A revamped format helped give the CBA/Jamesville-DeWitt wrestling team a reason to think it could make another deep run in Saturday’s Section III Dual Meet at Cicero-North Syracuse High School – which it did.
Unlike years past, the Dual Meet separated teams into Division I (large school) and Division II (small school) brackets. With its 10-1 record, CBA/J-D gained the no. 3 seed in the eight-team Division I bracket and would meet host C-NS in the opening round, defeating the Northstars 46-27.
Ethan Wells, with a 6-5 decision over C-NS’s Dario Ciciarelli at 106 pounds, got CBA/J-D on the board. From there, it got a 20-second pin from Matt Griffin (113 pounds) over Eric Salerski, plus falls from Tyler Kellison (126 pounds), Jake Wright (160 pounds), Zach Langdon (170 pounds) and Adam Honis (182 pounds). Tyrig Block (152 pounds) beat Nick Gazzillo 6-4 as Mingus Betsey (285 pounds) blanked Brady Mills 4-0.
This led to a rematch in the quarterfinals with the same Central Square side CBA/J-D had beat 47-27 earlier in the week. Here, though, CBA/J-D was more impressive, winning seven in a row at the outset to all but decide matters as it ripped past the Redhawks 51-28.
They started at 106 pounds, where Myles Griffin pinned Brandon Leudemann in 23 seconds. Wells, moving up to 113, edged Kody Haywood 4-1 and Matt Griffin excelled in his move to 120, blanking Peyton Rupracht 8-0.
Following a forfeit to Kellison, Garrett bauer (132 pounds) pinned Devin Flower in 79 seconds, with Brian Martin (140 pounds) relentless in a 10-2 win over Casey Brennan and Jonah Cavallo (145 pounds) able to pin Nick Ackley late in the first period.
All of this made the score 37-0, and while that couldn’t be sustained, the match was settled. Wright beat Caden Rupracht 13-4 before Langdon pinned Alex VanAntwerp in 932 seconds, while Betsey managed another pin over Jordan Pone with just 21 seconds left.
The semifinals, and Division I title bout, pitted CBA/J-D against top seed Fulton, a team it lost two earlier this month. For a long while, the rematch stayed close, but the Red Raiders captured four straight bouts in the late going and ultimately prevailed by a 47-21 margin that didn’t reflect how close it was for a while.
Fulton wanted no part of Matt Griffin, who had to take a forfeit at 113. Two bouts later, at 126 pounds, Kellison went back and forth with Wyatt Willis, who ended up getting a late escape to edge Kellison 5-4.
Four of the next seven bouts went in CBA/J-D’s favor. Bauer beat Roy French 5-0, with Jonah Covallo (145 pounds) pulling out a 6-5 decision over Adam DeMauro. Wright gained a 7-2 decision over Camrin Galvin and Honis edged Andrew Yablonski 2-1.
Through it all, CBA/J-D was unable to earn a pin, or go in front during those close bouts, and when Andrew Yablonski (182 pounds) and Jon Parrish (195 pounds) lost decisions, the Red Raiders took control. Myles Grffin had his team’s lone late win, beating Tom Hughes 9-3.
Good as Fulton was winning the Division I title at Dual Meet, it was no match for Central Valley Academy, the Division II champs, who dominated every opponent in its half on the way to the final, and then romped past the Red Raiders 50-15 to claim the Dual Meet title.
CBA/J-D tuned up with that first win over Central Square. Betsey opened at 285 with a 10-4 victory over Brandon Widney to get the match started. Matt Griffin pinned Brandon Luedemann in 73 seconds as Ethan Wells (113) pulled away from Kody Haywood 10-2.
Starting at 126, CBA/J-D claimed seven straight bouts, including pins by Kellison (132) over Devin Flower in 2:24 and Cavallo (145) over Nick Ackley late in the third period. Bauer (126) and Wright (160) claimed forfeits. Langdon nearly got a technical fall in his 14-0 shutout over Matt Lewis, with Block (152) fighting past Caden Rupracht 5-3 and(138) claiming a 7-2 decision over Casey Brennan.
