When the latest state high school wrestling Division I (large school) rankings were released last week, West Genesee was in the no. 20 spot. It doesn’t seem that gaudy – until the circumstances are considered.
This was the first time in decades the Wildcats had any kind of state ranking, and it was on the heels of a season where it climbed to the top of the Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division after years of watching other big schools claim league titles.
And to top it off, WG will host this Saturday’s Section III Class AA championship meet, with a real chance to claim the title, if the work it has done all season is any indication.
Fresh off a run to the semifinals in the Jan. 20 sectional dual meet, WG took on Central Square last Wednesday night and continued to do well, defeating the Redhawks 54-23.
Of the six highest weight classes, the Wildcats won five of them, and the lone defeat was Randell Ouimet (215 pounds) falling to Central Square’s Jordan Pone 1-0.
Victor Elias, at 160 pounds, took 88 seconds to pin Devin Flower, with Cole Wade (182 pounds) pinning Joe Davis in 3:32 as Griffin Sasso (170 pounds) claimed a forfeit.
A tough 195-pound battle saw Chandler McAvan work past Jamie Battaglia 8-6, but at 285 pounds Shawn Sakran wasn’t on the mat too long, pinning Chris Neverette in 36 seconds.
All told, WG won 10 of 15 bouts. At 106 pounds, Nate Wade pinned Gabe Rupracht late in the first period as Devin Earl (138 pounds) took 98 seconds to finish off Casey Brennan and Brady Ryan (145 pounds) claimed a 9-8 thriller over Andy Nicholson. Vincent Calabria (120 pounds) and Ejarian Burgin (126 pounds) claimed forfeits.
That same night, Marcellus and Jordan-Elbridge went head-to-head, and the Mustangs got the best of the battle, beating the Eagles 60-18 by claiming the first eight bouts on the card.
What started at 126 with Tim Okhman edging Derek Quigley 6-3 continued with a forfeit to Matt Norris at 132 and then six straight Mustangs wins on the mat, three of them by a single point.
Jack Santiarello (138 pounds) edged Marion Quigley 9-8 and later in the run Robbie Seeley won at 160, holding off Landry LaFleur 7-6 as Trevor Widrick had a similar experience at170, needing all six minutes to claim a 10-9 thriller over Tyler Fietta.
Cahal Donovan’s second-period pin of Steve Tripp at 145 paled next to Riley LaFrance (152 pounds) pinning Cole Mullen in 26 seconds At 182, Tom Kinsella pinned Jared Mills in 3:27.
J-E finally got on the board at 195 when Ryan Rivenburgh pinned Wilvon McKee near the end of the second period. From there, Jared Lawrence (220) and Josh Roberts (285) claimed forfeits for the Eagles, but so did three Mustangs wrestlers as Carl Santiarello (106) pinned Jessi Tripp for six more Marcellus points.
From there, Marcellus and J-E both would go to Cato-Meridian for last Saturday’s OHSL Class C/D Tournament, where the Mustangs were fourth out of 11 teams with 186 points and the Eagles finished with 76.5 points.
Three Marcellus wrestlers prevailed, including Donovan, who at 132 pinned Christian Daley (Skaneateles) in 3:23 in the title bout. LaFrance, at 145, won with a second-period pin over Onondaga’s Dalton Currie as Ryan Moses, at 106, put away Phoenix’s Jeff Copper with a 21-4 technical fall.
On that same day, West Genesee had a successful showing in the Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Duals, going 4-1. The Wildcats’ lone defeat was a 40-36 decision to Homer, the next-to-last bout decisive as Cole Wade lost, 3-2, to the Trojans’ Paul Morse.
Otherwise, WG handled the competition, topping Chittenango 63-18, routing Syracuse 77-12, holding off Chenango Forks 45-36 and defeating host VVS 45-37. Elias clinched the win over Forks with a 40-second pin of Brad Needles as, against VVS, wins by Elias, Sasso and Wade produced a rally from a 37-30 deficit, Wade closing it out with a third-period pin of Jevit Cumber.
