Dual meet and tournament results and notes for the week of Monday, Dec. 4th – Saturday, Dec. 9th, 2023.
Cover photo courtesy of Brian LaPlante
Monday, Dec. 4th
Lackawanna 54 – Lafayette/Buffalo Public Schools 24
Lafayette/BPS visited the Steelers for their first dual meet as an organized team, but Lackawanna got the victory winning eight of ten head to head matches and receiving one forfeit. Lafayette entered a wrestler at all but one weight.
Tuesday, Dec. 5th
The Eagles get a ranked win in a league crossover on opening night between both returning CCAA divisional champion teams. CL entered a full thirteen man lineup and won 11 of 13 weights, four by pin and earned three majors and a tech fall.
Eden 43 – Maryvale 30
In the Raiders’ first night back in their own gym Coach Page & Co. get an ECIC III win over the Flyers. A year after joining forces with Hamburg out of necessity, the Raiders were able to get their participation back up and separate from the host Bulldogs. Too often in this sport, we see high school teams ‘merge’ and rehab for numbers but then never separate. Such was never the case for the proud Raiders Wrestling program.
Eden entered a wrestler at all but three weights including FOUR DellaPenta cousins, two of which earned forfeits while two earned pins. The Raiders won six of eight head to head matches and tallied four total pins to start 1-0 in ECIC III.
Williamsville South 35 – Starpoint 30
Besides a double forfeit at 101-pounds, South entered a wrestler at every weight and received a crucial forfeit at 170, the only one of the dual, to defeat the 2x defending league champion in an ECIC II showdown on Main Street. The Billies won six of eleven head to head matches and pinned in three of them while picking up critical major’s in two more wins. Keep an eye on the Spartans’ Sean McDonald and Coen Freundschuh this season.
Barker/Royalton-Hartland 39 – Salamanca 18
Wednesday, Dec. 6th
The Falcons win a WNY top-10 large school battle at home to kick off the Niagara Frontier League schedule, winning nine weights against the Vikings including a number of forfeits. Check out the lower weight crew for GI who won 101-124 led by Dylan Castiglia – last names like Randle, Daghestani, and Massaro…sound familiar?
The Eagles get their second win over a CCAA II ranked opponent this week. Chautauqua Lake visits Fredonia next week for their CCAA I opener on Tuesday.
#2 Southwestern 60 – Dunkirk 9
The Trojans are off to a 2-0 start in CCAA I and are the first to double digit wins in WNY this season at a perfect 10-0 after two weeks of wrestling. Both Tavio and Neves Hoose each claimed their 100th career victories in this dual.
#4 St. Joe’s 65 – Canisius 12
The Marauders pin in all but one of their seven head to head wins (the other was a tech fall) and accept four forfeits to cruise past the Crusaders in each teams’ first MMHSAA dual of the season.
#6 North Tonawanda 54 – Lockport 15
One of week one’s ‘surprise’ teams in the Lumberjacks opened the NFL slate with a road win at Lockport on Wednesday. NT’s full lineup was just too much for the Lions to handle on top of winning five of seven head to head matches. Keep an eye on Lockport’s Liam Whalen this season. He finished 3rd in Section VI at 172-pounds last season only behind a graduated state place winner and a returning two-time state qualifier.
NO FORFEITS! The Raiders were ranked in the top-10 of the first dual ranking of the season last week for a reason, despite not wrestling in week one. Jamestown cruised over the visiting Quakers for each team’s ECIC I opener with all 13-weights contested. Orchard Park claimed four wins – the two lightest and two heaviest weight classes – while Jamestown won nine straight matches from 116-190 and gathered four pins. The Raiders took little to no losses at graduation in 2023, so Coach Zwald and staff return an experienced group that could surprise some teams this year. Their middle weight crew especially of Connor Bush, Tyler Zwald, Aidan Senear, Jason Dembik, and Cole Bloomquist could cause some matchup problems for the opposition this season…
Frontier 36 – Clarence 27
The Falcons earned an ECIC I road win on Wednesday winning six of nine head to head matches and conceding two forfeits (but getting one back). Frontier earned four pins in those six matches, including a huge fall by Mike Welsh over returning state tournament qualifier Bryce Hawes at 285-pounds.
#7 Iroquois 53 – East Aurora/Holland 18
Both the Chiefs and Blue Devils dropped from ECIC II to III this season and the neighboring districts drew each other for the league opener. The teams each exchanged two forfeits and a double forfeit at 215. Iroquois collected six pins in their seven head to head wins including a pin from Trevor Barry at 285 for his 100th career victory.
#9 Niagara Falls 50 – Charter School for Applied Technologies 21
CSAT fielded a full lineup while Falls conceded one forfeit in both teams’ NFL opener. The Wolverines won nine of twelve contested matches (eight by pin) but the Eagles controlled the upper weights getting pins at 190 and 215 and a decision at 285.
Hamburg 58 – Cheektowaga 12
The Bulldogs fielded a full lineup on the road and collected four forfeits in both teams’ ECIC II league opener. Meanwhile, Hamburg earned seven head to head wins in the nine contested bouts, pinning in five of them. Senior Bulldog Sam Berti is putting together a nice season so far; he’s 9-0 in Hamburg’s nine duals to start the season.
Springville 41 – Gowanda 33
The Battle for Zoar Valley tipped in favor of the Griffins again. Springville visited Gowanda for their non-league dual and the squads combined for twelve contested matches where the Griffins accepted the night’s only forfeit at 116-pounds. Springville won seven head to head matches to the Panthers’ six. Both teams earned five pins so only two bouts didn’t end in falls. In those other two matches, the Griffins’ Aidan Towsley earned a critical tech fall while Adam Brown held Gowanda’s returning sectional place winner Michael Horth to a decision. Aiden Morris and Kai Kendall sealed the match for Springville at 131 and 138-pounds, respectively, with back to back pins.
#2 St. Francis 47 – Gow School 6
#3 Williamsville North/East 66 – West Seneca/Depew 6
#3 Falconer/Cassadaga Valley 65 – Olean/Allegany-Limestone 12
#5 Amherst 70 – Lake Shore 0
Kenmore 49 – Lewiston-Porter 24
Holley/Kendall (V) 48 – Albion 24
Thursday, Dec. 7th
The Spartans and Red Raiders squared off for a top-3 non-league dual as part of UB’s Mayhem on the Mainstage event on Thursday before the Bulls took on Michigan State. Williamsville accepted three forfeits and looked impressive in five head to head wins, two of them from Hussein Zenki at 190 and Nicholas Rodriguez at 124 coming up big. At 160-pounds, Cam Catrabone was a 5-0 decision winner over Griffin LaPlante in battle of two of the best in New York State.
Cam Catrabone vs. Griffin LaPlante // Mayhem on the Mainstage
Cheektowaga 38 – Fredonia 31
A full lineup for Fredonia wasn’t enough to defeat the Warriors on the road for a non-league dual. The teams combined for eleven contested bouts, seven of which were won by Cheektowaga with five pins. Mohammad Noor sealed the dual in the final bout for the Warriors with a tech fall at 138-pounds.
Medina 42 – Williamsville South 20
Only eight matches were contested in this non-league dual that has turned into an annual rivalry match.
Alexander (V) 57 – Alden 12
The Bulldogs traveled down Route 20 to nearby Alexander for their very first dual meet in their first season back as an organized standalone team. Alden entered nine wrestlers in the match and contested thirteen exhibition matches with the Trojans. Alden hosts former partner Akron for a dual on December 18th.
Tonawanda 40 – Lackawanna 30
The Warriors get the home ECIC III win in both teams’ league opener. Out of the nine contested bouts Tonawanda won four of them. The Warriors entered a wrestler at all but one weight, accepting three forfeits from the Steelers.
Saturday, Dec. 9th
Olean/Allegany-Limestone 52 – Salamanca 18
Friday, Dec. 8th – Saturday, Dec. 9th
STWOA Kickoff Classic @ Jamestown Community College
The Southern Tier Wrestling Officials Association tournament was once one of the most grueling individual regular season competitions in upstate New York…the 2023 event was reminiscent of those past events.
Cullen Edwards (108), Rory White (145), Griffin LaPlante (152), and Gage LaPlante (170) all captured first place finishes for St. Francis who trailed both Chautauqua Lake and Canisteo-Greenwood (V) going into the final round. A 2nd place finish by Zach Caldwell and a 3rd place finish by Conner Miller, both at 190, and each earning a win over a returning state finalist also helped to propel the Red Raiders to the STWOA team title. St. Francis outscored Chautauqua Lake 191 to 190.5 in the final team standings with only ten wrestlers entered in the tournament. All four of the Raiders’ champions defeated Section V wrestlers in their respective finals, three of which were crucial wins over Canisteo-Greenwood wrestlers.
Rory White (13-0) had an outstanding tournament performance as the 5-seed at 145, defeating three NYS tournament qualifiers including a state placer, pinning two of them in the quarters and semifinals, before taking down Honeoye Falls-Lima’s (V) Waylan Winseman, 1-0, in the final. Griffin LaPlante earned four pins in the championships bracket before an impressive 11-2 major decision victory over C-G’s two-time state tournament place winner Colton Havens in the final. Gage LaPlante showed why he is a force at 170 with four pins including two over returning state place winners, one of which was in the title match over C-G’s Beau Zeh, for the only pin in the championship matches.
Chautauqua Lake was led by champions Jordan Joslyn (138) and Ison Shirley (285), runner-up Mason Maring (215), and 3rd place winner Gavin Burchinowski (116) as the team’s top-3 place winners. Southwestern creeped into 3rd place in the team standings by the end of the finals matches, outscoring C-G 177.5 to 175.5 points. Sophomores Carmine Calimeri (131) and Tavio Hoose (190) claimed titles for the Trojans while Adrian Torres (101) and Neves Hoose (170) earned critical 3rd place finishes. Neves may have sealed the 3rd place finish for Southwestern as he defeated returning state placer John Watson from Chautauqua Lake, 8-1, to take 3rd at 170-pounds.
Other WNY STWOA champions included Jaron Barrientos (116) from Lewiston-Porter, Cam Catrabone (152) from Williamsville North/East, and Matt Trim (215) from Maple Grove. Catrabone was named tournament MOW. Returning state placer Trevor DellaPenta from Eden wrestled to a 2nd place at 124 behind another returning all-state wrestler. Also wrestling to a runner-up finish was Lewiston-Porter’s Israel Walker at 131-pounds. Walker is new to L-P this year but should be a name to keep an eye on through the rest of this season. Also of note for the Lancers, senior Caden Barrientos took 3rd at 124-pounds and claimed his 150th career victory during the tournament.
2023 STWOA Kickoff Classic Champions
Photo courtesy of Jeff Pataky
Phoenix Scramble @ Phoenix HS (III)
Grand Island traveled into Section III territory to mix things up at the annual round robin tournament hosted by ‘Mean’ Gene Mills and the Firebirds. Zak Massaro (116) and Dylan Castiglia (124) each claimed 2nd place for the Vikings while Deni Daghestani (6th, 101), Cole Randle (8th, 101), George Wololszyn (8th, 215), Zachary Bridenbaker (9th, 145), and Giovanni Vanacore (10th, 131) all finished top-10 in their weights.
Saturday, Dec. 9th
Jon Vesper Memorial Duals @ Clarence
WNY #5 large school team Amherst cruised to the team title in Clarence to cap off a 6-0 dual meet record this week. Mustafa Natiq, Joe Magnano, Zak Saeed, and Killian Simonson all went unbeaten for the Tigers on Saturday. The host Red Devils claimed 2nd in the final standings led by junior AJ Didas who was named the tournament MOW and senior Joey Keller who was named the Jon Vesper Memorial Tournament Clarence team MOW. Keller is off to a 14-0 start this season with 13 pins(!). A Tonawanda team that went 3-6 overall last season has already exceeded its 2022-2023 win total with a 4-2 dual record just in week two of this season(!).
Final team standings:
1. Amherst 5-0
2. Clarence 4-1
3. Tonawanda 3-2
4. Alexander (V) 2-3
5. Lackawanna 1-4
6. Williamsville South 0-5
Amherst Tigers - Jon Vesper Memorial Duals team champion
Photo shared by @AmherstAmbush on X
18th Annual Cheektowaga Warrior Duals
The annual Cheektowaga Duals did not disappoint again as a couple of NYS big school heavyweights duked it out for the team title on Saturday. Section V powerhouse Brockport took down WNY #1 large school Niagara Wheatfield (4-1), 33-28, for the team title, winning the dual in the very last bout. Both the Blue Devils and Falcons are NYS dual meet championship hopefuls...perhaps we could see part two in Syracuse in January.
#4 St. Joe’s was the next highest finishing WNY team with a 3-2 dual record falling only Wheatfield, 49-15, and Section V’s Webster-Schroeder in their crossover dual. Hamburg followed with a 2-2 record led by Sam Berti and Noah Leavell, with Lancaster (1-3), West Seneca (1-4), and Cheektowaga (0-5) rounding out the team place finishes.
Union Concrete Pioneer Duals
Pioneer’s annual dual tournament was a little light on participation this year as it was a one day event with four teams competing. Section V powerhouse Hilton captured the team title going 3-0 followed by Newfane (2-1), Pioneer (1-2), and Orchard Park (0-3). The always exciting Panthers vs. Panthers match didn’t disappoint again as #4 Newfane defeated #5 Pioneer 32-31 in the final bout of the dual courtesy of a pin by 7th grader Jaxson Tocco at 101-pounds. Newfane’s Aidan Gillings was named the tournament’s light weight MOW.
56th Annual Penfield Hunter Holiday Wrestling Tournament
Frontier and Lake Shore represented Section VI at Penfield. The Falcons were led to a 6th place team finish by runner-up placements from Balin Ramella at 124-pounds and Mike Welsh at 285. Trey Abrams claimed 3rd at 116 and Devid Sebring wrestled to 4th at 215 for Frontier as well. Welsh pinned three straight opponents including a fellow state ranked wrestler in the semifinal, but fell to a returning state qualifier out of Section III’s Sherburne-Earlville in the heavyweight finale. Lake Shore's Christopher Grey wrestled to a 4th place finish at 138-pounds.
In the girls’ tournament, two WNY wrestlers captured first place in Lake Shore’s Alexiya Thuman and Frontier’s Avery White. Thuman technical falled her quarterfinal opponent before earning pins in the semifinal and 1st place match to capture the 132-pound title. White dominated as well going 5-0 on the day with five pins to win the 138-pound Penfield girls’ title.
Jarvis Memorial Tournament @ Athens Area HS, PA
Falconer/Cassadaga Valley represented WNY again at the annual Jarvis tournament in Pennsylvania, about two and a half hours from Falconer and just over the border from Waverly, NY. Falconer entered eleven wrestlers in the event and were led by 114-pound champion Dylan Newman who continued his undefeated start to the 2023-2024 season. Six wrestlers placed top-6 in their weights to land Falconer a 6th place team finish. Evan Newman (107) and Gabe Lundmark (121) had runner-up place finishes for F/CV.
North Tonawanda Ladyjack Tournament
The third Ladyjack varsity all-girls tournament was the biggest so far with 125 participants, up from 68 in 2022. The Niagara Wheatfield girls’ team led the tournament with 21 entries followed by Chautauqua Lake with 18 and Dunkirk with 16. Chautauqua Lake led the field with three individual champions as well.
Three wrestlers in NT's Hannah McCarley, West Seneca's Christina Evans, and Gow School's Shea Simon each collected their third Ladyjack Tournament titles while four more earned their second titles at this event.
2023 Ladyjack Tournament champions:
94-pounds: Louisa Martin (St. Mary's) – 2x champion
100: Meyah Aponte (Fredonia)
107: Brenna McCarley (North Tonawanda) – 2x champion
114: Hannah McCarley (North Tonawanda) – 3x champion
120: McKella Hodkin (Fredonia)
126: Noli Paddock (Chautauqua Lake)
132: Mia Smith (Chautauqua Lake)
138: Nevaeh Senik (Niagara Wheatfied)
145: Sophia Gervasio (Chautauqua Lake) – 2x champion
152: Christina Evans (West Seneca) – 3x champion
165: Michaela Thomas (Iroquois) – 2x champion
185: Ava Bragg (Lockport)
235: Alexis Durdon (Windsor-IV)
285: Shea Simon (Gow School) – 3x champion
Fred Large Memorial Tournament @ Lyndonville HS (V)
Section V small school Wayne captured the Fred Large team title and nine WNY area athletes claimed titles at Lyndonville’s annual individual bracketed event. Niagara Falls took second in the team standings behind five finalists and two individual champions in Cameron Crumpler at 101 and Reginald McCreary at 138. Kenmore was third overall in the team standings led by 145-pound champion Sawyer Dickinson. Wilson wrestled to a fourth place finish in the team score led by individual champions Victor Cusatis (131), Jacob Stephenson (160), and Hamza Merrick (285). The trio of returning state tournament qualifier Lakemen all pinned their way to their titles going a combined 12-0 with twelves pins on the day. Cusatis alone accounted for five of those pins. Medina finished three points behind Wilson to round out the top-5 teams led by tournament champions Reece Senske (108) and Brody Fry (215). Barker/Royalton-Hartland’s Lucas Kimber claimed the 116-pound Fred Large title to help land the Raiders a 7th place team finish in Lyndonville.
The Fred Large tournament also featured a girls’ event where four WNY area athletes captured 1st place finishes. CSAT’s Hadia Natiq (116), Chuencheewa Shu (124), and Tabarek Aldulaimi (152) all claimed tournament titles for the Eagles while Kenmore’s Mackenzie Vetter-Higgins won the 170-pound Fred Large bracket. Shu, Aldulaimi, and Vetter-Higgins all pinned their opponents in their first place matches while Natiq had a dominating performance with a major decision 15-2 for the title.
2nd WNY wrestling dual team ranking – following results from Mon. 12/4-Sat. 12/9
Division I
1. Niagara Wheatfield Falcons
2. Williamsville North/East Spartans
3. St. Francis Red Raiders
4. St. Joe’s Marauders
5. Amherst Tigers
6. North Tonawanda Lumberjacks
7. Jamestown Red Raiders
8. Grand Island Vikings
9. Niagara Falls Wolverines
10. Orchard Park Quakers
Division II
1. Chautauqua Lake Eagles
2. Southwestern Trojans
3. Falconer/Cassadaga Valley Golden Cougars
4. Newfane Panthers
5. Pioneer Panthers
6. Wilson Lakemen
7. Iroquois Chiefs
8. Portville Panthers
9. Randolph Cardinals
10. Maple Grove Red Dragons
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