Even outside of the OHSL Liberty division, the Cazenovia wrestling team finds itself good enough to tackle any serious challenge head-on — and often prevail.
Such was the case last Tuesday night, when the Lakers went to Whitesboro and used two different runs to push itself to a 41-18 victory over the Warriors.
Even as Teddy Kugler (119 pounds) took a narrow 9-8 defeat to Forest Lowe in the opener, it was plotting the first run — which began shortly after.
Alex Petroff (125 pounds) claimed a forfeit, but Adam Lockwood did take the mat at 130 pounds, shutting out Mike Ferguson 7-0. With a single escape, Noah Shephard won a tough 135-pound match over Josh Evanciew 1-0.
Whitesboro hit its strong point in the next four matches, winning them all, sparked by Mike Tuttle beating the Lakers’ Darren Perry in a 2-1 overtime decision at 140 pounds.
Trailing 18-12 with five matches to go, Cazenovia would not lose again, though it helped that Cody Foster (189 pounds) and Ryan Cook (103 pounds) both claimed forfeits.
Sam Taylor, at 171 pounds, began the streak by dominating David Olney in an 18-1 technical fall. Clancy Kemp (215 pounds) showed up and pinned Jim Conlan in 56 seconds, while Jake Wilson (112 pounds) closed out the match by pinning Rob DiDominico 46 seconds into the third period.
From there, Cazenovia tested itself in a big way during Saturday’s Spartan Duals at South Jefferson High School in Adams.
Overall, the Lakers went 2-3, falling at first to long-time power Fulton 43-15 and then taking a 41-16 loss to the host Spartans, plus a 44-21 defeat to Pittsford. Cazenovia finally got in the win column by hammering Watertown 60-11, then surprised another traditional powerhouse, Mexico, in a 34-25 match to close the tournament.
Pittsford, as it turned out, would win the event, going 5-0 and knocking off Fulton 31-25 in the second round.
Other than a Monday bout with LaFayette, the Lakers are off until the Feb. 3 match with Jordan-Elbridge that could clinch the OHSL Liberty regular-season crown.
