With just one more win here or there, the Solvay/Westhill wrestling team might have emerged victorious from the West End Duals meet it hosted last Saturday afternoon.
However, West Genesee would have the final say, rallying to beat the Bearcats 34-29 at the close of a meet where these teams would dominate the rest of the field.
To start with, Solvay/Westhill beat Bishop Ludden 52-6, after which it routed Pulaski 59-9. In the third round, the Bearcats handled LaFayette 61-9, and a 42-28 win over Fabius-Pompey set up the final battle with West Genesee.
For its part, the Wildcats had sailed past Fabius-Pompey (53-15), LaFayette (67-4), Bishop Ludden (76-6) and Pulaski (62-9) with just as much ease, meaning that the only drama of the entire day lie in the championship match.
Racing out of the gate, the Bearcats won the first five matches. Zach Anderson, in the 152-pound opener, beat Sean Clary 7-3, before Mike Warne (160 pounds) earned a pin over Jose Cruz 39 seconds into the second period.
Two more pins followed, as Cirro Nicoletti-Watson (171 pounds) took just 52 seconds to finish off Luke Mersfelder and Ryan Van Patten(189 pounds) got his pin over Dillon Goldman in 2:26. Tom Bradley, at 215 pounds, beat Peter Schoeneck 9-2, and Solvay/Westhill had a 24-0 lead.
Now the match turned to WG’s strong points, and it would close the gap to 24-21. After Ian Coolican (103 pounds) pinned J.T. Romagnoli in 1:23, the Wildcats got what proved to be three huge points when, in overtime of the 112-pound match, Connor Grome got a takedown to beat Matt Berkery 7-5.
Following forfeits to the Wildcats’ Jason Heggelke (119 pounds) and Jason Fitch (125 pounds), the Bearcats would build the margin to 29-21 when Tyler Avery, at 130 pounds, pinned Jon Fetterolf in 1:10.
Just one more win, and Solvay/Westhill would wrap up the meet, but Mitch Anthony could not pull it off at 135 pounds, falling to WG’s Erik Krohl 8-3. Down 29-25, WG seized the lead when, in the 140-pound match, Mike Young pinned Peter Buczakowski 39 seconds into the second period.
Still, the entire meet rode on the 145-pound finale between Heitham Wady and Ian Rogers. Wady would be in charge throughout the match, never letting Rogers do too much in a 10-0 shutout as the Wildcats finished on top.
Solvay/Westhill had plenty of bright moments in last Tuesday’s meet against OHSL Liberty division leader Hannibal.
Still, the Warriors beat the Bearcats 53-20, using four consecutive pins to open the match and put the overall contest out of reach.
Only in the fifth match, at 215 pounds, did Solvay/Westhill get on the board, as Bradley pinned Kyle Deloff in 90 seconds.
Two matches later, at 103 pounds, Romagnoli earned a pin over Matt Duval 35 seconds into the second period. Avery got a technical fall over Josh Sheldon, while Anthony beat Adam Watson 9-3.
A day later, WG took control of its meet against Auburn last Wednesday with a series of first-period pins that marked a 46-18 victory over the Maroons.
Wady set the mark for the shortest time on the mat when he pinned Auburn’s Sam Gagliardi in 17 seconds.
Schoeneck needed just 36 seconds to pin Matt Mattes, while Fetterolf finished off Tom Campagnola in 57 seconds. Fitch pinned his 125-pound opponent, James Martari, in 1:27.
In a series of second-period pins, Clary beat Mike Henn in 2:46, Coolican (112 pounds) got past Joe Giacone in 2:52 and Nick Marco, at 171 pounds, took 3:04 to pin Dominic Colella.
Shane Austin (103 pounds) earned the other points in a forfeit as, in close decisions, Heggelke (119 pounds) fell to Lucas Netti 10-8 and Young took a 6-4 loss to Neil Halpin.
Jordan-Elbridge, in its last action of 2008, faced Marcellus last Thursday night and took a 47-27 loss to the Mustangs.
The Eagles dominated the lower weight classes. Colin Ennulate, at 103 pounds, pinned Keith McIntosh in 1:08, while Preston Bishop (119 pounds) took 2:37 to pin Garrett Crysler and Mike Nguyen, at 112 pounds, topped Matt Simms 9-3.
Matt McWethy worked quickly at 171 pounds, earning a pin over Rob Balluchi in 54 seconds, just as Jesse Dexter (140 pounds) pinned Brian Barrett in 1:11.