WNY Wrestling Weekend Roundup Two

Area tournament results and notes for the third weekend of high school wrestling (Friday, 12/13 – Saturday, 12/14).

Friday, December 13th – Saturday, December 14th

Hillcrest Company Pioneer Duals @ Pioneer HS

Arguably, the 2019 Pioneer Duals was the weekend’s premier dual event in all of WNY, as it featured four of the WNY Athletics top five small schools, a top six area big school, Section V’s Hilton (last year’s NYS Division I runner-up team) and tough Section V squads in Palmyra-Macedon and Letchworth. The final standings were: 1. Falconer (7-0) 2. Hilton (6-1) 3. Fredonia (5-2) 4. Newfane (4-3) 5. Pioneer (3-4) 6. Palmyra-Macedon (2-5) 7. Orchard Park (1-6) 8. Letchworth (0-7)

Falconer again proved why they are the small school team to beat in WNY going 7-0 on the weekend taking down three of their top four rivals who are also vying for Section VI Dual Meet Championship honors. The Golden Falcons cruised to a 30-point win over #4 Newfane, a 20-point win over #5 Pioneer, and a 51-27 win over #2 Fredonia. Falconer added an impressive win over Hilton, 49-26, in the final round on Friday afternoon as well. Five Golden Falcons went undefeated on the weekend including Brayden Newman, Joey Pillitieri, Bryce Baglia, Hudson Johnson, and Brock Johnson. Hudson earned an impressive victory with a pin of Orchard Park’s Mike Pataky in their 66-24 win over the Quakers. With seven more wins this weekend Falconer is cruising at a perfect 10-0 to start the season.

Fredonia as a team was without a handful of starters in and out of the lineup on the weekend and only fell to Falconer and Hilton. The Hillbillies could see the Golden Falcons as many as perhaps three more times this season, so the Falconer/Fredonia saga is to be continued after the start of the new year. Dalton Gardner looked impressive on the mat as he marches on in pursuit of an individual state title. Coach Joe Santilli’s squad gutted out tough wins over Pioneer, Newfane, and Palmyra teams and sit at 13-2 overall on the season.

Newfane had some extremely close matches with other top teams and proved again that the Panthers belong in the top small school team conversation. Newfane gutted out a close win over Palmyra, 40-31, due in large part to a pin by Miguel Salas over a returning Section V place winner, and a 40-39 win over Pioneer won in the last bout of the dual. Against Pal-Mac, state finalist Andy Lucinski met Jace Schafer in a rematch of the 2019 Division II 99-pound state final. In a bout that could’ve gone either way, Schafer got the best of Lucinksi, 8-5, and was named tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler. The Panthers also used two pins in the final two bouts to top Orchard Park, 45-37. Aiden Gillings went 6-0 with six pins and no points given up. Jaden Heers went a perfect 7-0 at 285-pounds for the 13-3 Panthers.

Pioneer ended up on the opposite side of a few nail biting duals. The Panthers lost close matches to Fredonia (37-41) and Newfane that came down to the last bouts. Still, the Panthers wrestled strong and proved they belong in the top five of small schools in WNY. Xander Kirsch, Dan Kirsch, and Kam Riordan were all a perfect 7-0 for Pioneer. Freshman Brady Heckathorn is emerging as a young wrestler to keep an eye on.

Orchard Park ventured south to see how they would stack up against some of the best in Upstate New York. While the Quakers finished 1-6, they were in close battles with Pioneer (33-41), Newfane (37-45), and Pal-Mac (35-40). Mike Pataky and Brody Banks each finished 6-1 on the weekend. Head coach Jared Teal stated “If we say we want to get better then we have to actively seek out better competition. The Pioneer Duals was a great opportunity to mix it up with the top-tier small schools and Section V teams. Although we certainly got humbled to some extent, I believe it will help us better focus and motivate us as we move forward with the rest of our season.”

Saturday, December 14th

15th Annual Cheektowaga Warrior Duals @ Cheektowaga HS

Section V’s Spencerport Rangers claimed the Warrior Duals team title for a third straight season, taking down Niagara Wheatfield 54-14 in the first place match. Wheatfield earned quality wins over #3 small school Iroquois (43-29), #5 big school Frontier (57-18), and Section V’s Webster-Schroeder on the way to the final. Sectional champion Collin Coughenour retuned to the Falcons lineup on Saturday and Justin McDougald joined the program’s 200-win club as well. Wheatfield’s lower to middle weights are shaping up to be very strong as Te’Shaun Mathews looks to be at a good weight and Coughenour is back in the mix. Iroquois defeated #4 Hamburg on a walk-off pin courtesy of 7th grader Brady Wilkinson in the final bout of the match to beat the Bulldogs 40-38 for 3rd place in the team standings. Hamburg defeated #7 small school Chautauqua Lake 49-29 in pool action to add to their dual meet resume. Ryan Forrest and Devin Collins were undefeated on the day and remain so on the season. Collins picked up his 100th career win…and he’s only a sophomore. In an interesting twist, St. Joe’s won eight matches and all seven between 152 and 285-pounds to defeat CL 47-39. Then, CL turned around and defeated Frontier, 45-33. Frontier’s Owen Weller also picked up his 100th career win on Saturday. The final standings were: 1. Spencerport (5-0) 2. Niagara Wheatfield (4-1) 3. Iroquois (4-1) 4. Hamburg (3-2) 5. Webster-Schroeder (3-2) 6. St. Joe’s (2-3) 7. Chautauqua Lake (2-3) 8. Frontier (1-4) 9. Maryvale (1-4) 10. Cheektowaga (0-5)

Starpoint Spartan Duals @ Starpoint HS

The Spartans won their own tournament with a dual record of 5-0. Starpoint defeated Canisius twice, an upstart Maple Grove team, Barker/Royalton-Hartland, and West Seneca. Gage LaPlante continued his undefeated start to the season and is a perfect 14-0. Teammate Jacob Eckler is an impressive 13-1 this season as well. LaPlante and Eckler were named to the All-Tournament team as were the Spartans’ CJ Uptegrove, Christian Lasher, and David Meyer. With five more dual wins on the day, the Spartans are at 10-4 on the season. Williamsville South finished the day 4-1 with two quality wins over Maple Grove and a young Kenmore team. Canisius finished 3-2 overall highlighted by a 40-39 win over the Billies. Making the All-Tournament team for the Crusaders were Luke Brydges, Jacob Perez, Joe Dixon, and Braydon Vandenberg. Kenmore was 3-2 on the day as well. Maple Grove’s Kyle Trim was named the tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler and earned a huge pin over Tonawanda’s defending sectional champion Jason Frazer. The final standings were: 1. Starpoint (5-0) 2. Canisius (3-2) 3. Williamsville South (4-1) 4. Kenmore (3-2) 5. Maple Grove (2-3) 6. Tonawanda (2-3) 7. Barker/Royalton-Hartland (1-4) 8. West Seneca (0-5)

Jon Vesper Memorial Duals @ Clarence HS

Section V’s Pittsford Panthers rolled to the Vesper Duals team title with a 5-0 record. The Panthers scored 64 or more points in four duals against all WNY teams. The Red Devils held Pittsford to its closest dual of the day, but ultimately fell 27-48. Clarence’s Aiden Rabideau was named his team’s Most Outstanding Wrestler while Pittsford’s Nick Sanko was named tournament MOW. Clarence finished 4-1 on the day and had undefeated wrestlers in Jon Palozzi, Ian Howell, and David Van Horn. Lackawanna finished in third place with a 3-2 record, followed by Alden/Depew (1-4), Gowanda (1-4), and St. Francis (1-4). Gowanda’s Ethan Fort was undefeated at the Duals.

53rd Annual Penfield Hunter Holiday Tournament @ Penfield HS (V)

WNY athletes were in nine of the fifteen finals matches, with six winning individual Penfield Hunter titles. Lancaster’s Codie Scotland won the 220-pound bracket by way of pin over his Horseheads (IV) opponent in the final, a pin that proved all too important as the Legends officially outscored the Blue Raiders for second place by a half point. Brockport (V) outpaced the Legends 184-176 for the team title. Also winning for Lancaster were Ryan Stencel and Michael Schaefer. Stencel dominated his opponents and used a pin twenty-five seconds into the final to earn the 182-pound title. Schaefer won four matches on the day including a 5-4 finals decision over Brockport’s returning sectional place winner Jake Daly at 113-pounds. Williamsville North finished fourth in the team scoring and had three individual champions as well. Cam Catrabone earned his second Penfield title with a finals pin over Horseheads’ Tommy Dale. Catrabone was a 6-3 winner over returning Penfield champion and Section V place winner Tyler Daly in the semifinal. Mike Catanzaro captured his second straight Penfield title as well, using an overtime win to defeat Section V 3rd place winner Kyle Spaulding from Penfield at 132-pounds. North’s Brenden Dellinger defeated the 4th, 1st, and 3rd seeds on the way to the 106-pound title. Lancaster’s Alex Monile and Dan Empfield were runners-up as was North’s Ryan Venohr. Three more Legends placed 3rd or 4th to stay in the team race. Lake Shore’s Julian Martin took 3rd at 138-pounds while teammate Blake Hageman was 4th at 113.

45th Portville Invitational Wrestling Tournament @ Portville HS

It was the Portville and Southwestern show on Saturday as the finals featured sixteen Panther and Trojan wrestlers (eight apiece). Portville ultimately outpaced Southwestern 252 to 226 points. Winning individual titles for Portville were Kirkland Hall, Dakota Mascho, Julian Morales, and Hunter Saltsman. SW also crowned four champions in Michael Carnes, Garrett Swan, Tatyn Bryant, and Dontae Hoose. Jamestown ended in third place in the team standings and had two champions in Taylor Crofoot and Dwayne Hannold. Eden finished fourth, fifteen points behind Jamestown, and crowned three champions in John Vicario, Shane Walczyk, and returning NYS tournament representative Giovanni Schifano. Franklinville’s fifth place finish was led by individual champions Ethan Coleman and Cleon Lawton.

Fred Large Memorial Wrestling Tournament @ Lyndonville HS (V)

The Wilson Lakemen led the team scoring for WNY squads in the fourteen-team field at Lyndonville. 132-pound champion Allan Schultz and 160-pound champion Trent Kenny led Wilson to a sixth place team finish. Teammate Jacob Stephenson was the runner-up at 106-pounds. Akron placed eighth, eleven points behind Wilson. The Tigers were without a champion but had two runners-up in James Lojek (160) and Ryan Yaeger (170). Medina finished nine points behind Akron led by individual champions Dominick Callara (99) and Rashawn Bloom (106) and runner-up Miles Hartway at 152. Charter School for Applied Technologies also participated in the event and was paced with 4th place finishes by David Schwinger, Moses Morales, Alhassan Allami, and Shawn Meiller.

Phoenix Invitational Wrestling Tournament @ Phoenix HS (III)

Grand Island made its annual trip to the Syracuse area for the round robin style tournament, crowning two champions and finishing second overall in the team standings eight points behind Section III’s South Jefferson/Sandy Creek. NYS 4th place finisher Adam Daghestani completely overpowered the 170-pound bracket, pinning his first four opponents in less than one minute and his finals opponent twenty-two seconds into the second period. Jack Randle captured the 126-pound title by way of a major decision, a pin, and two technical falls. Brian (160) and Blake Bielec (220) were runners-up in their respective brackets. Nick Massaro (99) and Caleb Messing (195) each finished third, Miles Coughlin and Jake Miller 5th, and Gavin Dombrowski 6th.

46th Annual Batavia Christmas Wrestling Tournament @ Batavia HS (V)

A host of Section VI squads were represented in Batavia. Olean was the highest placing area team, taking third by only two points behind Victor (V), 156 to 154 points. The Huskies were paced by four individual champions. Nate Gabler (126), Connor Walsh (220), and AJ Addotta (285) all claimed individual titles by way of pin in the final matches. Gavin Kulp captured the 160-pound Batavia title with a decision win in the final. Lockport was fourth in the team standings led by 182-pound tournament champion Kevin Daskavitz and runner-up finishes by Ethan Perkins, Jaheim Clayton, and Stefaan Fearon. Lewiston-Porter featured two champions in Caden Barrientos at 99-pounds and Ciaran Edwards at 138. Edwards finished a perfect 5-0 and had two pins and two technical falls on the day. Trevor Thompson was a runner-up for the Lancers.