Cover photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky // All photos courtesy of Jeff Pataky
Photos contained within this article may not be used for republication unless authorized by WNY Athletics with prior written consent.
Williamsville North’s Brayden Kellison-Neglia, Clarence’s AJ Didas, and Frontier’s Mike Welsh all claimed Section VI individual titles on Sunday at SUNY Fredonia's Steele Hall in the 75th edition of the tournament which also serves as a qualifier for the NYSPHSAA federation championships.
All three wrestlers are the section’s only returning NYS place winners from the 2024 tournament. Kellison-Neglia is a defending 6th place winner in NYS, Didas a returning 8th place winner, and Welsh a returning 7th place winner after having reached the state tournament as the sectional runner-up in 2024.
The three returning state place winners will lead a group of twenty-six wrestlers representing Section VI large schools in Albany for the 61st NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships on Friday, Feb. 28 and Saturday, March 1 at MVP Arena in downtown Albany.
In total, eleven wrestlers will return to ‘states’ after Sunday’s championship finals while fifteen wrestlers will make their first appearances in Albany as either Section VI champions or runners-up. Nine wrestlers were crowned as first time Section VI champions on Sunday while only three wrestlers repeated as sectional champions. Niagara Wheatfield’s Eian Peterson captured his 3rd career Section VI title after having won in 2022 and 2023 and will make his 4th appearance at the state championships.
Twelve of the twenty-six large school qualifiers will graduate in the spring.
Niagara Wheatfield captured the team title amongst the combined field of Class AA and A categorized schools led by four state qualifiers and seven top-6 place winners. The Falcons outpaced runner-up Hamburg 144.5 to 133-points to claim the division tournament team title. North Tonawanda (128.5), Clarence (126), and Frontier (119.5) rounded out the top-5 teams by the conclusion of wrestling on Sunday night while Jamestown (6th, 95.5), Williamsville North (7th, 82.5), Kenmore (8th, 81), Orchard Park (9th, 76.5), and Niagara Falls (10th, 72.5) completed the top-10 teams.
Photo shared by Rick Sweney on Facebook
The Bulldogs advance the second most state qualifiers to Albany out of Section VI with three followed by five more teams with two qualifiers each.
ECIC member schools accounted for fifteen state qualifiers and nine individual champions to NFL member schools’ ten qualifiers and four champions.
The Section VI Division I and II Wrestling Championships and state qualifier will return to SUNY Fredonia in 2026.
101
Niagara Falls freshman Cam Crumpler captured the Section VI lightweight title in his second appearance in the final. Crumpler advanced to states in 2024 after falling in the sectional championship. As the top-seed in the bracket this weekend, Crumpler earned a quarter final pin before a technical fall in the semifinal. In the championship, Crumpler was a winner major decision, 16-6, over Williamsville North’s 2-seeded Parker Brenon who also advances to states for the first time for his runner-up finish.
Place winners:
1. Cam Crumpler – Niagara Falls
2. Parker Brenon – Williamsville North
3. Zach Didas – Clarence
4. Ray Glinsky – Orchard Park
5. Michael Ferullo – Orchard Park
6. Ramzan Qodirov – Sweet Home
108
Top seeded Starpoint junior Sean McDonald cruised through the bracket on Saturday and Sunday to repeat as the Section VI Division I 108-pound champion to earn automatic qualification back to the state tournament. McDonald earned a pin and a technical fall in the championship side of the bracket to reach the title match against 2-seeded Grand Island sophomore Cole Randle. After building a 9-0 lead in the second period, McDonald finished the match with a pin. Because Randle had already beaten 3rd place wrestler Zach Little from Jamestown, no true second place match was needed so Randle advances to the state championships in Albany as well.
Place winners:
1. Sean McDonald – Starpoint
2. Cole Randle – Grand Island
3. Zach Little – Jamestown
4. Jadiel Mercado – North Tonawanda
5. Easton McCall – Kenmore
6. Preston Arnold – Hamburg
116
The 116-pound Division I final saw a matchup of returning sectional top-5 placers from 2024 and was the first of five brackets on Sunday that were guaranteed to advance a wrestler to the state tournament for the first time. 5-seeeded junior Reverien Nshimirimana from McKinley High School wrestling as part of the Lafayette/Buffalo Public Schools team defeated the 4 and 1-seeds on the way to the title match to set up a showdown with 2-seeded Orchard Park sophomore Aiden Rodriguez in the final. Rodriguez would stop the upset minded Mack wrestler securing the win and the 116-pound Section VI title with a second period pin to become the third Section VI champion in the last six years from Orchard Park after the Quakers went fifteen years without one from 2005-2019. Nshimirimana is BPS’s second state qualifier in as many years after just starting the program in the 2023-2024 season.
Place winners
1. Aiden Rodriguez – Orchard Park
2. Reverien Nshimirimana – Lafayette/Buffalo Public Schools
3. Ali Hamideh – Frontier
4. Isaiah Harry – Lancaster
5. Caine Rumsey – Grand Island
6. Jacob Sweeney – Niagara Wheatfield
124
Top seeded Niagara Wheatfield senior Eian Peterson earned his third Section VI title in four years cruising to the 124-pound title on Sunday night. Peterson earned three pins in the championship rounds before a technical fall in the final over Kenmore sophomore Jake Giannantonio. 3-seeded Giannantonio upset 2-seeded Nick Melendez from Jamestown in the semifinal, 10-9, to reach the title match. After falling in the final, Giannantonio had to wrestle for true second place to defend his position against 5-seeded Hamburg sophomore Owen Braunscheidel where he did so successfully with a second period pin. Peterson will make his fourth trip to the state tournament looking to reach the podium in his final appearance in Albany.
Place winners:
1. Eian Peterson – Niagara Wheatfield
2. Jake Giannantonio – Kenmore
3. Owen Braunscheidel – Hamburg
4. Aaden Howard – Jamestown
5. Nick Melendez – Jamestown
6. Julian Quiros – Starpoint
131
The first final of the night to feature two returning NYS tournament qualifiers saw defending Section VI champion and NYS 6th place winner Brayden Kellison-Neglia defend his title to ensure a second straight trip to Albany. Kellison-Neglia dominated the top side of the bracket earning a pin in the opening round and technical falls in the quarter and semifinals to advance to the title match. Jamestown senior and returning state qualifier Tyler Zwald earned a pin before a crucial 10-2 major decision over the 2-seed Muntathar Abbas in the semifinal to advance to the final. In the final, after two minutes the match score was tied 4-4. After a scoreless second period the tie remained going into the third. A quick escape gave Kellison-Neglia a one point lead and a takedown only seconds later increased that lead to 8-4. A Zwald escape cut the lead to three but Kellison-Neglia was able to hold on for the win, 8-5, for his second title. Zwald defended his position with a 15-5 major decision over Amherst’s Moshin Ali in the true second place match to re-qualify for states.
Place winners:
1. Brayden Kellison-Neglia – Williamsville North
2. Tyler Zwald – Jamestown
3. Moshin Ali – Amherst
4. Muntathar Abbas – Niagara Wheatfield
5. Evan Dorsheimer – Orchard Park
6. Sami Saleh – Grand Island
138
Another wrestler was going to qualify for the state championships for the first time at 138-pounds. Amherst senior Quinlan Lyle missed qualifying for the sectional championships in 2024 but earned the top seed in 2025 on the way to an impressive performance to claim the 138-pound sectional title. ‘Q’ earned pins each of the first two rounds before a 15-3 major decision in the semifinal. In the title match, Lyle would meet fellow senior Kayden Feagin from Niagara Falls who as the 3-seed earned a big pin over 2-seeded Lancaster senior Ricky Andres in an impressive performance in the semifinal. In the title match, Lyle would go on to win by major decision, 15-4, racking up seven points in the third period alone for the statement win to become the Tigers’ first Section VI champion since 2020. Feagin will join Lyle in Albany for his first career appearance at states as well.
Place winners:
1. Quinlan Lyle – Amherst
2. Kayden Feagin – Niagara Falls
3. Ricky Andres – Lancaster
4. Jayden Aponte – North Tonawanda
5. Trey Abrams – Frontier
6. Dylan Scovazzo – Starpoint
145
One of the most anticipated championship finals of the tournament saw two returning NYS tournament qualifiers square off for the second year in a row as defending champion AJ Didas met a familiar foe in Wheatfield’s Garrett Chase in the title bout. Both wrestlers cruised to the final with three pins each in the championship rounds to set up a Section VI finals rematch. Didas earned the first points of the match with a takedown a minute into the first period taking a 3-1 lead into the second. An escape for Chase cut into the lead but another Didas takedown and subsequent escape by Chase made the score 6-3 going into the third. With choice in the final two minutes, Didas took bottom and remained there through the period as he would go on to win 6-3 to repeat as Section VI champion and ensure a third straight trip to states. Although without a sectional title on his resume, Chase will make a third straight trip to Albany as well looking to reach the podium for the first time.
Didas was also awarded as Division I's Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Place winners:
1. AJ Didas – Clarence
2. Garrett Chase – Niagara Wheatfield
3. Mykolas Matyjakowski – West Seneca/Depew
4. Kyle Pirone – Frontier
5. Michael Jackson – Lancaster
6. Jonathan Hans – Williamsville East
152
152 featured a consecutive final of Clarence and Niagara Wheatfield state qualifying wrestlers as top seeded junior Chase Richards met defending Section VI champion Trevor Mueller in the title match. As in the previous bracket, both wrestlers cruised to the final with dominating performances in the championship rounds, Richards with three pins and Mueller with two pins and an impressive technical fall over 3-seeded fellow freshman Reggie McCeary from Niagara Falls in the semifinal. A low scoring final saw only one point scored from a Richards escape early in the second period until nearly the end of the bout when he secured a takedown with only seconds remaining. After falling in the final the last two years Richards will advance to states for a third time but as a Section VI champion while Mueller will also compete in Albany again.
Place winners:
1. Chase Richards – Niagara Wheatfield
2. Trevor Mueller – Clarence
3. Reggie McCreary – Niagara Falls
4. Abduali Mukumov – Sweet Home
5. Elijah Deffenbaugh – Hamburg
6. Liam Andrews – Sweet Home
160
A first time sectional champion and state qualifier(s) would be awarded at 160-pounds as no such wrestlers returned with experience in Section VI large schools. Top seeded Kenmore West junior Sawyer Dickinson who placed top-4 in each of the last two sectional championships reached the title match with three pins on the top side of the bracket. Meeting him in the final was Wheatfield senior Dylan Pringle who reached the title match with a 4-1 decision win over Jamestown senior Cole Bloomquist in a 3 vs. 2-seed semifinal barn burner. In the all-NFL final Dickinson built a 4-2 lead in the first period. In the second, Pringle would escape and tack on a takedown to take the lead, 6-4. With choice in the third period, Dickinson chose down and escaped to cut into the lead, but another Pringle takedown with seventy-four seconds left in the bout ultimately gave him a 9-5 lead which would hold through the end. Pringle’s sectional title comes after having not placed in either of the last two tournaments. In the true second place match, a big second period in which Dickinson scored a reversal and a takedown led him to a 5-2 decision win to defend his place finish and qualification to the state championships.
Place winners:
1. Dylan Pringle – Niagara Wheatfield
2. Sawyer Dickinson – Kenmore
3. Cole Bloomquist – Jamestown
4. Keith Mixon – North Tonawanda
5. Zach Gibson – Williamsville East
6. Noah Saxer – Williamsville South
170
Defending sectional runner-up and state tournament qualifier Evan Braunscheidel dominated the 170-pound bracket on the way to his first sectional title. The Hamburg senior tech’d his first two opponents before earning a second period pin over the 5-seed in the semifinal to reach the title match for the third straight year. On the bottom side of the bracket, two-time sectional placer Ben Gombos earned two pins before gutting out a hard won 10-7 decision in the semifinal, breaking a 7-7 tie with a takedown early in the third period against Noth Tonawanda 3-seed Ilimdar Khasanov to advance to the final. In an all Town of Hamburg final, Braunscheidel was an impressive 12-1 major decision winner over his Frontier High School classmate to secure the 170-pound title. In the true second place match, Gombos held off Buffalo’s Joe Littlejohn with a five point third period to secure qualification to the state championships in Albany.
Place winners:
1. Evan Braunscheidel – Hamburg
2. Ben Gombos – Frontier
3. Joe Littlejohn – Lafayette/BPS
4. Ilimdar Khasanov – North Tonawanda
5. Matt Cox – Clarence
6. Drew Fletch – Williamsville North
190
Hamburg junior Noah Leavell made it back to back champions for the Bulldogs on the way to the 190-pound Section VI Division I title. 3-seeded Leavell took down 2-seeded Charles Fleming in the semifinal by a close 8-7 decision, earning an escape and a takedown late in the third period to overcome a 7-4 deficit to advance to the final. Top seeded North Tonawanda sophomore Jon Landen reached the final earning a 5-3 decision in the semifinal over Williamsville North’s Amari Libertone-Robinson to ensure a first time NYS qualifier would represent Section VI in the weight in Albany. After a wild first period, Leavell led 6-5 in the championship bout and would accumulate seven more points in the final four minutes to go on to win by decision, 13-6, for the sectional title and automatic qualification to states. Meanwhile, Landen would earn an early third period pin over Fleming to defend his runner-up finish and earn a spot in Albany.
Place winners:
1. Noah Leavell – Hamburg
2. Jon Landen – North Tonawanda
3. Charles Fleming – Clarence
4. Amari Libertone-Robinson – Williamsville North
5. Layth Qneis – Kenmore
6. Travis Rohloff – Williamsville South
215
The final bracket of the tournament to not feature a returning state tournament qualifier meant a wide open race for the 215-pound large school title. 2-seeded Hamburg sophomore Tristen Webb pinned his way to the final on the bottom side of the bracket while the 1, 4, and 5-seeds duked it out on the top side. The quarterfinals saw Lockport 4-seed Tyler Watkins meet West Seneca East’s Nathan Tirado where Tirado was a 12-5 decision winner to advance to the semifinal against top seeded Mohamed Abdullah from North Tonawanda. Trailing 6-0 mid-way through the second period, Tirado earned an escape and then a takedown right to near fall criteria as he would go on to secure the comeback pin and advance to the final. In the title bout, Tirado would use big second and third period scoring sequences capped off with a takedown with only thirty seconds remaining and trailing by one to take a two point lead up to the final whistle, hanging on to win by decision, 11-9. Tirado is East’s first Section VI champion since Danny Graham at 138-pounds in 2013. No true second place match was needed after the final meaning Hamburg will send wrestlers to Albany at three consecutive weights.
Place winners:
1. Nathan Tirado – West Seneca/Depew
2. Tristen Webb – Hamburg
3. Alan Hostettler – Frontier
4. Angelo Cuva – Williamsville East
5. Tyler Watkins – Lockport
6. Mohamed Abdullah – North Tonawanda
285
Defending NYS 7th place winner Mike Welsh secured the heavyweight sectional title on Sunday night with a dominating performance going 4-0 with four pins over the course of the tournament while also picking up his 100th career victory. Welsh’s victory in the title match put him at fifty wins on the season heading into states. Williamsville East’s 2-seed Max Smith also pinned his way to the final with three pins in less than a minute to secure a spot in the title bout. A second period pin for Welsh secured a Section VI title for his career resume and a second straight trip to Albany. Smith defended his runner-up finish with a four minute technical fall in the true second place to ensure a Flames representative in Albany in the teams’ first season back as an independent squad.
Place winners:
1. Mike Welsh – Frontier
2. Max Smith – Williamsville East
3. Presten Manzare – North Tonawanda
4. Kaius Mattoon – Clarence
5. Leo Haley – Hamburg
6. Peter Sheehan – Niagara Wheatfield
2024-2025 Section VI Division I Champions and state tournament qualifiers
Comments