CENTRAL NEW YORK – Neighborhood wrestling programs found themselves in a duel for top honors last Saturday when Jordan-Elbridge and Marcellus ended up at the top of the standings during the Port Byron Invitational.
Ultimately, the Eagles, with 183 points, held off the Mustangs (169.5 points) and 10 other sides, with six different wrestlers reaching finals and three of them prevailing.
One of them, Ben Lamson, found himself in the 108-pound title bout against Marcellus’ Knoll McCoy. Those two wrestlers tied thorugh six minutes of regulation, but with a near-fall in overtime Lamson pulled it out 10-6.
Henry Smith (160 pounds) and Jack Lamson (170 pounds) were far more convincing for the Eagles, Smith pinning Moravia’s Nicholas Plue in his final as Lamson getting a pin of Wellsville’s Xander Outman in the second period of his title bout.
A classic 138-pound final had Marcellus’ Colin Scherer against J-E’s Dylan Nolan, and while Nolan did a good job of avoidance, Scherer still got enough to shut out Nolan 2-0.
Connor Fraher was second at 124 pounds, dropping a close 8-5 final to Central Square’s Jaxon Perkins, with Lucas Witter (131 pounds) reaching the finals before he was pinned by Moravia’s Hunter Boynton.
Six different Mustangs – Blaine Haney (101 pounds), Hollis Child (131 pounds), Trevor Rankin (145 pounds), Anthony Decapio (152 pounds), Jayden Abbott (190 pounds) and Caleb Posezcznick (215 pounds) – had third-place finishes to just one for the Eagles from Liam Mantell at 116 pounds.
Jack Burton was fourth at 108 pounds. Brayden Borst (101) and Elliott Barbosa (190 pounds) each was fifth, Barbosa pinning Noah Black (Wellsville) in just 15 seconds. Ryan Gibbs (116) and Noah White (215) both were fifth for the Eagles.
While this was going on, West Genesee was victorious in the Hornet Duals at Fayetteville-Manlius, sweeping all five opponents it faced and winning a tense 37-36 battle with Fulton for first place.
Maxx Fesinger (160) and Elijah Apps (215) earned pins and the Wildcats got two forfeits, but it also saw Jacob Severson, at 170, shut out Carter Allen 6-0 and Cole Willis (101) win 6-1 over Zach Hammond.
A 60-15 win over Syracuse City began things for WG, followed by a tough 38-27 battle with Phoenix not decided until Apps topped Kevin Kurzinski 13-8 as Omar Almlaiti, at 285 pounds, edged Landon Crandall 5-4. Jacob Severson (170), Max Alexander (116) and Austin Fesinger earned important wins.
WG built up a big margin beating Indian River 41-33, claiming seven of the first 10 bouts. Apps, Almlaiti, Dylan Radcliffe (152 pounds) and Giovanni Capria (160 pounds) earned pins and Willis got a technical fall.
A 66-6 romp of Hannibal precded the Fulton showdown. Willis was a perfect 4-0 on the mat as Austin and Maxx Fesinger each won three times on the mat, with Apps and Almaiti sporting 3-1 marks.
In league action Tuesday night, Marcellus rolled past Cortland 63-12, mostly due to forfeits. Still, Decapio had an 18-second pin over Landon West, with pins also earned by Haney and Brian Murphy at 116 as Burton got a 7-2 decision over Jackson Marks.
