Making its 2017 debut a successful one, the Cazenovia wrestling team traveled to Port Byron last Wednesday night and, by winning five of the last six bouts, rallied to defeat the Panthers by a score of 44-30.

Of the first six weight classes, only one of them was contested, at 182 pounds, where Chris Beare lost to Chris Johnson in a second-period fall. Otherwise, one was not contested, and four were forfeited, two to each side as the Lakers’ Shaun Zampetti (99 pounds) and Stan Angus (106 pounds) won uncontested.

Not until 113 pounds did Cazenovia get a win on the mat, thanks to Jacob Wells pinning Gabe Newton 10 seconds into the second period. But two Port Byron wins, including Joe Powers beating Will Shephard 5-4, plus a forfeit left the Lakers trailing 27-20 with six bouts left.

Here, though, Cazenovia took over, starting with a forfeit to Will Khalil at 132 pounds and continuing at 138 pounds when Matt McLaughlin handled Tyler Parker 14-4. Kevin Valentine (145 pounds) followed with a second-period pin over Kyler Hall.

It took until the third period, but Patrick Nourse, at 152 pounds, got his pin over E.J. Thompson that clinched the team match. Though John Frega (160 pounds) lost, 4-3, to Leland Summer, Austin Sherman (160 pounds) provided a winning Lakers finale when he handled Zach Dennis 11-2.

Cazenovia competed Saturday in the Port Byron Mid-Winter Tournament and finished fourth in an eight-team field with 109 points. Skaneateles (160.5 points) edged Cicero-North Syracuse (159 points) for the top spot.

Khalil earned the Lakers’ lone title at 126, shutting out Skaneateles’ Christian Daley 7-0 in the semifinals and Ithaca’s Darren Rich 4-0 in the finals as Shephard gained fourth place in that weight class.

Wells was second at 106, dropping the final to Skaneateles’ J.W. Simmons. McLaughlin got second place at 132, reaching the finals before another Skaneateles wrestler, Joey Brillo, topped him with a third-period fall. Angus was fourth at 106, while Beare earned fifth place at 182 when Otselic Valley’s Kyle Ossont took an injury default.

The Lakers host its own invitational meet this Saturday at Buckley Gym, starting at 10 a.m. It features a strong roster of teams, including defending Section III Dual Meet champion Adirondack, plus Baldwinsville, Indian River, Homer and Cicero-North Syracuse.

Also back in action last Wednesday night, Chittenango fell to Marcellus 60-27, unable to recover from the Mustangs winning the first four bouts and taking a 24-0 lead, along with having to forfeit five times.

And though Isaiah Prado (182 pounds), Antonio Cutrie (220 pounds) and Peyton Denney (99) accepted forfeits, the Bears won just twice on the mat as Robert Shepard (160) beat Rob Seeley 8-1 and Connor Fredericks (170 pounds) pinned Tom Kinsella in just 61 seconds.

The Bears ventured up Route 5 to Canastota for Saturday’s Fallen Heroes Tournament, where it earned 111.5 points to take seventh place in a 10-team field headed by the host Canastota Raiders, who prevailed over CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt, 250 points to 233.5.

Cutrie earned the title at 220, running over Newark Valley’s Trentyn Rupert 17-9 in the finals, while Connor Fredericks prevailed at 170 with his second-period fall over CBA/J-Ds Zach Langdon in the finals as Cory Fredericks, at 195, lost his final to Newark Valley’s Jason Duke.

Shepard was fourth at 160, with Isiah Prado fourth at 170. John Spencer earned fifth place at 195, but that required beating his teammate, Nolan Allen, in a 4-3 decision. Chittenango takes on Homer Wednesday before going to Saturday’s Red Devil Invitational at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill.