Two local wrestlres – Cicero-North Syracuse’s Patrick Dyer and Liverpool’s Derek Eason – both took home titles from Saturday’s Section III Division I championship meet at Utica Memorial Auditorium, though it wouldn’t be easy for either of them.
Dyer, working as the top seed at 130 pounds, started out in dominant form, pinning Jack Howard (Fulton) in 1:37 in the quarterfinals, then taking out Nick LaFlair (Central Square) in 3:27 during the semifinal.
It was the title match, against Chittenango sophomore Wes Blanding, that would provide all the drama. They went through regulation and two overtime periods tied 2-2. Only when Dyer prevented Blanding from an escape in the third OT did he prevail 3-2.
Meanwhile, Eason worked his way through the 145-pound bracket by beating two West Genesee wrestlers, Erik Krohl (with a third-period pin) and Heitham Wady, the latter in a tough 3-1 semifinal.
In the title match against Fulton’s Marcus Earl, Eason appeared to be in control, nearly getting a second-period pin and leading 6-1. But in the last seconds, Earl achieved a reversal and near-fall – but Eason held on for a 6-5 win.
With those wins, Dyer (27-5) and Eason (30-2) both advanced to the Feb. 26-27 state championships, to be contested at Times Union Center in Albany.
CNS finished sixth in the team Division I (large school) standings with 88 points, as Fulton (175 points) edged Indian River (171.5 points) for the top spot. Liverpool was 14th with 41 points.
The Northstars saw Dan Ciciarelli work his way to fourth place at 103 pounds, as he got to the semifinals with wins over Logan Dirk (West Genesee) and Greg Jodway (Fulton) before falling 9-2 to the eventual champion, Indian River’s Derrick Gray.
Tony Battista took the same path at 112 pounds, beating Trevor Allard (Mexico) and Jon Hudson (Vernon Verona Sherrill) before Whitesboro’s Mike Sardo beat him 5-2 en route to the title. Battista, like Ciciarelli, finished fourth.
Todd Hagger, despite his no. 2 seed at 152 pounds, lost in the semifinals to Baldwinsville’s Joe Senf 4-2 and also had a fourth-place finish after a 6-2 defeat to Fulton’s Jake Tallents in the consolation bracket final. Clayton D’Onofrio beat Whitesboro’s Kris Jones 14-8 for fifth place at 285 pounds.
Kiel Dyer, who joined Patrick Dyer at 130, won in the first round before falling in the quarterfinals, as an injury kept James Segars from moving ahead at 145 to a possible semifinal against Eason. Ariel Aneceto went 1-2 at 189 pounds as Heather Kubacki (96 pounds), Matt Mastro (215 pounds) and Alex Barry (125 pounds) lost in the first round.
Liverpool had Nate Hathaway wrestle at 112 and beat Jon Hudson (who had lost to Battista earlier) for fifth place. Brendon Capria went 1-2 at 171 pounds. Casey Guilfoil, also at 112, suffered a first-round defeat, as did Kyle Gordon (285), Dakota Inman (140), Tyler Eason (119) and Mike Reed (215).
