It turned out to be a glorious Saturday for a quartet of local wrestlers as they all earned titles in the Section III Division II championships at Utica Memorial Auditorium. Chittenango’s Cody Carbery won at 96 pounds and Wes Blanding prevailed at 135 pounds. Anthony Finocciharo gave Canastota a sectional crown at 130 pounds and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill’s Dylan Kavanaugh ruled at 125 pounds. Though only the no. 3 seed at 96, Carbery, a junior, roared to the title, pinning Zach Ruggles (Marcellus) in the quarterfinals, then beating Nate Bray (Phoenix) 5-3 to reach the finals against General Brown’s Ryan Snow, where he used a first-period reversal and third-period takedown to beat Bray 4-0 and move his season mark to 30-6. Blanding, also a junior, did have the top seed at 135, and had a patient run to the title. He handle Wyatt Lyndaker (Copenhagen) 18-4, then got past a tough semifinal with Phoenix’s Rowdy Prior, using a single escape to win 1-0. The title match proved easier as, against Sandy Creek’s Matt Shirley, Blanding got a 5-1 decision and improved to 37-2 this winter. Finocchiaro, as expected, rolled through 130 without any real stress. He pinned Austin Weeks (Mount Markham) in 1:01 and Brandon Steiner (Beaver River) in 3:21 to get to the finals, then handled Adirondack’s Tyler Spann 8-1 for the top spot on the podium. Finocchiaro, a junior, has won three sectional titles (the first two were at Baldwinsville) and is now 40-1 for the year. As for Kavanaugh, he started as the no. 2 seed, took out Tyler Hill (Lowville) in a technical fall and survived his own 1-0 semifinal with Holland Patent’s Matt Herringshaw. Then the VVS senior unleashed himself in the final against top seed Jared Crast (South Jefferson), using a big takedown to build a 5-0 lead and breezing to the championship 9-3. Kavauagh’s record is 39-5. Other local stars got into the finals, including Canastota’s Zach Zupan, who shook off his illness long enough to reach the 171-pound final before taking a default to Phoenix’s Austyn Hayes. Zupan, with his 31-2 mark, is likely to join Finocchiaro at the Feb. 25-26 state championships at Albany’s Times Union Center. Fellow Raider Fred Sherman made it to the finals at 215 pounds, pinning Antonio Diaz (South Jefferson) and stopping Zach Smith (Ilion) with a technical fall before losing a narrow title match to Onondaga’s Matt Tiss in a 7-5 decision to move his record to 27-7. Tyler Sirota, who entered as the top seed at 160 pounds with a 33-3 mark, beat his own teammate, Sam Farfaglia, in the quarterfinals, but lost in the semifinals to Stefan Goings (Sandy Creek) due to an injury default and sat out the rest of the tournament. Joe Tiller (125), Jesse Puchales (171) and (135) both lost in the first round, and Travis Conklyn (285 pounds) fell in the quarterfinals. For VVS, Kasey Proper, from a no. 3 seed, got to the finals at 103 pounds with a pin over Matt DeWitt (Homer) and an 11-8 semifinal decision over Cooperstown’s Mike Boyle. But Proper (30-9) could not keep up with Phoenix’s Laken Cook and lost the title match 10-0. Nate Walts earned fifth at 145 pounds when he took default over LaFayette’s Dan Moltion. Also for VVS, Aaron Pritchard lost in the quarterfinals at 140. The Bears’ Gunnar Brooks lost in the semifinals at 119, but used a 1-0 shutout of Alex Sheddon (Sherburne-Earlville) and 7-0 shutout of Cormac Green (Port Byron) to snag third place and improve his mark to 33-9. Nic Bacon was sixth at 152 pounds and John Regan, despite a no. 5 seed at 140, took a first-round defeat, as did Zach Graham at 189 Oneida’s Matt Fisher, from a no. 3 seed at 152, took fourth place, falling in the semifinals to Sandy Creek’s Jared Soule. Connor Russ was sixth at 119, while Connor LoMonaco (140) fell in the quarterfinals to defending state champion Derek Pfluger (Sandy Creek). Joe Casella (130) and Lon Palmer (145) both had opening-round defeats. Cazenovia saw Alex Petroff (112) win twice and take a spot on the podium, claiming sixth place as teammate Ryan Cook (130) lost in the quarterfinals. Ryan Morrisville-Eaton’s Orin Brouilette (103) and Wyatt Morris (285) both lost in the first round.