points (twice) while notably missing a key piece of the lineup in sophomore Cullen Edwards (21-1 season record) in the lower weights.
The Red Raiders earned crucial victories over Victor, Webster Thomas, and Rush-Henrietta and a highly valuable victory over defending Section V Division I dual meet runner-up Fairport. The only blemish for St. Francis was a razor thin 39-35 loss to perennial powerhouse Hilton, whose only loss on the day was to in section rival Fairport.
Six wrestlers went a perfect 5-0 on the day for St. Francis including Kole Haseley, Rory White, Griffin LaPlante, Gage LaPlante, Zach Caldwell, and Connor Miller. Caldwell also picked up his 100th career win on the day.
St. Francis – Ahonen Duals match scores:
Rd. 1: St. Francis 42 – Victor 27
Rd. 2: St. Francis 39 – Rush-Henrietta 34
Rd. 3: St. Francis 43 – Fairport 29
Rd. 4: St. Francis 45 – Webster Thomas 30
Rd. 5. Hilton 39 – St. Francis 34
St. Mary’s Lancer Duals
Billies go 6-0 to claim Lancer Duals team title; Lackawanna’s Nashir tournament MOW
Williamsville South collected team honors at the competitive Lancer Duals on Saturday posting a perfect 6-0 dual record led by unbeaten wrestlers Trey Saxer, Marcus Johnson, Austin Knab, and Joey Lipski. Lackawanna’s Hani Nashir was named tournament MOW going 6-0 on the day and while leading the Steelers to a 5-1 record, falling only to South, 39-33. Akron wrestled to a 3rd place finish led by unbeaten wrestlers Christian Klonowski and Nick Fry.
Lancer Duals team standings:
1. Williamsville South 6-0
2. Lackawanna 5-1
3. Akron 4-2
4. Holy Trinity (LI) 3-3
5. East Aurora 2-4
6. St. Mary’s 1-5
7. Maryvale 0-6
Williamsville South team champions // photo shared by St. Mary's Wrestling @stmaryswrestles on X
30th Annual Ripley Invitational Wrestling Tournament @ Chautauqua Lake HS
St. Joe’s dominates with five individual champions; Eden’s DellaPenta’s, Buffalo’s Cook impressive in wins
St. Joe’s crowned five champions and placed eight wrestlers in the top-4 of their weight classes to capture the Ripley Tournament team title by over 50 points. Austin Zimmerman (116), Nik Massaro (131), Sean Gordon (138), Dylan Forant (152), and Aidan Schenk (160) all captured individual titles for the Marauders who out paced runner-up team Frontier 184 to 130-points. The Falcons went without a champion but three runner-up and seven total place winners was enough to help land Frontier a second place team finish for the second time in last three tournaments.
Eden landed a 3rd place team finish led by champions Mason DellaPenta, Trevor DellaPenta, and Bryce DellaPenta. Trevor earned tournament MOW honors earning three first period pins, including the final, and a semifinals technical fall on the way to the 124-pound title. Maple Grove was led to a 5th place team finish with four place winners, all of whom fell in their respective bracket’s final.
Lafayette/Buffalo Public School’s Kahmari Cook had perhaps the most impressive finals victory taking down returning NYS Division II 8th place winner Matt Trim from Maple Grove in the 215-pound Ripley title match. Cook earned a reversal with only thirty seconds remaining in the third period of the final to break a 2-2 tie, ultimately holding on to win 4-2. Trim was a winner by pin in each of their first two meetings in December.
30th Ripley Tournament champions:
101: Mason DellaPenta (Eden)
108: Jonathan Tidd (Olean/Allegany-Limestone)
116: Austin Zimmerman (St. Joe’s)
124: Trevor DellPenta (Eden)
131: Nik Massaro (St. Joe’s)
138: Sean Gordon (St. Joe’s)
145: Bryce DellaPenta (Eden)
152: Dylan Forant (St. Joe’s)
160: Aidan Schenk (St. Joe’s)
170: Nathaniel Tirado (West Seneca/Depew)
190: Liam Whalen (Lockport)
215: Kahmari Cook (Lafayette/BPS)
285: Eliel Collazo (Dunkirk)
30th Ripley Tournament team scores
(number of place winner in parentheses):
1. St. Joe’s 184 (8)
2. Frontier 130 (7)
3. Eden 124.5 (5)
4. Springville 101 (5)
5. Maple Grove 95 (4)
6. West Seneca/Depew 82 (3)
7. Dunkirk 79.5 (3)
8. Lockport 74 (2)
9. Fredonia 73 (3)
10. Olean/A-L 69 (4)
11. Lafayette/BPS 63.5 (3)
12. Sweet Home 59 (3)
13. Frewsburg 43 (2)
14. Randolph 25.5
15. Erie, PA 17 16. Lake Shore 15
3rd Annual Chautauqua Lake Girls Invitational Wrestling Tournament
Lockport crowns four champs on way to team title; Chautauqua Lake squeezes past Niagara Wheatfield for 2nd place; Iroquois’s Thomas MOW
Four individual champions and eight top-4 place winners helped Lockport out pace the host Eagles in the team title race, 147 to 143 points on Saturday. Returning NYSPHSAA Girls’ Invitational place winner Khamya J’Maxwell picked up twenty six team points herself on the way to the 185-pound title, pinning all five opponents on the day. Gabriella Gelnett (107), Bella Andes (152), and Jyla Johnson (235) all won individual titles for Lockport in Mayville.
Despite crowning only one champion, Chautauqua Lake landed a 2nd place team finish behind a crucial finals pin by Sophia Gervasio at 145-pounds that proved to be the difference maker as CL beat out Niagara Wheatfield by a single half point, 143 to 142.5 points.
Chautauqua Lake secured six total top-4 place winners and also had two runners-up in the effort to stay ahead of Wheatfield. Mia Smith earned a crucial pin for 3rd place at 132-pounds for the Eagles over an NW opponent in a critical head to head bout in the team score race. Wheatfield placed eight total wrestlers led by three individual bracket champions to land firmly in third place in the team score. Sweet Home (89 points) and Dunkirk (80.5) rounded out the top-5 teams.
Photo shared by SweetHomeGirlsWrestling on Instagram
Iroquois sophomore Michaela Thomas went 3-0 on the way to the 165-pound title. Thomas earned a 5-2 overtime decision over Lockport’s Ava Bragg in the title match which was the only championship bout to feature two returning state girls’ invitational place winners (Thomas, 3rd, Bragg, 3rd in 2023). Michaela was awarded tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler honors for her effort.
3rd Chautauqua Lake Girls Invitational champions:
100: Lily Pieczonka (NW)
107: Gabriella Belnett (Lockport)
114: Emma Greene (NW)
120: McKella Hodkin (Fredonia)
126: Sofia Guadagna (Sweet Home)
132: Nevaeh Senik (NW)
138: Avery White (Frontier)
145: Sophia Gervasio (Chautauqua Lake)
152: Bella Andes (Lockport)
165: Michaela Thomas (Iroquois)
185: Khamya J’Maxwell (Lockport)
235: Jyla Johnson (Lockport)
3rd Chautauqua Lake Girls’ Invitational team scores
(number of place winner in parentheses):
1. Lockport 147 (8)
2. Chautauqua Lake 143 (6)
3. Niagara Wheatfield 142.5 (8)
4. Sweet Home 89 (5)
5. Dunkirk 80.5 (5)
6. Fredonia 76 (4)
7. Iroquois 38.5 (2)
8. Frontier 36 (2)
9. Kenmore 29 (2)
10. Springville 28.5 (2)
11. Lake Shore 21 (1)
12. Gowanda 18 (1)
13. Rush-Henrietta (V) 16 (1)
14. Frewsburg 15
7th Section VI Dual Meet Wrestling Championships @ Niagara County CC
Top seeds Chautauqua Lake repeated as Section VI Division II champion and Niagara Wheatfield captured the Division I crown for the first time since 2020, the third sectional dual meet title in program history.
For full recaps of the Section VI championships please visit the links below:
Division I
Division II
6th WNY wrestling dual team power ranking
(following results from Weds. 1/3 – Sat. 1/6/2024)
Large schools
1. Niagara Wheatfield Falcons
2. St. Francis Red Raiders
3. Williamsville North/East Spartans
4. St. Joe’s Marauders
5. Clarence Red Devils
6. Amherst Tigers
7. Niagara Falls Wolverines
8. Hamburg Bulldogs
9. Jamestown Red Raiders
10. Grand Island Vikings
HM – North Tonawanda Lumberjacks
HM – Lancaster Legends
Small schools
1. Chautauqua Lake Eagles
2. Falconer/Cassadaga Valley Golden Cougars
3. Southwestern Trojans
4. Newfane Panthers
5. Pioneer Panthers
6. Iroquois Chiefs
7. Gowanda Panthers
8. Portville Panthers
9. Randolph Cardinals
10. Medina Mustangs
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