Both the Oneida and Vernon Verona Sherrill wrestling teams managed season-opening wins against Tri-Valley League foes
before meeting head-to-head this Wednesday night.
In the Indians’ case, it proved tougher, but it never trailed in last Wednesday night’s meet against New Hartford and posted a 42-23 victory over the Spartans at the start of a three-way meet also involving Mohawk.
They started the meet at 189 pounds, but Oneida head coach Jim Dilorio decided to move Carl Finch up to 215 to face Pat Parker. The move paid off, as Finch pinned Parker in 1:23 and Oneida was on its way.
Nick Hopkins had the next key win, at 112 pounds, blanking Brandon Delmonte in a tough 2-0 decision, and the two sides continued to trade wins as Joe Casella (125 pounds) emerged to pin Trey Lohr in 1:20, and Matt Fisher (135 pounds) claimed a forfeit.
Oneida was down, 23-21, but it won by claiming each of the last four matches, two by forfeits to Connor Lomanco (152 pounds) and Jake Straczuk (160 pounds).
Lon Palmer began the late surge, at 145 pounds, keeping the Spartans’ Chris Broccoli off the board in a 4-0 shutout. Tyler Miller closed out the meet at 171 pounds by winning over Marshal Cominski due to injury default.
In a complete turnaround, though, Oneida lost to Mohawk 48-19, only getting three wins on the mat. Casella pinned D.J. Orillo in 2:25, while Fisher earned a 9-3 decision over Kyle LeBarge and Miller blanked Travis Herringshaw 9-0. Hopkins won with a forfeit.
As this went on, VVS had ripped Camden 51-15 in its season opener.
Dylan Kavanaugh, the 2009 Section III Division II champion at 96 pounds, moved up to 112 pounds and beat Natalia McCormick 12-1, and Joe Tiller (130 pounds) got a crucial three points by edging Tom Confer 9-8.
VVS won each of the matches in the five highest weight classes. Sean Ervin (160 pounds) took just 44 seconds to pin Kevin Davis, and Kasey Proper (275 pounds) finished off Dennis Hilts in 59 seconds.
Kyle Reader, at 215 pounds, claimed a forfeit, with Alex Mieczkowski (171 pounds) claiming a 17-2 technical fall over Tony Sanganetti and Nick Mieczkowski (189 pounds) pinning Seth Woodworth in 1:48.
Nate Walts, at 140 pounds, pinned Travis Mettot in the final seconds of the match, while Jim Simpkins (145 pounds) held off Jake Mayden 4-2. Alex Gilbert (135 pounds) also had a forfeit.
After a narrow 32-31 defeat to Canastota (they tied 31-31, but the Raiders won seven of 13 matches to get the criteria point), the Red Devils recovered in a big way, sweeping to victory in Saturday’s Morrisville-Eaton Dual Meet.
In the key match, VVS beat Cazenovia by that same 32-31 margin (without the criteria point), which came after the Red Devils blanked Cooperstown 88-0 and before wins over East Syracuse-Minoa (59-17) and host Morrisville-Eaton (50-27).
Against the Lakers, Tiller started at 125 pounds by blanking Carson Clabeaux 7-0, and Gilbert got a crucial three points when he held off Billy Bigsby 15-14. VVS won every match from 160 to 285 pounds thanks to Josh Parkhurst, the Mieczkowskis, Reader and Brian Ervin, while Kavanaugh clinched the match by shutting out 112-pound opponent Ryan Cook 8-0.
As this went on, Oneida went to the Hornets Nest Duals at Fayetteville-Manlius and also prevailed, going 5-0 as Steve Ellsworth snagged Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.
In order, the Indians took out Solvay 47-12, beat Auburn 44-30, toppled the hosts from F-M 40-21, then beat Solvay/Westhill 45-21 and Mount Markham 42-24 to complete the sweep.
The Oneida-VVS wrestling showdown will be followed by more tournaments this Saturday, as Oneida goes to Herkimer’s inaugural event and VVS attends the Ed Wadas Tournament in Whitesboro.