Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
A hectic opening week and weekend of wrestling in week one of the 2024-2025 high school wrestling season quickly morphed into an even more chaotic week two. Twenty-four ‘ranked’ (WNY large and small school top-10 and honorable mention) teams were in action with weeknight duals from Tuesday, Dec. 10 to Thursday, Dec. 12 to include five duals between ranked teams (via Power Ranking Two). After the dust settled Thursday evening, nineteen out of twenty ranked squads were victorious against unranked or lower ranked squads, with the lone ‘upset’ coming by way of a 39-34 ECIC II victory for Starpoint over honorable mentioned league foe Williamsville South on Wednesday at home.
An important night of league duals was, thankfully, safe from more adverse weather that came on Thursday and Friday through the southern half of the region that again complicated the weights and logistics for almost every team in WNY.
WNY wrestlers went on to compete in nearly a dozen different events this past weekend from Erie, PA to Syracuse with impressive and crucial results pouring in from all corners of the region. Most notably, dual meet tournaments at Clarence, Cheektowaga, and Pioneer provided a better look at where our teams stand amongst one another, while individual events in Lyndonville (V), Jamestown, and North Tonawanda gave us a better look at how wrestlers mixing it up within their weights could start to play out as the season progresses.
Luckily for me, I don’t think I owe anyone an ‘apology’ after a rather embarrassing omission leading into week one after the second week of competition, but if I do, you know where to find me.
On to the wrestling.
A sweeping night of league duals saw twenty-two teams secure a dual victory in the ‘league wins’ column on my master standings sheet including five ranked on ranked matches. In Sanborn, #2 Niagara Wheatfield secured a third straight Niagara Cup win with a 39-24 victory over #3 and archrival Niagara Falls to improve to 2-0 in the NFL. The Falcons secured eight wins in the eleven contested bouts including six in a row from 145 to 215-pounds. #4 North Tonawanda and Kenmore sit atop the league standings with Wheatfield at 2-0 after two weeks as well.
Elsewhere, #6 Frontier escaped #8 Jamestown in a #NOFORFEITS special in the ECIC I opener for both squads. Ali Hamideh was the hero for the Falcons breaking a 36-36 tie team score with a tech fall at 116-pounds to deliver a 41-36 win for Frontier. Also in ECIC I, #7 Lancaster survived a late push from HM Orchard Park when Wyatt Griffith earned a match sealing major decision at 124-pounds for the Legends in both teams’ league opener, another #NOFORFEITS special.
In small schools, #2 Falconer/Cassadaga Valley earned a 52-23 win over CCAA I rival #8 Portville/Cuba-Rushford while back up north #5 Wilson improved to 1-0 in the Niagara-Orleans standings with a crucial win over league rival #10 Barker/Royalton-Hartland on the road in an early matchup of unbeaten squads. After jumping out to a 27-0 lead, the Lakemen quickly saw that big lead disappear as B/R-H responded with five wins of their own to take a 29-27 lead. With only three weights left, Wyatt McGinnis (145-pounds) and Vic Cusatis (152) earned a consecutive pin and tech fall, respectively, to secure the win with one bout remaining as Wilson ultimately hung on, 38-35. Next up for the Lakemen: back to back home duals with Akron on Tuesday and a showdown with the ten-time defending league champion #3 Newfane Panthers on Wednesday.
Wrapping up the weeknight slate, a number of ranked teams cruised to league victories while others experienced some rather close scores. For example, defending ECIC II champion Amherst fell behind 14-0 to the new Williamsville East Flames on the road, but ultimately came back to win 39-27. In Yorkshire, #4 Pioneer held off a scrappy Lackawanna squad, 35-32, to secure their first ECIC III win of the season. Steelers head coach Abdulgawi Mohamed has Lackawanna off to a 6-2 start after two weeks with both losses coming only to top-10 small school ranked teams.
Besides the previously mentioned Falcons and Tigers, fellow defending league champion teams #1 Chautauqua Lake, #3 Newfane, #7 Iroquois, #9 Springville, HM Randolph, and HM Williamsville North all picked up conference wins on Wednesday.
As for the lone ‘upset’ of the midweek window, unranked Starpoint took down the HM Billies in a battle of the 5th and 6th place ECIC II teams from a year ago, winning seven matches to South’s six, including a big pin from Mason Class at 160-pounds that certainly affected the outcome of the dual, albeit only the second bout of the night.
Also on Wednesday, the first girls dual team results of the season were recorded as Sweet Home took down Orchard Park, 20-13, while Chautauqua Lake was a 45-20 winner over Dunkirk.
A busy week two weekend saw WNY wrestlers competing in a number of different places in various formatted tournaments for both boys and girls.
Starting with the only Friday& Saturday event of the weekend, the 37th Annual Southern Tier Wrestling Officials Association Holiday Classic at Jamestown CC saw the top team in NYS – St. Francis – run away with the team title by sixty-six points over the next highest placing team in Williamson, PA. The Red Raiders crowned champions in four of the heaviest five weights as Griffin LaPlante (160), Tavio Hoose (190), Zach Caldwell (215), and Willy Wortkoetter (285) all claimed STWOA titles.
At 124-pounds, four returning NYS tournament qualifiers from WNY matched up in the semifinals with both returning NYS 6th place finishers in Williamsville North’s Brayden Kellison-Neglia and St. Francis’s Cullen Edwards meeting up in the final. Trailing by one point, Kellison-Neglia secured a late third period takedown for a 12-10 decision win in perhaps the most exciting bout of the evening and was awarded Most Outstanding Wrestler honors for his efforts.
Newfane was the next highest placing WNY team in Jamestown, just barely eking past Falconer with 135-points to the Golden Cougars’ 134.5. Seniors and returning state place winners Aidan Gillings (145) and Ayden Buttery (152) each claimed STWOA titles for the Panthers with tech falls in their respective finals. Additionally, Gillings joined elite company as the 48th wrestler to achieve 200 career wins in WNY high school wrestling history over the weekend. Without a champion, Falconer still secured a 6th place finish 11.5-points ahead of CCAA I rival Chautauqua Lake who went without a finalist, suggesting solid team efforts over the grueling two-day event.
Photo courtesy of Michelle Gilbert/MaxPreps
Other WNY STWOA champions included Randolph’s Kamren Anderson (101-pounds), Lewiston-Porter’s Jaron Barrientos (116), and Southwestern’s Carmine Calimeri (131).
An important note for possible future reference, at 170-pounds, defending state finalist Jacob Stephenson from Wilson met Bolivar-Richburg’s (V) Tayvn MacDonell, a returning 4th place finisher in NYS, in the STWOA final, with MacDonell earning a 12-5 decision. This result may come into play later this season as a critical data point between two state title hopeful athletes.
Just over the line into Section V territory, seven Section VI squads sent wrestlers to the annual Fred Large Memorial Tournament in Lyndonville. Niagara Falls crowned three champions on the way to a runner-up team finish, as did Medina who landed 4th in the final team standings.
WNY Fred Large Memorial champions:
101: Stryker Sander (Albion)
108: Cameron Crumpler (Niagara Falls)
116: Reece Senske (Medina)
131: Luke Duffina (Medina)
138: Kayden Feagin (Niagara Falls)
152: Reginald McCreary (Niagara Falls)
160: Austin Seefeldt (Medina)
At Pioneer’s Union Concrete Duals and Cheektowaga’s 20th Annual Warrior Duals, Section V squads occupied at least both the top and runner-up positions at both events.
In Yorkshire, Rochester area powerhouse Hilton captured the team title with a 6-0 performance followed by Section V small school Letchworth at 5-1. Gowanda ended up as the highest placing WNY squad at 4-2 in the final team standings claiming wins over East Aurora/Holland, St. Francis-B, Starpoint, and the host Panthers, 42-35. Continuing an impressive week, Starpoint earned a 39-32 victory over the #4 Panthers on Saturday as well as a victory over HM Orchard Park, tallying three ‘ranked’ wins for the Spartans in week two alone.
The final standings at Pioneer:
1. Hilton 6-0
2. Letchworth 5-1
3. Gowanda 4-2
4. Starpoint 4-2
5. Orchard Park 3-3
6. Pioneer 1-5
6. St. Francis-B 1-5
8. East Aurora/Holland 0-6
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In Cheektowaga, Section V heavy hitters Webster-Schroeder and Brockport duked it out for the team title while fellow Rochester area program Spencerport captured 3rd in the final standings with a 39-34 win over Niagara Wheatfield. Earlier in the day, Wheatfield fell to the strong Brockport squad, 51-19, albeit conceding twelve points with forfeits at 215 and 285-pounds. Also in action at Cheektowaga were #9 Hamburg (3-2, 5th place), Lafayette/Buffalo Public Schools, West Seneca/Depew, Franklinville, Salamanca, and of course the host Chargers.
Clarence’s 17th Annual Jon Vesper Memorial Wrestling Tournament named in honor of the late coach of the Red Devils saw the home team capture the team title with a 5-0 record on the day. The Devils posted wins over Akron, HM Amherst, #10 Barker/Royalton-Hartland, Williamsville East, and HM Williamsville South to become the first team to surpass the double digit wins mark in WNY this season, now 11-2 through two weeks of action. Despite taking a loss to #6 Frontier, Amherst ultimately landed a 2nd place finish at 3-2 followed by B/R-H also at 3-2. Unranked Akron earned a 34-30 win over the Falcons on Saturday despite conceding two forfeits. Despite the forfeits, participation at Akron has been. steadily recovering under second year head coach Adrian Ross, a great indication of a rising tide in northeastern Erie County.
Akron Tigers Wrestling coaches // Pataky
The final standings at Clarence:
1. Clarence 5-0
2. Amherst 3-2
3. Barker/Royalton-Hartland 3-2
Akron 2-3
Alexander (V) 3-2
Frontier 3-2
Williamsville South 1-4
Williamsville East 0-5
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Lightweight MOW: Lucas Kimber (B/R-H)
Middleweight MOW: Trevor Mueller (Clarence)
Heavyweight MOW: Mike Welsh (Frontier)
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North Tonawanda again hosted the premier early season girls’ event with the annual Ladyjack Wrestling Tournament, attended this year by over 170 athletes representing WNY as well as Section V and IV schools. The first all-freestyle edition of the event saw a number of returning NYSPHSAA Invitational qualifiers and place winners which suggests a field of athletes throughout the sport not only growing in participation but in competitiveness amongst one another as well. Keep in mind that while the 1.5% descent plan does NOT apply to girls, the two-pound post Christmas growth allowance DOES. Thus, results of the Ladyjack Tournament, in some instances, may or may not affect post-season decisions coming down the stretch…
Chautauqua Lake freshman Noli Paddock was awarded the tournament MOW on the way to capturing the 132-pound Ladyjack title. Paddock, a returning Invitational place winner, earned three pins and two technical superiorties on Saturday for a perfect 5-0 day.
Out of the thirteen brackets at the tournament, ten were claimed by Section VI athletes, five of whom return this season with place finishes (*) from the second NYSPHSAA Invitational last winter.
WNY area 2024 Ladyjack Tournament champions:
120: Gabriella Barone (Niagara Wheatfield)*
126: Nevaeh Senik (Niagara Wheatfield)
132: Noli Paddock (Chautauqua Lake)*
138: Alexa Doxey (Newfane)*
145: Avery White (Frontier)*
152: Lilly Hyde (Chautauqua Lake)
165: Michaela Thomas (Iroquois)*
185: Kim Bauer (Fredonia)
235: Makayla Jimmerson (Fredonia)
285: Shea Simon (Gow School)
Besides the big five local tournaments this weekend, a handful of teams traveled a little farther than most to get competition.
Lancaster and Lake Shore both traveled to the east side of the greater Rochester area for the annual Penfield Hunter-Leone Tournament with each crowning one champion. 8th grader Noah Schaal claimed the Penfield 108-pound title for the Legends to lead a group of five top-4 place winners landing Lancaster a 8th place finish in the final team scoring. For Lake Shore, Brennan Rice landed a 4th place finish at 170-pounds while Alexiya Thuman claimed her third Penfield title in the 138-pound girls’ division going 3-1 on the day but dominating in her three wins, all by pin.
Farther east, Grand Island made the annual trip to Phoenix HS in Section III for the annual Phoenix Scramble round-robin style tournament. The Vikings placed eight wrestlers in their respective brackets led by 4th place finisher Deni Daghestani at 108-pounds
Closer to home, Kenmore represented Section VI at the 51st Annual Batavia Christmas Wrestling Tournament placing 5th in the final team standings while placing seven wrestlers in the top-6 of their brackets. Junior Sawyer Dickinson was the highest placing DevilDog, settling for a runner-up finish at 160-pounds.
Finally, St. Joe’s made the annual trip west on the Thruway to the rugged Cathedral Prep Rambler Duals in Erie, PA. The Marauders posted a 2-4 dual record against some very staunch squads from Ohio and northeastern Pennsylvania.
The week three slate gets underway with an unusually busy Tuesday night on Dec. 17 followed right up by another massive night of league duals on Wednesday. Over the weekend, expect to see most WNY teams competing at SUNY Niagara in the annual Linda Knuutila Memorial Tournament with the boys division wrestling Friday and Saturday and the girls division picking up on Saturday.
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