SYRACUSE – By the slimmest possible margin, Chittenango wrestling star Andrew Bailey maintained his undefeated record and won Saturday’s Section III Division II championship at SRC Arena.
As a result, Bailey will take a 34-0 record to Albany’s MVP Arena on Feb. 24-25 for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships, but he almost didn’t get that 34th victory.
The sectional final pitted Bailey against Dolgeville’s Jared Bilinski, who led the Blue Devils to football sectional Class D titles in 2021 and 2022.
For six minutes, the two stars battled to a 1-1 draw. That led to overtime, and by not yielding, Bailey was able to earn the decisive point and claim the 2-1 decision.
After a first-round bye, Bailey pinned Homer’s Maddox Johnson with 30 seconds left in their quarterfinal and also waited until the last minute for his semifinal pin of Canastota’s Keeran Timmerman.
Cazenovia wrestler Evan Rutecki should join Bailey at the state meet thanks to his 28-5 record, though again he had to settle for a second-place sectional finish.
In the 110-pound quarterfinal, Rutecki pinned Kyren Stock (Mexico) in 76 seconds and merely needed 23 seconds to pin Camden’s Talon Kimball in the semifinals.
The final with South Jefferson/Sandy Creek’s Brock Frederick was expected to be a back-and-forth classic, but with a superb move Frederick pinned Rutecki late in the first period, improving to 29-1.
Elsewhere for Cazenovia, Broden Enders, the no. 3 seed at 152 pounds, pinned Evan Williams (Adirondack) and Connor Everson (Beaver River) to reach the semifinals before falling to Camden’s Sean Seymore.
However, Enders recovered to finish third, pinning Tyler Scholtzhauer (Mexico) and then, in the consolation bracket final, pinning Cortland’s Wyatt Tinker midway through the second period. Gabriel Sanchez (145 pounds) lost in the first round to SJSC’s Ryley Monica.
Chittenango also had Edward Geer at 138 pounds win twice, beating Nate Randall (Dolgeville) and Luken Galser (Canastota) but falling just short of a podium finish. Dan Mahle, at 110 with Rutecki, lost in the opening round to Jordan-Elbridge’s Liam Mantell, with Jacob Ezzo (285 pounds) doing the same to Central Valley Academy’s Jeremy McRedmond.
