CENTRAL NEW YORK – After a 2020-21 season that was incomplete and never ventured far from their home bases, the Cazenovia and Chittenango wrestling teams are back on the mats this winter.
Both got underway as November turned into December, with the Lakers, at Canastota, taking a 47-24 defeat to the Raiders a night after the Bears dropped a narrow 36-35 decision to East Syracuse Minoa.
Cazenovia’s match saw the visitors go up 12-0 when forfeits were given to Tallon Widrick at 110 pounds and Alex Rodriguez at 118 pounds, but Canastota won the next eight bouts on the card.
Only once in that streak did the Lakers stay close, with Broden Enders (160 pounds) falling 4-0 to Travis Soucia, before the Lakers doubled its point total late.
Gabriel Lowenstein pinned his 215-pound opponent, Keeran Timerman, in the second period as Evan Rutecki closed it out at 102 pounds with a pin of Evan Bixby late in the first period.
As for Chittenango, it opened at 138 pounds with Edward Geer pinning ESM’s Brendan Zwiesler before the Spartans took the next three bouts.
Quentin Mohamed broke that spell at 172 pounds with his second-period fall over Ryan Lillo as Andrew Bailey (189 pounds) got an 18-3 technical fall over Colin Zwiesler.
ESM earned enough points to clinch the match by taking three of the next four, though Dan Mahle, at 102, would pin Peyton Spencer in 62 seconds and Anthony Cayea (118) got his pin over Caiden Scott in 56 seconds.
Chittenango then would compete in Saturday’s Bill Andersen Memorial Tournament at Cicero-North Syracuse, finishing 19th out of 21 teams with 30 points.
Cazenovia, meanwhile, went 2-3 at the Morrisville-Eaton Duals, taking narrow defeats to Vernon-Verona-Sherrill (42-33) and Whitesboro (36-33), but getting routed by Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA.
But the Lakers were able to edge host M-E 39-38, helped by pins from Gabriel Sanchez (145 pounds), Brad Gagnon (152 pounds) and Kaleb Vazquez (285 pounds), before it beat ESM 42-30, with pins from Widrick, Rutecki, John Fowler (160) and Blaze Dannon (189 pounds).
