Most of the area’s wrestling teams made their way to Oneida for last Saturday’s Section III Class B championship meet.
Amid a 12-team field, Chittenango did best, claiming fifth place with 136 points. Oneida was sixth (108 points) as Vernon-Verona-Sherrill settled for eighth place with 87 points. Cazenovia had 55.5 points and Morrisville-Eaton got 43 points. Phoenix won the team title with 245.5 points.
Three of the Bears’ wrestlers made final matches – but only Wes Blanding, at 135 pounds, prevailed, handling Hannibal’s Alex Race in an 11-2 decision.
Cody Carbery (96 pounds) fell to Phoenix’s Nate Bray 14-6, while Gunnar Brooks, in the 119-pound title match, got pinned by Phoenix’s Nick Tighe in the first period.
Claiming third place at 140 pounds, John Regan beat VVS’s Aaron Prichard 6-3 in the consolation bracket final. Zach Graham was fourth at 215 pounds. Brad Phelps (130 pounds) rose to fifth place as Matt Bixby was sixth at 112 pounds, the same finish as Rudy Farsaci at 125 pounds.
Oneida’s win came from Matt Fisher, who earned the 152-pound title when he beat Chittenango’s Nic Bacon in a convincing 13-4 decision.
The Indians also had Connor LoMonaco make his way to the 140-pound title match, only to run into Kevin Pembridge (Skaneateles), who beat him 7-4. Conner Russ (119) beat South Jefferson’s Cody Jones 10-0 for third place, with Joe Casella doing the same at 130 by beating Nate Dietz (Phoenix) 5-3. In the fifth-place match at 215, Nick Yardley beat VVS’s Kyle Szkotak 6-3.
Lon Palmer was fourth at 145 pounds as Tyler Miler snagged fifth place at 160 pounds with a third-period pin over South Jefferson’s Will Van Scoter.
VVS saw Dylan Kavanaugh come within inches of victory at 125, losing the final to South Jefferson’s Jared Crast 2-1. Kasey Proper reached the 103-pound final, only to lose to Laken Cook (Phoenix) in a second-period pin.
Nate Walts, making the final at 140, could not keep Phoenix’s Tyler Button from pinning him in 40 seconds as Walts’ teammate, Gage Patry, took fifth. Zach Legler was sixth at 285 pounds.
On Cazenovia’s ledger, Nick Petroff (112) and Ryan Cook (130 pounds) both reached the championship round. Cook took a 7-3 defeat to Holland Patent’s Adam Stevens as Petroff ran into South Jefferson’s Jeron Tanner and got pinned in the second period. Dan Cossitt, at 152, beat Ryan Long (Marcellus) 12-1 for fifth place.
M-E’s Orin Broulette was fourth at 103, the same finish as Wyatt Morris at 285, with Barney Prince fifth at 119 and Hunter Roberts fifth at 125.
Most of these wrestlers will be in the field this Saturday at Utica Memorial Auditorium for the Section III Division II (small school) championship. Matches start at 9 a.m.
