Having swept through the Rebel Duals on Dec. 6, the Skaneateles wrestling team was eager to resume OHSL Liberty division action and atone for its season-opening defeat to Marcellus.
The Lakers ventured to Chittenango last Thursday night, and despite some lost practice time due to winter weather, Skaneateles proved sharp enough once the bouts got underway and defeated the Bears by a score of 46-30.
Every single match from 99 to 138 pounds (seven in all) went to Skaneateles. And while J.W. Simmons (99), Max Collier (113 pounds) and Nevan Rourke (120 pounds) claimed forfeits, the Lakers got four of those wins on the, too.
Christian Daley pinned 106-pound opponent Mason Benedict in one minute, 19 seconds. Josh Brillo (132 pounds) went slightly longer – 1:32, in fact, but pinned Alex Miller, right after Joey Brillo (126 pounds) shut out Alex Teeter 12-0, and before Maverick Janes (138) blanked Wyatt Blanding 6-0.
And though Chittenango had more success in the higher weight classes, taking six of the eight bouts from 145 pounds upward, Pat Greenfield, at 182 pounds, still beat Brian Coe 6-1 and T.J. Greenfield pinned 285-pound opponent Abram Miles in 3:49.
Other bouts proved close, too. Mike Goetzmann, at 145 pounds, lost 3-2 to Matt Bixby, with Andrew Newton (152 pounds) taking an 8-6 overtime defeat to Connor Fredericks.
Skaneateles went to the southwestern portion of the state – Cattaraugus County, to be specific – to compete in the Portville Invitational two days later.
And despite the short turnaround, the Lakers would win that tournament, putting six of its wrestlers in the finals by day’s end and, with 225 points, holding off Olean (215 points) for that top spot in the 10-team field.
Simmons prevailed at 99, upending top seed Masin Shuster (Danville) in a lopsided 13-3 title match. Josh Brillo earned the other title at 132, requiring just 23 seconds to pin Wellsville’s Trent Robbins in the championship round.
Four others – Newton (152), Collier (113), Janes (138) and Joey Brillo (126) ended up with second-place finishes, with Brillo falling in overtime to Nick Kozlowski (Portville) and Newton taking a tight 5-4 defeat to another Portville wrestler, Jayce Freebom. Collier, in his title match against Christian Miller (Bolivar-Richburg), took a 12-9 defeat.
Skaneateles also had a quartet of fourth-place finishes from Daley (106), Joey McIntyre (195), Pat Greenfield (182) and T.J. Greenfield (285). Matt Goetzmann was fourth as Rourke (120), Dan O’Connell (126) and Mike Goetzmann (152) got fifth-place efforts.
The two Laker sides will collide Thursday night, when Skaneateles hosts Cazenovia before a Dec. 22 meet against East Syracuse-Minoa.
