Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
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St. Francis – I see you with that Eastern States team title.
So much happened last week and weekend, I’ve got to start in order. I’ll get to you.
I'll start with a confession.
True life:
I am a sucker for small school wrestling.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of all our wrestling – big schools, small schools, private schools – but being a small town, small school guy myself, small school teams will always have a special place in my heart.
On Wednesday, I had an opportunity to pop into a school (actually two) that I haven’t been to yet for big league showdowns between ranked teams. I checked into Gowanda first for a CCAA II dual between the two-time defending league champion Randolph Cardinals and the top challenger for league honors host Panthers, coming off a 4th place finish at the Section VI Duals. What I saw was an outstanding dual between two well coached teams; two Class D teams that contested twelve out of thirteen bouts with the Panthers receiving the only forfeit of the night. Gowanda would go on to win 43-21 to sit alone atop the league standings and firmly in the driver’s seat for CCAA II honors with only two league duals remaining.
After becoming more familiar with program in the last two years, what I enjoyed the most about the experience was to see Gowanda in their home environment with a ton of fans and buzz in the air. You might not call Gowanda a ‘blue blood’ of WNY high school wrestling. However, with a full roster, back-to-back top-4 finishes at the Section VI Duals, a robust youth wrestling infrastructure, and an experienced and active coaching staff led by head coach Ray Logan, it is clear that the Gowanda community has something very special going on with its wrestling program, a program that is evolving and growing right before our eyes with ambitions of going toe to toe with the best in WNY and beyond. THIS is what program building looks like.
As I’ve said and written many times before, I believe the Platonic Form of the spirit of wrestling resides in small schools and small towns across America and the world.
On my way home, I stopped into Frontier and caught the end of the Clarence/Frontier ECIC I showdown, another extremely important league dual on a big Wednesday night in WNY between last weekend's Section Division I Duals runner-up and 3rd place squads. Coincidentally, the D1 #3 Red Devils were 43-21 winners over the #5 Falcons (the same score as #4 Gowanda over HM Randolph) to improve to 3-0 in the tough ECIC I standings. Matt Cox, Gianmarco Ballarin, and Josh Randolph came up especially big for Clarence on Wednesday in the win.
Clarence’s victory of course was after surviving the surging D2 #5 Pioneer Panthers on the road, 32-31, in one of the toughest home gym environments in WNY only twenty-four hours earlier. Talk about a challenging schedule; head coach Keith Stoerr & company picked up four ranked wins in five days while reaching the Section VI Duals final for the first time in team history.
A shoutout is in order as well, in spite of a loss, for Kenmore DevilDogs wrestling. A first time Section VI Duals competitor on Saturday, the DevilDogs pushed Niagara Wheatfield to the brink in Wednesday’s NFL dual in Sanborn, ultimately falling 39-28. With the combined resources of Kenmore East and West high schools, head coach Dave Wilcox leads the biggest roster in WNY where wrestling is clearly surging in popularity in the school district.
A special note from the Wheatfield match – congratulations to NW senior Garrett Chase for achieving his 150th career win.
Chase // Pataky
Keeping with special recognitions, Lackawanna honored its first NYS place winner & only state champion in current head coach Abdulqawi Mohamed when the team unveiled its new mat this week. History and tradition are two characteristics of the entire discipline of wrestling that set us apart from everyone else.
Photo courtesy of Lackawanna Athletics on X
A very active week of duals also resulted in six girls’ results, including the first matches and wins ever for Gowanda, Frewsburg, and Salamanca. As well, #3 Chautauqua Lake, #4 Fredonia, #5 Dunkirk, and #10 Kenmore all picked up dual meet victories too.
Wednesday’s dual slate resulted in every current league leader picking up a division win to either remain atop the standings or propel themselves into it.
Your league leaders after six weeks of the season:
Niagara-Orleans League: #2 Newfane (3-0)
CCAA I: #3 Falconer (4-0)
CCAA II: #4 Gowanda (3-0)
ECIC I: #3 Clarence (3-0)
Msgr. Martin: #1 St. Francis (2-0), HM St. Joe’s (2-0)
If you saw the Thursday morning scoreboard, you know there wasn’t a ton of ‘surprises’ during the week, with one exception. A shoutout is in order for the West Seneca/Depew squad in taking down their second ranked league foe on the road this season with a 48-29 victory over #7 Jamestown. The Warhawks won eight bouts to Jamestown’s five in a #NOFORFEITS special, pinning in all eight of those wins to go to 2-0 on the road in ECIC I. WS/D ends week six sitting at 2-2 in ECIC I and 6-5 overall this season. Consider that they are doing this without a single returning Section VI place winner on the roster as well. Two words: GOOD COACHING. A big shoutout to head coach Dave Recor and staff.
The highlight event of the weekend throughout the entire state was of course the 21st Eastern States Classic put on by the Friends of Section IX Wrestling but held outside of Section IX territory for the first time. Over 40 WNY athletes travelled to the Capital Region to compete in the tournament. Top seeded Willy Wortkoetter captured the 285-pound title leading St. Francis to the team title in DOMINANT fashion, outscoring defending team champion Minisink Valley (IX) 146.5 to 99.5-points. Wortkoetter was one of six Red Raiders to place at the tournament.
Wortkoetter // Pataky
Also capturing an Eastern States title was Iroquois standout junior Michaela Thomas, who dominated the girls’ 165-pound bracket with three pins to claim gold.
Photo courtesy of Mike Thomas
A quick Friday milestone – Wilson senior Jacob Stephenson picked up his 100th career pin while competing at Eastern States. 100 pins is an incredible achievement. According to Wilson head coach Mike Carlo, Jacob has 140 career wins, twenty-one of which are forfeits. Meaning, 100 out of his 119 head to head wins have resulted in pins…whoa.
Stephenson // Pataky
A little tidbit for y’all – I ran into my far bigger and more well known basketball counterpart ‘Centercourt’ Chad, owner of theviewfromcentercourt.com, on Friday at the WNY Athletics global headquarters who brought up Jacob and how dominant he’s been in recent seasons. Yes, even the local basketball expert has taken notice!
The host Griffins won the annual Springville Duals on Saturday going 6-0. In the final round of the tournament, SGI took down Honorable Mention ranked Orchard Park, 38-34, sealed by Aiden Morris’s pin at 138-pounds in the final bout. Participation has been key to Springville’s success in recent seasons as the Griffins again feature a full lineup in 2024-2025 and reached the double digit win mark on Saturday for the 4th consecutive season. Springville was also a 46-27 winner over HM Fredonia on Saturday winning eights weights, all for team bonus points, including a stretch run of five straight pins from 152-215-pounds.
Springville Duals final standings:
1st – Springville 6-0
2nd – Orchard Park 5-1
3rd (tie) – Maryvale 3-3
3rd (tie) – Fredonia 3-3
3rd (tie) – Wilson 3-3
6th – East Aurora/Holland 1-5
7th – Olean/Allegany-Limestone 0-6
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Kenmore West hosted the first all-girls dual tournament of the season on Saturday for a seven-team round robin featuring WNY’s top ranked Lockport, #8 Orchard Park, #9 Iroquois, #10 Kenmore, Barker/Royalton-Hartland, Frewsburg, and Salamanca. The Lions cruised to the team title winning all six duals by at least twenty points. Going unbeaten on the day for Lockport were Gabriella Gelnett, Jamiela-Khai Johnson, Emma Penna, Bella Andes, Ava Bragg, and Khamya’J Maxwell. Barker/Royalton-Hartland claimed the ‘upset’ of the day narrowly edging #8 Orchard Park, 24-23, while the Quakers earned quality wins for their resume over Kenmore and Iroquois.
Kenmore Girls’ Duals final standings:
1. Lockport 6-0
2. Orchard Park 4-2
3. Kenmore 4-2
4. Iroquois 3-3
5. Barker/Royalton-Hartland 3-3
6. Frewsburg 1-5
7. Salamanca 0-6
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Chautauqua Lake was the highest placing WNY team at Falconer’s 24th Annual Patrick Morales Memorial Tournament on Friday and Saturday led by lone champion heavyweight Mason Maring. Ten top-6 place winners helped the Eagles to accumulate 226.5-points while the host Golden Falcons finished 3rd with 142.5-points. The Morales Tournament featured plenty of head to head results that could become important factors for sectional championship seeding. For example, the 101-pound final had Randolph’s Kamren Anderson take down CL’s Chase Shirley in the title match, 11-6, an important result for two wrestlers that could/should be in the mix for sectional honors in Section VI Division II next month. Although these wrestlers won’t meet in the postseason (different divisions), Miles Torres’s (Southwestern) high quality win over returning NYS tournament qualifier Zach Little (Jamestown) in the 108-pound final should net Torres important points for postseason considerations.
At 145, 3-seed Mohammad Noor from Cheektowaga earned two dominant victories before a big 11-6 decision over Iroquois’s 2-seed and returning Section VI 3rd place winner Brady Wilkinson in the semifinal. Given that Noor isn’t a returning postseason placer, and depending on how the rest of the season unfolds, a win like this for Noor could be quite disruptive in the sectional seeding, especially given that these wrestlers from Class B schools won’t meet in the Class B tournament (because there is none this year). However, the ECIC Championships is still an upcoming head to head opportunity.
Also of particular importance – Cole Bloomquist’s (Jamestown) 3-1 decision over returning state qualifier Evan Braunscheidel (Hamburg) for 3rd place at 170-pounds could have a significant impact on sectional championship seeding given both wrestlers could be competing for Section VI large school honors. Just as important was Brody Fry’s (Medina) 6-5 decision win over Falconer’s Patrick Braley at 190-pounds in the semifinals. These two wrestlers should very much be in the mix for the Section VI small school title in February. At 215-pounds, Pioneer’s Chris Howatt earned an 8-5 ultimate tie breaker to defeat Southwestern’s Brayden Potter in the semifinal…another noteworthy head to head for future considerations.
24th Annual Patrick Morales Memorial Tournament WNY champions:
101: Kamren Anderson (Randolph)
108: Miles Torres (Southwestern)
116: Reece Senske (Medina)
145: Mohammad Noor (Cheektowaga)
190: Brody Fry (Medina)
285: Mason Maring (Chautauqua Lake)
Top-10 team scores:
1. Corry, PA 308.5
2. Chautauqua Lake 226.5
3. Falconer 142.5
4. Central Clarion, PA 133
5-tie Jamestown 126.5
5-tie Pioneer 126.5
7. Hamburg 104
8. Iroquois 79
9. Eisenhower, PA 77
10. Bradford, PA 64
Thirty-six WNY boys and seven girls traveled east to the 21st Eastern States Classic on Friday and Saturday near Clifton Park. After a full day of wrestling on Friday for day one of the boys’ competition, eleven WNY athletes reached the quarterfinals in their respective brackets by evening, with seven more staying alive in the wrestlebacks to reach day two.
By the conclusion of the quarterfinals on Saturday, five athletes ensured podium finishes by advancing to the semifinals in Clarence’s AJ Didas (145) and St. Francis’s Griffin LaPlante (160), Tavio Hoose (190), Zach Caldwell (215), and Wortkoetter. Meanwhile in the consolations, Frontier’s Mike Welsh (285) and St. Francis’s Tanner Catrabone (101), Cullen Edwards (116), and Rory White (152) all earned crucial wins in the blood round to guarantee top-6 Eastern States place finishes.
Ultimately reaching the title matches were the two top seeds – LaPlante and Wortkoetter. LaPlante dominated the bracket on the way to the final with four straight technical falls before meeting Brentwood’s (XI) Jason Kwaak in the 160-pound final. This would be a rematch of the 2024 152-pound Eastern States final in which Griffin was a 5-1 decision winner over the fellow two-time NYS place winner. This time however, Kwaak earned the 10-5 decision win in matchup of two of New York’s top scholastic athletes.
At heavyweight, Wortkoetter earned four pins on the way to the title match before meeting Carthage’s (III) Kamdyn Dorchester, a fellow returning NYS place winner and large school title hopeful. An escape early in the third period for Willy was the only point scored in the bout as he would hold on to win 1-0 for the Eastern States title.
Raiders freshman Tanner Catrabone had an outstanding tournament claiming 3rd at 101-pounds. Tanner posted a 7-1 record and concluded his tournament with a high quality 5-3 decision over Dansville/Wayland-Cohocton’s (V) top seeded and returning NYS place winner Wyatt Sartori in the bronze match. Catrabone avenged his only loss from the tournament’s Round of 16 with a 7-4 decision over Hauppauge’s (XI) Trevor Patrovich in the consolation semifinal.
Catrabone // Pataky
Frontier senior returning state placer Mike Welsh avenged a sudden victory loss in the quarterfinals to North Kingstown, RI’s 2024 RIIL state champion Kaz Morosetti with his own three point overtime win, 4-1, in the 3rd place match. Mike went 6-1 over the two day tournament picking up three pins in those wins.
Clarence’s Didas continued his impressive senior campaign with another noteworthy performace over the weekend posting a 5-2 record in Clifton Park. Didas reached the semifinal with an impressive 15-7 win over fellow returning NYS place winner Leo Mongiello from Section XI’s Sayville in the quarterfinal to guarantee a podium finish.
A year after trailing Minisink in the final team standings at Eastern States by 13.5-points, the Red Raiders would go on to win by nearly fifty in the 2025 edition of the event which is considered one of the best in-season high school tournaments in the north east.
21st Eastern States Classic WNY place winners:
285: Willy Wortkoetter (St. Francis) – CHAMPION
160: Griffin LaPlante (St. Francis) – 2nd place
101: Tanner Catrabone (St. Francis) – 3rd place
285: Mike Welsh (Frontier) – 3rd place
116: Cullen Edwards (St. Francis) – 4th place
215: Zach Caldwell (St. Francis) – 4th place
145: AJ Didas (Clarence) – 5th place
152: Rory White (St. Francis) – 7th place
Seven Section VI athletes competed in the girls’ division at Eastern States with three wrestlers ultimately reaching the podium.
Iroquois’s state title hopeful Michaela Thomas dominated the 16-pound bracket as the 2-seed in the weight class, going 3-0 with three pins to remain unbeaten on the season.
Clarence’s Ryann Berner claimed 3rd at 185-pounds using a first period pin to secure bronze in the weight class. Finally, Niagara Wheatfield’s Emma Greene wrestled to a 4th place finish at 114-pounds securing placement with a pin in the consolation blood round.
Also competing at Eastern States were Clarences’ Coco Munther (94), Newfane’s Alexa Doxey (138), and Wheatfield’s Gabby Barone (120) and Neveah Senik (126).
In Elmira, the Niagara Wheatfield girls continued to roll with another team tournament title at the Southern Tier Memorial at the LECOM Events Center. Despite no individual champions, nine top-7 place winners helped the Falcons to accumulate 138.5-points, just outpacing Section III power Homer’s 132.
138-pound runner-up Emma Ponzi and 3rd place winners Lily Pieczonka (107) and Miley Geschwender (145) paced the Falcons with top-3 podium finishes each. Jezell Allen (5th, 126), Emma Beckles (5th, 132), Isabella Torres (5th, 185), Mackenzie Sweeney (6th, 126), Sumya Syed (7th, 107), and Selene Torres (7th, 235) all reached the podium for Wheatfield as well.
Submitted photo
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