As much as the Canastota wrestling team brought some excitement to last Tuesday’s meet against Sherburne-Earlville, it wished the ending was better.
Leading by a point with one match to go, the Raiders could not get that last win, instead falling to the Marauders by a score of 34-29.
S-E had the first spurt, going up 9-0 as Schuyler Jayson (140 pounds) fell to Daniel Hicks 6-2, but Canastota answered with four wins in a row.
Jeremy Brodfuehrer (152 pounds) got it going when he beat Seth Mullanax 15-8. After Zach Zupan (160 pounds) claimed a forfeit Fred Sherman (171 pounds) took just 39 seconds to pin James Bennett and John Carver (189 pounds) earned a pin over Justin Coye in 1:35.
Now ahead 21-9, the Raiders got hurt when Sam Stagnitti, at 215 pounds, took a close 5-3 loss to Bradon Thorton, the first of three consecutive S-E wins that gave them a 24-21 lead.
Canastota stayed in it with a pair of major decisions. Dave Gallagher, at 119 pounds, beat Alec Sheddon 11-1, and when Tyler Sirota (130 pounds) pounded Derrick Murray 15-2, Canastota had a 29-28 lead.
It was up to Vincent Offute, in the final match at 135 pounds, to try and beat Derrick Ferris, but Ferris earned a pin over Offute late in the first period.
Going to Saturday’s Phoenix Dual Meet, the Raiders would have a 1-3 mark, including losses to the host Firebirds (63-13) and Greene (55-27), plus a 44-22 win over East Syracuse-Minoa.
In the Phoenix match, Sirota (named the team’s Most Outstanding Wrestler at this meet) beat Seth Allen 8-5, while Sam Farfaglia worked at 145 pounds to beat Jackson Capenos 14-3. Also, Carver needed 1:42 to pin Cody LaBrake. Zupan lost an 8-6 decision to Mark Crisafulli as Stagnitti fell to Aaron Webster 10-7.
After a week of holiday rest, Canastota gets back on the mat next Monday and Tuesday for the annual Oswego County Holiday Tournament at SUNY-Oswego’s Laker Hall, a past site of Section III championships.
