Regular-season work ended for the Skaneateles wrestling team last week, culminating in its own dual meet on Saturday against a quartet of opponents.
And the Lakers would beat them all to earn top honors. After toppling Oneida, Mount Markham and Auburn, Skaneateles took on Herkimer in the finals and dominated that contest, too, ripping past the Magicians 60-18.
Eight different Lakers would go 4-0 on the day, led by Tyler Saunders, whose 126-pound sweep garnered him Most Outstanding Wrestler honors.
Max Collier (106 pounds), Josh Brillo (113 pounds), Drew Newton (120 pounds), Adam Notarpole (138 pounds), Russ Burkhardt (170 pounds), Jacob Kipp (195 pounds) and Cooper Pitman (220 pounds) also went four-for-four.
Just behind them, Frank Lombardi (152 pounds), Jake Brillo (160 pounds), Connor Gray (182 pounds) and Garrett Navaroli (285 pounds) had 3-1 marks.
The final against Herkimer included Saunders recording a 29-second pin over Nick Morosco, one of six falls in that contest. Notarpole pinned Alex Shepardson in 1:24.
In 1:52, Newton pinned Zack Steele, while Pitman took one more second to finish off Isaiah Herron. Lombardi pinned Eric Johnston in 2:47 Josh Brillo earned his pin over Shane Briggs midway through the second period.
Navaroli had a closer match, but still shut out Steve Napolitano 4-0, while Jake Brillo got a 6-1 decision over Dan Appley. Collier and Kipp claimed forfeits.
Before that, the Lakers went to Homer last Thursday night, where the issue was in doubt until the final two matches before the Trojans prevailed 42-29.
Homer started fast, claiming the first four contests with a pin, technical fall, decision and forfeit. Only when Gray took the mat at 182 did the Lakers get on the board, Gray shutting out Josh Sands in a 6-0 verdict.
Two more Trojan wins followed, including Pitman falling to David Kiernan 7-2, before the Lakers started to rally, helped in no small part by the fact that Navaroli, Collier and Josh Brillo claimed forfeits.
Newton dominated his 120-pound match, beating Jacob Cline 10-2, and Saunders followed with an 11-3 win over Matt DeWitt that made it 35-29 with two matches to go.
Ryan Dick, wrestling at 132 pounds, had a chance to prolong the drama, but dropped a 2-1 decision to Bob Chambrone as Homer clinched the victory, and minutes later Notarpole lost the 138-pound finale to Jon Cottrell 8-0.
Skaneateles will compete this Saturday against 11 other entrants in the Onondaga High School League’s combined Liberty/Patriot division meet.
