Cazenovia High School got yet another chance to show off its refurbished Buckley Gym during Saturday’s Section III Class B wrestling championships.
However, the host Lakers, despite the credentials of an OHSL Liberty division regular-season and tournament title, could not finish higher than 10th in the 13-team field, with 85 points.
Chittenango was eighth (91.5 points) as Phoenix, the Section III Dual Meet champs, won here, too, with 260 points, topping South Jefferson (219 points) for that top spot by winning six of the 15 weight classes.
However, the Bears’ Wes Blanding walked away with Most Outstanding Wrestler honors after claiming the 132-pound title and improving his season mark to 31-0.
Blanding pinned quarterfinal opponent Josh Lamanna (Herkimer) in a scant 22 seconds and took just 1:44 to finish off semifinal opponent Jake Moulton (South Jefferson). In the finals against Port Byron’s Cormac Green, Blanding quickly worked his way to a 24-7 technical fall.
Also for the Bears, Cody Carbery made it to the 106-pound final, only to take a 7-5 overtime defeat to Phoenix’s Nate Bray. John Regan was fourth at 152 pounds, the same as Zach Graham (195 pounds), with Tyler Wilmer sixth at 171 pounds.
Cazenovia did not have any wrestlers reach the finals. Teddy Kugler, at 138 pounds, lost a close 5-3 semifinal to Camden’s Cody Sullivan, but had to forfeit the consolation bracket final to Homer’s Matt Norris and claimed fourth place. Dan Phillips took the same path, falling in the 182-pound semifinal to Phoenix’s Zach Vaverchak and ending up in fourth, too.
Dylan Evans, at 126 pounds, finished fifth, just ahead of Awng Hung in sixth, while Hayden Polhamus (195) pinned Baylie Goddard (Homer) in 3:39 for fifth place and Brad Lucas (285 pounds) got a 22-second pin of Pat Mumane (Port Byron) for fifth place.
Nick Petroff (120 pounds) fell in the semifinals to Kasey Proper (Vernon-Verona-Sherrill) in a narrow 3-2 decision and finished in sixth place. Aaron LaHart (99 pounds) went 2-2 and lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Camden’s Dennis Hilts, while Mike Nourse had that same 2-2 mark at 145 pounds.
Various Chittenango and Cazenovia wrestlers will go to Onondaga Community College’s SRC Arena this Saturday for the Section III Division II championships, which start at 9 a.m.
