While it might not catch Baldwinsville atop the CNY Counties League National division due to a Dec. 14 defeat to the Bees, the Liverpool wrestling team could still land in second place, should it beat archrival Cicero-North Syracuse on Jan. 25.
Long before that, though, the Warriors had to handle two more league assignments, starting last Wednesday night with a home meet against West Genesee where a late surge allowed Liverpool to pull away and beat the Wildcats 48-32.
With four matches to go, it was still in doubt, but at 120 pounds Nate Hathaway pinned Tyler Heggelke in 2:39 and Luay Ashkar (126) followed with a pin over Odae Badwan that clinched the meet. Tyler Eason, at 138 pounds, closed with a third-period fall over Nick Longo.
Much earlier, Casey Guilfoil opened at 145 pounds with a tough 7-5 win over Paul Potosky, while Matt Call (170 pounds) also battled in a 3-2 win over Evan Stefano. In between, Mende Cukalevski (160 pounds) pinned Matt Calascibetta with 47 seconds left.
In the middle stages, Pat Carroll-Marsh claimed a 285-pound forfeit, but Joe Pizzuto (195 pounds) wrestled, pinning Dalton Elias in 3:10, and Peter Nash provided the quickest pin of the night at 99 pounds, finishing off Jake Jones in a scant 55 seconds.
From here, Liverpool proceeded to Saturday’s Hannibal Duals, where it went a perfect 5-0 to grab the top spot.
The day started with the Warriors routing Clifton Fine 81-6 and crushing East Syracuse-Minoa 66-12. Though the next two matches proved closer, Liverpool still took out Central Square 51-29 and handled host Hannibal 43-30.
This set up the showdown between the 4-0 Warriors and 4-0 Rush-Henrietta. Again, it proved tight, but Liverpool beat the Royal Comets 42-34 to grab the top spot. The Warriors wrestle at Oswego on Wednesday night.
