Not too long ago, the notion of the East Syracuse Minoa wrestling team giving a Class AA power like Liverpool a close battle was difficult to believe, given the depth one side had and the struggles the other side was going through.
All of that has changed now, as the Spartans gave itself a chance to knock off the Warriors in last Wednesday night’s season opener, only to fall just short in a 39-37 defeat.
ESM began the meet with three consecutive victories. At 195 pounds, Joe Monteleone pinned John Sturtz, followed by Chris Todd (220 pounds) and Brendan Reed (285 pounds) each prevailing in tough decisions, Todd topping Zach Eason 8-5 and Reed edging Lochlan Fegley 8-6.
Those wins were needed, since the Spartans had to forfeit at 99 and 106 pounds before Donovan Marriott, at 113 pounds, showed up and pinned Corey Okun to help ESM reclaim the lead at 18-12. A close 120-pound bout saw Alex Leo fall to Stephen Pascarella 8-3.
Michael Cox won at 126 pounds for the Spartans when Aiden Connor got disqualified. Pins by Jerry Nash (132 pounds) and Dylan Wallace (138 pounds) helped the Warriors regain the lead, but the momentum kept shifting.
Garren Kuney pinned Nick Paganelli at 145 pounds before ESM’s top returning wrestler, Jeff Loder, who reached the Section III Division I final at 152 pounds a season ago, claimed a 10-2 decision over Zach Curcie to extend the Spartans’ lead to 34-27,
Three bouts remained, and when Anthony Piscatelli (160 pounds) and Josh Hemingway (170 pounds) claimed pins for Liverpool, the Spartans trailed 39-34. Darian Crossman, in the 182-pound finale, had to either pin Will Ronan, or get a five-point technical to give ESM the tie-breaking criterium point since it won eight bouts.
Crossman did win, but Ronan stayed on the mat for six minutes, never letting Crossman build a margin or get close to a fall during his 8-5 decision that netted three points, not quite enough for the Spartans.
ESM would face Jordan-Elbridge a night later and get into the win column, defeating the Eagles 60-27 as Marriott pinned Derek Quigley near the end of the first period to get his side on the board following two opening forfeits.
Then ESM got some forfeits, but still only had a 30-27 lead before finishing with five consecutive pins. Matt Lewis, at 170, got it started, finishing off Jared Mills in 67 seconds, while Crossman pinned Anthony Baron in 40 seconds and Monteleone pinned Ryan Rivenburgh in 20 seconds. Todd got his fall over Max Bondgren in 71 seconds and Reed pinned Josh Roberts in the second period.
On Saturday, ESM ventured to the Morrisville-Eaton Duals, where CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt was ready to debut – and did so by sweeping the tournament with a 5-0 push that was keyed by a 58-25 victory over Vernon-Verona-Sherrill, who finished at 4-1. CBA/J-D also beat the Spartans in a head-to-head match-up.
Fayetteville-Manlius began its season Saturday at the APW/Pulaski Duals, where it would also face Jordan-Elbridge, along with Liverpool, Skaneateles, Institute of Technology Central and the host APW/Pulaski side. The Hornets finished behind the Warriors and Lakers as it got ready to visit Mexico this Thursday and compete in the Cortland Duals two days later.
