The first Saturday is December is traditionally the place where, if they haven’t already started, Section III high school wrestling teams hit the mat for the first time amid tournament competition.
Chittenango is no exception, but where the Bears differ is that it gets to host one of those meets, as it did last Saturday with the “More Than a Game” Duals that helped raise money for Upstate-Golisano Children’s Hospital.
Six teams gathered for this dual meet, and Chittenango only beat one of them, toppling Whitney Point 48-36 to avoid a finish in the cellar. For his work throughout the afternoon, Alex VanPatten, at 285 pounds, was named the Bears’ Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Chittenango started out against Marcellus, losing 53-27. VanPatten’s pin of Garrett Furnia in 93 seconds was one of just two on the Bears’ side as Isaiah Prado (170 pounds) got the other, finishing off Tom Kinsella midway through the second period. Antonio Cutrie (220 pounds) beat Kern Linder 5-1.
In a closer 51-33 defeat to Chenango Valley, Cutrie and VanPatten again earned falls, as did Peyton Denney at 99 pounds with his 59-second pin over Dominic Napoli. Before that, Robert Shepard (170 pounds) pinned Trenton Gates in the second period and Tyler Daviau (160 pounds) got an 8-3 win over Mike Mettler.
The match with Galway proved closer still, but again the Bears lost, 45-36, despite pins from Cutrie, VanPatten, Prado and Barrett Hoyt (160 pounds), who got a second-period fall over Riccardo Dery. Chittenango led 36-9 before dropping the last seven bouts to Galway, all but one of them pins or forfeits.
Then came a 54-33 loss to Homer, where again the Bears were shut out in every bout from 113 to 152 pounds to cancel out early success. Shepard won a tough 2-1 decision over Paul Morse before Connor Fredericks (182 pounds) pinned Hunter O’Gorman in 60 seconds. VanPatten and Denneyalso earned pins.
Marcellus and Chenango Valley both finished at 4-0 and advanced to the finals, where the Cardinals edged the Mustangs 39-36. Chittenango, meanwhile, got set for Tuesday night’s OHSL Liberty division opener, a Madison County showdown with Cazenovia.
