Cover photo courtesy of Rick Penny
Dual meet results & notes for the week of Monday, Jan. 29th – Wednesday, Jan. 31st, 2024, the final week of the 2023-2024 regular season.
Monday, Jan. 29th
#9 Orchard Park 46 – West Seneca/Depew 25
The Quakers conclude the 2023-2024 regular season with two straight ECIC I wins. OP wrestled each of the league’s top-4 placing teams to start the conference schedule, but the return of senior state place winner Jack MacDonald to the lineup ignited this team in the last three weeks of the season. In this dual, West Seneca sent a wrestler at twelve of thirteen weights. Orchard Park won at eight weight classes, picking up six pins. Despite a 2-4 league record, the Quakers battled through a deep ECIC I slate where five of its seven teams are in the latest WNY Athletics large school power ranking. Give credit to Coach Recor and staff for greatly improved participation in this dual and the season at large.
West Seneca coaches Jacob Slalde (l) and Dave Recor (r) // Photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
#8 Springville 58 – Lake Shore 3
The Griffins achieve their 10th win of the 2023-2024 season and the team’s third straight double digit wins season with an ECIC inter-division victory over the Eagles at home.
#8 Springville 60 – Gow School 0
Tuesday, Jan. 30th
Amherst Earns First ECIC League Dual Title in Twenty-Four Years
The Tigers hit the road to one of the most difficult places to wrestle as a visiting team in WNY high school wrestling for a true league title showdown of top-5 6-0 teams. Pioneer, fresh off a major program record of achieving the team’s 70th straight ECIC win, came into the match looking for a 10th consecutive division title. Amherst started off with two impressive wins for a 10-0 lead in the dual, holding that lead the duration of the match. Amherst won nine weights in the dual and accepted the night’s only forfeit in the final match to secure the program’s first ECIC league dual championship since the 1999-2000 season. Amherst finishes 7-0 in ECIC II duals and 15-4 overall this season while Pioneer finished 6-1 in the league and 7-4 overall.
For more on Amherst’s ECIC II league championship please visit the link below:
Photo shared by Amherst Wrestling @AmherstAmbush on X
#3 Williamsville North/East 56 – HM Jamestown 15
Williamsville North/East Claims First Outright League Title Since 2000
Like in-town rival Amherst, Williamsville North/East shattered their own streak of twenty-four straight years without a full season league championship last week but put a stamp on it this week by capping off a 6-0 unbeaten record in ECIC I duals with Wednesday’s home win over Jamestown. Williamsville won ten weights against the Red Raiders to cruise to the team’s 10th win in their regular season finale.
For more on Williamsville North/East’s ECIC I league championship please visit the link below:
#9 Iroquois 60 – Maryvale 6
Springville, Iroquois Share ECIC III Wrestling League Crown
The Chiefs cruised to the team’s 5th league win of the season to claim a share of the ECIC III title on senior night in Elma for the team’s first full season ECIC league championship since 2019-2020. With Springville finishing 5-1 the league also, and no league title tiebreaking criteria in place from the Conference, the Griffins and Chiefs share the 2023-2024 division title.
For more on the shared ECIC III title please visit the link below:
Photo shared by Iroquois HS Sports on Facebook
#6 Gowanda 57 – Salamanca 12
The Panthers end the 2023-2024 campaign with a 4-1 record in CCAA II duals and just sliding in over .500 with their season finale win over the Warriors on the road. Gowanda entered a wrestler at every weight on Wednesday to bring the regular season to a close, one in which the program has clearly shown it is moving in the right direction.
#7 Hamburg 45 – Starpoint 30
The Bulldogs finish up the league slate with a road win over the Spartans to finish 5-2 in ECIC II duals behind only Amherst and Pioneer. Under first year head coach Jordan Kayes, Hamburg finishes 12-8 overall and only graduates four seniors this spring. Against Starpoint, the Bulldogs won eight weights with seven head to head victories, six by way of pin.
#7 Portville 37 – Franklinville 24
Portville paid a visit to Franklinville for an all-Panthers showdown to end both team’s regular season with a CCAA inter-division showdown. Perhaps one of WNY’s most improved teams in Franklinville gave Portville a match, especially considering Franklinville entered a wrestler at every weight (minus a double forfeit at 101) and earned the duals’ only two forfeits at 116 and 170-pounds. The Portville Panthers, however, won seven of ten contested bouts, four by pin, to do enough to earn the win and finish 16-5 for the season.
Starpoint 66 – Lake Shore 10
Wednesday, Jan. 31st
#2 Niagara Wheatfield 47 – HM North Tonawanda 18
NO FORFEITS. The Falcons finish off the Niagara Frontier League slate another perfect 7-0 league duals to capture a second straight outright NFL title. NW won nine bouts, six by pin, including an 8-7 decision from returning state qualifier Joe Cicco over NT’s defending sectional champion Dylan Gagnon at 160-pounds. The Cicco/Gagnon rivalry could potentially spill over into this weekend’s Class A tournament and possibly into the Section VI championships on Feb. 10th. The Falcons finish 14-2 overall this season while North Tonawanda battled to a 4-3 record in tough NFL duals while posting an 11-7 overall mark for the season.
For more on Niagara Wheatfield's Niagara Frontier League championship please visit the link below:
NW's Cicco // Pataky
Fredonia 39 – Dunkirk 36 (girls)
A new chapter of the neighboring schools’ rivalry is being written as the Hillbillies and Marauders squared off for an all-girls dual on Wednesday in Fredonia. Starting at 165-pounds, Addaline Grayson earned the first win of the dual with a pin for Dunkirk. After eight weights, the teams were dead locked at 24-points each heading into the last five bouts. McKella Hodkin (126) and Rosaliz Aponte (132) put the Hillbillies ahead by nine points with a pin and decision, respectively, before Eva Colon-DeJesus cut into that lead with a pin at 138. With a three point lead, 33-30, at 145-pounds, Fredonia’s Evelyn Cuthbert iced the match with a second period pin as the Hillbillies would go on to win 39-36.
Bryleigh Wicks (185), Meyah Aponte (pin, 100), Leah Waite (pin, 107), and Alexis Hennessey (pin, 120) also earned wins for Fredonia. Victoria Maxwell (pin, 235), Sheila Vega (94), Leoneris Fernandez (114), and Anahi DeJesus (pin, 152) added wins for the Marauders in the dual where the teams combined for ten contested bouts and only three forfeits.
Barker/Royalton-Hartland 39 – Tonawanda 24
The RaiderRams travelled south for a non-league dual on the last night of the regular season in WNY to meet a Warriors team of which the squads rarely cross paths. B/R-H won seven of eleven contested bouts, six by pin, in the match to finish 5-3 overall in duals this season.
CSAT 39 – Lockport 30
The Eagles will finish in the NFL win column with a season finale victory over the Lions at home and on senior night. CSAT entered a wrestler at every weight and benefited by accepting a trio of forfeits. Senior Dezmond Johnson has had a quality season for CSAT and earned a signature win that was crucial in the dual meet result, pinning Lockport’s Liam Whalen at 190-pounds. Nathan Rodriguez earned a forfeit at 215 before James Arroyo-Morales sealed the win with a pin at 285-pounds.
Alexander (V) 66 – Alden 12
The Bulldogs under first year head coach Danielle Stanley wrapped up the program’s first year back on the mat and as an independent team with a home dual against the nearby Trojans. Community support was strong as Bulldogs Wrestling alumni from as far back as the late 1960’s came out to support the team, including associate head coach Scott Green (Alden class of 1988) from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Alden fielded nine wrestlers in the dual with Ryan Marino (134) and Dylan Hartz (152) earning pins for the Bulldogs.
