Wrestling rivals Liverpool and Cicero-North Syracuse got together again Wednedsay night for the first match of 2017, and it did not disappoint.
Though the Northstars moved out in front at two different points in the match, the Warriors, by winning the last three bouts on the card, rallied for a 36-32 victory.
All of it began with a quick 138-pound bout where Liverpool’s Dylan Wallace pinned Jeff St. Denny in 37 seconds. But C-NS got on the board at 145 pounds when Jacob Hall beat Zach Curcie 10-3 and tied it, 6-6, with Nick Gazzillo earning a 6-3 decision over 152-pound opponent Nick Paganelli.
Now it was the Warriors’ turn to go back in front, thanks to Josh Hemingway, at 160 pounds, pinning Michael Livesay in the second period as Will Ronan (170 pounds) followed by claiming an 11-6 decision over Julian Zavaglia.
Trailing 15-6, the Northstars made its big move at 182 pounds, starting with Jack McDonald beating John Sturtz 10-6 and continuing with Jeremiah Butler (195 pounds) dominating Carmen Sheldon in a 20-5 technical fall. When Christian Anoceto, at 220 pounds, pinned Zach Eason in 78 seconds, C-NS grabbed its first lead, 20-15.
Just as quickly, Liverpool regained the edge, 21-20, with Brady Depan’s second-period fall over 285-pound foe Reis Spicer, with Jeremy Ianno (99 pounds) pinning Dan Sweeney early in the third period.
Again, C-NS was trailing, 27-20, and again it fought back, Dario Ciciarreli getting a pin at 106 pounds over Corey Okun in 1:41 before Nathan Osborne, at 113 pounds, pinned Jacob Ianno late in the second period.
So with three bouts to go, the Northstars led 32-27. The next two bouts were both close ones, but Liverpool took them, Steve Pascarella (120 pounds) beating Jacob Montminy 6-4 and Aiden Connor (126 pounds) going into overtime to top Zach Sweeney 7-5.
Since they were both three-point decisions, though,the outcome hinged on the final bout at 132 pounds between Liverpool’s Jerry Nash and C-NS’s Shane MacDonald. From the start, Nash was in control, never letting MacDonald accomplish and much on his way to a 5-0 decision and a Warriors team victory.
Liverpool would test itself again in Saturday’s Leo J. Sammon Memorial Tournament at Central Valley Academy. Here, the Warriors would finish fifth in a 12-team field with 166.5 points as host Central Valley claimed the top spot with 351 points.
Eason was the only Warriors wrestler to get to the finals, doing so at 220 when he edged Rome Free Academy’s Chris Whitman 1-0. But in the finals, Eason ran into Mexico’s Mike Ladd and took an 18-7 defeat.
At 113, Pascarella and Ianno faced each other in the consolation bracket final, but Pascarella pulled it out, 9-8, as Nash finished third at 132 when CVA’s David Bardo had to take an injury default. Curcie was fourth at 145 and Ronan was fourth at 170.
C-NS also wrestled Saturday, in the Port Byron Mid-Winter Tournament, and nearly won it, picking up 159 points, but edged out for the title by Skaneateles, who prevailed with 160.5 points as Marcellus (155 points) was close behind them in third place.
Osborne was victorious at 113, shutting out APW/Pulaski’s Carlton Alder 3-0 in the finals. McDonald went to the top at 182 in a similar manner, enduring a tough title bout with Port Byron’s Aaron Clark but emerging with a 7-4 decision.
Two other Northstars lost close finals and settled for second-place finishes. Anoceto, at 220, surrendered a single escape to Marcellus’ Kern Linder, and it led to a 1-0 defeat as Ciciarelli, wrestling at 99 pounds, dropped a 9-5 decision to Auburn’s Luca Pirozzolo.
Sweeney, who moved down to 120, finished fourth, while Butler (195), Hall (138), Eric Salenski (106) and Anthony Desimone (145) each had fifth-place efforts. C-NS would take on Fayetteville-Manlius Wednesday before going to Saturday’s Cazenovia Invitational as Liverpool goes to West Genesee Wednesday before Saturday’s Red Devil Invitational at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.
