*Cover photo courtesy of Randolph Cardinal Wrestling*
Dual meet results and notes for the week of Tuesday, December 20th to Thursday, December 22nd, 2022.
**Tuesday, 12/20**
**HM St. Francis 38 – #9 Williamsville North/East 30**
The Raiders won seven matches to North’s six while forfeiting three weights and accepting one back in an inter-association dual in Amherst. St. Francis won six of the night’s nine head to head matches earning three pins in those bouts courtesy of Rory White, Tucker Jobe, and Connor Miller. With the dual tied 30-30 and only two weight classes left, brothers Sean and James Gordon earned a 4-0 decision and then a match sealing technical fall at 126 and 132-pounds, respectively, for the Raiders’ 7th win this season.
**#3 Southwestern 58 – Salamanca 15**
The Trojans cruised to their third CCAA I win of the season and sit at 3-0 in the league and 6-2 overall at the break.
**Brockport (V) 51 – #4 Lancaster 22**
The Legends took a Tuesday night road trip behind Section V lines to battle the always tough Blue Devils. Joey Freiberg, Carter Tadusz, Evan Stencel, and Tommy Carlsen were the lone winners for Lancaster as Brockport won nine of the weight classes. So far this season, the Legends have taken on three top-13 NYS ranked Section V large schools and a top-15 Sec. V small school as well.
**Williamsville South 42 – Akron 35**
The Tigers fielded a wrestler at all but one weight class, but the Billies won seven weight classes, pinning in all six of their head to head wins. The non-league scheduling for South has and will continue to provide some very interesting and competitive results for the Billies. After the break they will host Canisius before traveling to North for inner-district non-league dual.
**Wednesday, 12/21**
**#4 Newfane 42 – #6 Wilson 29**
The Panthers and Lakemen kicked off what turned out to be a wild night in the Niagara-Orleans League (and WNY as a whole, as it turns out) with a big league showdown in Pantherland. A packed gym that was well attended by both fanbases got a dual that lived up to the hype. The Panthers jumped out to a 24-0 lead to start the dual, but Wilson overtook them, 26-24, after nine weights. Ultimately, JJ Lucinski (102), Rian Czaja (110), and Brayden Kellison-Neglia (118) earned a pin and two forfeits, respectively, to put the dual out of reach and extend the N-O win streak for Newfane to 42 consecutive matches. Newfane’s Richie Doxey (172) and Khalal Golden (215) did nice jobs in their matches to help cut team points that Wilson needed as well. Newfane (2-0 in N-O) will finish the league slate with Akron, Medina, and Barker/Royalton-Hartland in January.
**#4 Lancaster 37 – HM Jamestown 30**
The Legends had to quickly regroup on Wednesday for a ranked home ECIC I dual after a tough road match at Brockport the night before. Lancaster received four forfeits and gave the Red Raiders one, but Jamestown won five of the eight head to head matches. Lancaster was held to one pin in the dual that Jakob Zimmerman earned at 215. It couldn’t have come at a more crucial time though as with only three weights left, the Legends led 25-24 knowing they would be getting a forfeit at 285 but giving one at 102. Jamestown collected two pins and team bonus points with a major and tech fall as well. Lancaster improved to 2-0 in ECIC I with a big test at Williamsville North on January 4th coming up. Despite the 0-2 league mark, the Raiders are still battling tough and continue to show improvement.
**#9 Williamsville North/East 48 – #7 Frontier 24**
A night after taking a home loss to St. Francis, the Spartans had a chance to defend the home gym again with a big win over another ranked ECIC I rival. North won nine weights while accepting two forfeits and giving one while earning five pins in the dual. The Spartans went on a run from 118 to 160 winning each of the seven weights in that stretch. At 3-0 in the division, Williamsville is in sole possession of first place at the break. North won’t have much time to savor this one as Lancaster comes to town on January 4th.
**#7 Randolph 39 – #9 Portville 27**
The Cardinals came out on top of the defending league champions at home in a crucial CCAA II showdown on Wednesday. Randolph fielded a wrestler at all but one weight while accepting three forfeits as the teams combined for nine head to head matches, not bad for two teams with sub 250 BEDS numbers. The Panthers did edge the Cardinals with five head to head wins to four, but Randolph earned three pins to Portville’s two while holding the Panthers to three decisions worth only nine total team points. At 2-0 in the league, Randolph controls their own destiny for the conference title with three league duals left on the schedule.
**#5 Pioneer 39 – HM St. Francis 19**
The Panthers took a trip to Athol Springs for a very intriguing showdown with a Raiders team fresh off a big win on Tuesday night. A couple of quality individual matches like Howatt v. Coughlin, S. Gordon v. Opferbeck, Landphair v. Savage, and Heckathorn v. Miller all ended in decisions while the rest of the head to heads turned out for bonus points. A win over the rising Raiders might result in some sneaky valuable seeding points for Pioneer for the Section VI Duals in January.
**#3 Niagara Falls 49 – Grand Island 18**
The Wolverines improve to 3-0 in the NFL and 6-1 overall at the break. Next up is a home test against a scrappy North Tonawanda squad on January 4th. GI’s Dylan Castiglia (11-3) earned a high quality win at 118-pounds for the Vikings against the Falls.
**Medina 42 – Albion 32**
Only seven bouts were contested in this dual, but that doesn’t mean the way in which it finished couldn’t be exciting. Down 32-24 with only three weights left, the Mustangs’ heavyweight crew of Conor Crandall (189), Breydin McEwen-Miller (215), and Sawyer Kingsbury (285) earned three consecutive pins to storm to a 42-32 lead and final score to improve to 2-0 in Niagara-Orleans League duals.
**Kenmore 48 – Lockport 27**
A battle tested ‘DevilDogs’ squad that started the NFL slate with #2 Niagara Wheatfield and then #3 Falls notched a W for the win column at home on Wednesday. However, the dual started off with the Lions jumping out to a 21-0 lead from 285 to 118-pounds. Kenmore responded with three pins and a forfeit for a 24-21 lead. A Lockport pin at 152 briefly gave the lead back to the Lions, but Kenmore went on to earn six team points in each of the last four weights. All six of the DevilDog’s head to head wins were pins, as were three of Lockport’s four. Despite the 1-2 mark in the league, coach Bill Morello’s Lions are showing good participation and battling in these duals. Likewise, Kenmore under Dave Wilcox has incredible participation this season. They’ll look to try to even their league record at Grand Island on Jan. 4 before a big showdown on Jan. 11 at home against NT.
**#6 Amherst 57 – Williamsville South 18**
The Tigers take care of business in this ECIC II battle of Main Street schools to improve to 3-0 in the league before the break. Amherst secured six pins in their seven head to head wins and accepted three forfeits. At 0-3 in the league, South has already wrestled the three top teams in the division (all of whom are 3-0 in ECIC II and ranked in the top six of large school power rankings). Thus far, the Billies have already earned a number of non-league wins and will have an opportunity to do so in the second half of the season with a mix of more non-league duals as well as some league matches that could present better odds for victory. Also, this South team could very well be one of the youngest, if not the youngest in WNY.
**Barker/Royalton-Hartland 42 – Akron 33** The Tigers and their full lineup collected four forfeits from the Rams and received two, but it wasn’t quite enough this time as B/R-H won five of the seven head to head bouts, all of which resulted in pins including Luke Fay’s pin at 132 to put the match out of reach with one bout remaining.
**#10 Springville 44 – Cheektowaga 18**
The Griffins get their second ECIC III win to improve to 2-0 in the league to keep pace with Pioneer. SGI will pay a visit to Yorkshire to meet the #5 Panthers right after the new year on Jan. 4.
**#5 Hamburg/Eden 54 – Sweet Home 21**
The BullRaiders improve to 3-0 in ECIC II with a road win at Sweet Home on Wednesday. Hamburg pinned in all six of their head to head wins and collected three forfeits. However, SH picked up three head to head wins all in a row from 145 to 160 anchored by returning NYS tournament qualifier Cam Millender on the back end. H/E should be an interesting team to keep an eye on at the sectional dual meet tournament.
**Frewsburg 39 – Maple Grove 36**
At 2-0 in CCAA II, the Bears have already matched their league wins total from the last two seasons combined. The Bears earned four forfeits to the Dragons’ three which proved to be the difference maker as all three MG head to head winners pinned. Frewsburg’s Drake Beckstrom earned a critical decision, 2-1, at 118 where any loss would’ve resulted in Maple Grove winning the dual.
**#1 Starpoint 63 – East Aurora/Holland 6**
**#1 Chautauqua Lake 60 – Olean/Allegany-Limestone 18**
The T’Birds are 3-0 in CCAA I. A big league showdown at #3 Southwestern is coming up on Jan. 11, after the sectional duals.
**HM North Tonawanda 66 – CSAT 12**
The Lumberjacks are 2-1 in the NFL and 7-3 overall at the break.
**#10 Orchard Park 69 – West Seneca/Depew 4**
**Fredonia 51 – Dunkirk 24**
**Gowanda 54 – Frankilnville 18**
Lewiston-Porter @ #2 Niagara Wheatfield
Tonawanda @ Lackawanna
**Thursday 12/22**
**#6 Wilson 45 – Lyndonville (V) 27**
A night after suffering a tough league loss at Newfane, the Lakemen responded with a home win over the Tigers. The team’s 11th victory of the season breaks the previous record of 10 team dual wins set in 2018. Wilson will travel to St. Mary’s and Medina for matches before the Section VI Duals on Jan. 7th.
**Port Allegany (PA) 33 – #2 Falconer/Cassadaga Valley 31**
**NO FORFEITS**. Falconer’s annual matchup vs. a PA squad provided a full slate of wrestling on Thursday in Port Allegany, PA. Six Golden Cougars earned individual victories, three by way of pin. Falconer senior Brodie Little collected his 100th win in the contest as well. Falconer is back in the Dick Vincent Duals at Letchworth on 12/28 and 12/29 where league rival and current #1 Chautauqua Lake is also scheduled to attend.
**#7 Randolph 54 – Fredonia 17**
The Cardinals picked up a road CCAA crossover win on Thursday to end the first half undefeated at 3-0. Randolph collected three forfeits in the dual and also pinned in all six of their head to head wins.
**East Aurora/Holland 36 – Akron 30**
The Blue Devils got a nice team win on Thursday to end the week. Six wrestlers won individual head to head matches with all six gaining crucial pins as the team did have to concede two forfeits.