In the last weekend of regular season action, area teams competed in local tournaments while the NYS and CHSAA dual meet tournaments went on simultaneously in Syracuse and Staten Island, respectively.
NYSPHSAA Dual Meet Championships @ SRC Arena, Syracuse (Saturday, 1/26/2019)
Niagara Wheatfield and Falconer both went 2-1 and made the state semifinals. It was Wheatfield’s first trip to the NYS ‘Duals’ and Falconer’s second. The Falcons took down Section IV champion Chenango Forks and Section I champion Fox Lane before falling to eventual NYS runner-up Hilton (V). Falconer defeated Section II champion Warrensburg and Section VII champion Saranac but were upended in the semifinal by Section III champion Central Valley Academy. CVA was the runner-up to now two-time NYS champion Mt. Sinai (XI). Olean went 0-2 on the day but wrestled well in losses to Section III champion Fulton and Section V runner-up Spencerport. This was Olean’s first NYS Duals appearance.
Ken-Ton Invitational Wrestling Tournament @ Kenmore West (Saturday, 1/26/2019)
Iroquois won its second tournament in the team’s last two appearances and crowned three champions out of seven total Chief finalists. Donovan Bukaczeski was the 106-pound champion and had a handful of quality wins on the day. Top seeded Jake Vergien normally wrestles 138 but bounced up a weight and won the 145-pound tournament title for the Chiefs. Cory Day wrestled less than two minutes and thirty seconds against his opponents to win the 170-pound Ken-Ton title. Niagara Falls had a solid team performance and was second in the team scoring by less than ten points. Four Wolverines won individual titles. Michael Snowden was an overtime winner in the final to take the 120-pound title. Willie McDougald faced off against Tonawanda’s Zach Braddell who went up a weight for the second time this season against the Wolverine state champ. McDougald got the better of the Warrior standout in the 138-pound final. Also winning Ken-Ton titles for Falls were Maurice Seawright at 152-pounds and Jojo Dixon. Dixon had an outstanding day using three pins and a championship match major decision to win the 160-pound title. Pioneer was third in the team scoring and had two champions and five total finalists. Mike Rigerman remained undefeated with a tournament championship at 220-pounds. Fellow Panther Trevor Smith dominated the field on the way to the 285-pound Ken-Ton title. Orchard Park was fourth in the team standings and had a pair of champions. Blake Harlock avenged an ECIC tournament loss to beat Tonawanda’s Jason Frazer in the 182-pound final. Mike Pataky continued his breakout season with a Ken-Ton tournament championship at 195-pounds. Hamburg finished just behind Orchard Park and had a champion in Ryan Forrest at 132-pounds. East Aurora had two champions in brothers Nolan and Alex Skowronski. Nolan won the 99-pound Ken-Ton title while Alex was the 113-pound champion. Starpoint’s Sam Stoelting earned three pins and a decision to win the tough 126-pound bracket.
Cattaraugus-Little Valley Invitational Wrestling Tournament (Saturday, 1/26/2019)
Ten wrestlers placed in the top four of their weights and three Hillbillies won individual titles as Fredonia cruised to the team title by almost fifty points over the runner-up squad. Giovani Russo and Dalton Gardner won titles at 132 and 138-pounds, respectively. Cedric Kristan was the third Fredonia champion at 170-pounds. Maple Grove was the fifth place team and had a champion in Luke Tomlinson at 120-pounds. The Red Dragons also had a pair of runners-up. Eden finished in sixth place and had three total finalists. Giovanni Schifano earned a 4-0 decision over Cattaraugus-Little Valley’s Sam Grey in the 152-pound final which may very well have been a preview of this weekend’s Class C/D final and maybe even the Section VI Div. II championship final. Randolph had a pair of champions in Jacob Zachar at 220 and Mason Pagett at 285-pounds. Zachar avenged two losses this season against Fredonia standout Jake Skinner in the Cattaraugus tournament final, winning by decision 12-6. North Tonawanda’s Tyler Bartolomei earned four fast pins and a technical fall to earn the 113-pound tournament title. Franklinvillle had one champion in Nolan Palmatier at 126-pounds. Palmatier moved into the Panther program’s top ten wins list on the day as well.
Gary Gross Memorial Wrestling Tournament @ Medina (Saturday, 1/26/2019)
Section V teams took all of the first five spots in the team standings but Section VI athletes won six individual titles. Albion was the highest placing Section VI squad outpacing the five other WNY teams. Cody Wilson was the lone Albion champion at 285-pounds. Medina had a pair of champions in Rashawn Bloom at 99-pounds and lower weights Outstanding Wrestler Colby Petrie at 126-pounds. Barker/Royalton-Hartland finished only three and a half points behind Medina and had one champion in Andrew Schafer at 160-pounds. Schafer was named the tournaments’ upper weight Outstanding Wrestler. Lewiston-Porter crowned one champion in Trent Reid at 113-pounds. Lockport crowned one champion as well in Brandon Larkin at 182-pounds.
Catholic High School Athletic Association Dual Meet Wrestling Championships @ Monsignor Farrell HS, Staten Island (Saturday, 1/26 – Sunday, 1/27/2019)
The Monsignor Martin High School Athletic Association was well represented at the CHSAA ‘Duals’ sending four teams for the first time in league history. Last year Canisius made the trip for the first time, and this year it was St. Mary’s of Lancaster making the program’s first appearance at the CHSAA Duals. Both St. Francis and St. Joe’s went 7-2 in duals. St. Francis lost close matches to Chaminade 43-32 and to one of New York state’s top high school teams overall, St. Anthony’s, by a score of 43-34. St. Joe’s had close losses to only Monsignor Farrell, 45-42, and St. Anthony’s, 44-33. Marauder sophomore Ronnie Jones earned a huge victory when he pinned St. Anthony’s defending CHSAA champion Christian Hansen in their dual. Canisius went 6-3 at the Duals, a huge improvement over last year’s 1-8 finish. St. Mary’s made their first trip to the CHSAA Duals and also won their first dual by beating Holy Trinity 39-33.
