Having a second consecutive Onondaga High School League Liberty division regular-season title in the books, the Skaneateles wrestling team went after more – and got it.
The Lakers traveled to Hannibal for Saturday’s OHSL Class C/D Tournament. In the first of three straight weekends of post-season competition, the Lakers proved triumphant, piling up 265 points, well clear of Onondaga, who was second with 182.5 points, and seven other sides.
All told, Skaneateles claimed seven of the 15 weight classes, starting with J.W. Simmons at 106 pounds as he needed just 66 seconds to pin Cato-Meridian’s Hunter White in their title bout, part of an effort where all five of his wins were first-period falls.
Joey Brillo got to the finals at 132 pounds and held off Cazenovia’s Matt McLaughlin in a 7-5 decision, his path to the finals including a pin of his own teammate, Robert Danforth.
Matt Goetzmann moved to 145 pounds, where he tore through all competition and pinned Onondaga’s Dalton Currie midway through the second period of their title bout following three early-round pins of 60 seconds or less.
Every division from 170 to 220 pounds went in the Lakers’ favor, too. Joey McIntyre reached the finals at 195 pounds and proceeded to pin Jordan-Elbridge’s Max Bondgren in 74 seconds. T.J. Greenfield won another Skaneateles-J-E showdown at 220 when he earned a fall over Josh Roberts late in the first period.
The other titles proved tougher to attain as Ian Frackelton, at 170 pounds, edged Cato-Meridian’s Harold Sherman 6-3 and Pat Greenfield won at 160 pounds with a 5-0 shutout over Onondaga’s Dan Trammell. James Leubner reached the final at 152 pounds, but fell to APW/Pulaski’s Nate Cronk, who recorded a second-period pin.
Elsewhere, Josh O’Hara went 2-2 at 160 pounds, with Dylan O’Hara 1-1 at 220 pounds. Christian Daley had a rematch with Cazenovia’s Will Shephard, who beat Daley earlier in the week, at 126 pounds, and Shephard prevailed again in a close 4-3 decision. Bo Arold won one of his five bouts at 120 pounds.
Competition will get a lot tougher this Saturday at Canastota, where the Lakers will vie for honors in the Section III Class C tournament. Only the top four finishers in each weight class automatically advance to the overall Feb. 11 sectional meet at SRC Arena, which starting in January 2018 will host a brand-new state dual meet tournament, awarding large and small-school team state champions.
