Canastota and Vernon Verona Sherrill’s wrestling teams got together Thursday night and engaged in the closest Section III meet of the season.
When 13 matches were done, each side had 31 points. But because the Raiders had won seven matches and the Red Devils six, Canastota earned the criteria point and pulled out a 32-31 win.
Both sides had been busy during the opening week – Canastota losing to Hannibal 32-25 on Tuesday, VVS routing Camden 52-15 on Wednesday.
None of that early work diluted the quality of this meet – and the Raiders made the initial move, claiming four of the first five matches.
Jeremy Brodfuehrer, at 152 pounds, got a crucial three points for Canastota in the opener, holding off Lane Frost in a 7-6 decision.
Sam Farfaglia (160 pounds) followed by blanking Shawn Ervin 8-0. Zach Zupan (189 pounds) and Sam Stagnitti (215 pounds) earned impressive points for Canastota – Zupan by pinning Nick Mieczkowski 20 seconds into the third period, Stagnitti by beating Kyle Reader 14-3.
Amid all this, VVS earned just one early win, as Alex Mieczkowski, at 171 pounds, held off Fred Sherman 8-6. But when the meet shifted to the lower weight classes, the Red Devils rallied.
Kasey Proper, at 103 pounds, pinned Zach Hannan in 2:41. Dylan Kavanaugh (112 pounds) followed with a pin of Rob Tyson in 1:40 and John Hudson (119 pounds) claimed a forfeit. Joe Tiller made it four straight VVS wins at 125 pounds, pinning Jordan Pannell in 48 seconds.
Canastota struck back when Dakota Tucker, at 130 pounds, pinned Alex Gilbert in the waning seconds of their match for six points and Brandon Durfee (135 pounds) earned a forfeit.
VVS then built its lead to 31-25 when Nathan Walts shut out 140-pound opponent Ray Walker. This left a daunting task for Canastota’s Schuyler Jayson in the 145-pound finale, as he had to pin Aaron Pritchard.
It looked like Pritchard would hang on long enough – but just 12 seconds before the match (and the meet) ended, Jayson got Pritchard’s shoulders on the mat for a fall, and the Raiders had pulled it out.
In Canastota’s meet against Hannibal, the Warriors prevailed by taking each of the six matches in the lower weight classes — two by pins in less than a minute, another through a forfeit.
Every Canastota point came from 140 pounds or higher, including two pins. Jayson, finished off Dustin Barbera at the end of the first period, while Sherman pinned Rob Burnett 34 seconds into the third period. Zupan doubled up on Josh Lewis 16-8 just before Stagnitti won over Steve Kingsley 11-5.
In two close decisions, Farfaglia held off Walter Foges 4-3, while Walker took his 145-pound match over Shawn Blais 9-7. Brodfuehrer fell to Hannibal’s Joel Kinville 7-6, while Durfee could not get on the board in a 5-0 defeat to Josh Sheldon.
To end this busy week, Canastota went to the Sandy Creek Dual Meet and fared quite well, going 4-1 as Zupan was named his team’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for the day.
The Raiders’ lone loss came to the host Comets, 48-24, as Zupan, Sherman and Stagnitti dominated the higher weight classes, but Sandy Creek handled everything else. Subsequently, Canastota beat Lowville 42-28 and also took out the likes of Carthage, South Lewis and Fabius-Pompey.
On Tuesday night, the Raiders visit Mohawk in advance of its Saturday appearance at the inaugural Herkimer Tournament, where 15 teams from across the section are invited.
