CENTRAL NEW YORK – Both of the Cicero-North Syracuse wrestling teams would brave the winter weather on the first weekend of January for high-quality tournament action.
In the case of the boys Northstars, it would go a perfect 4-0 on the way to victory in the Jan. 4 Dave Darrow Duals at Cortland High School, with the decisive match a 41-26 decision over Penfield (Section V).
Not until the penultimate match was the outcome decided, a 29-26 margin clinched when Kaydin Welch pinned 215-pound opponent Michael Berl in 78 seconds before Ahmed Ashkar (285 pounds) closed it out pinning Sam Mulligan.
C-NS burst out in front with four wins in the first five bouts, pins by Shea Ellsworth (108 pounds), Kasey Kalfass (124 pounds) and Mason Indick (132 pounds), with James Conklin adding a technical fall at 101 pounds. Kennedy Thomas, at 160 pounds, pinned Noah Harley in 95 seconds.
Before this, the Northstars rolled past three other foes, starting 59-9 over Dryden with pins from Kalfass, Thomas, Welch, Sean Aldrich (145 pounds) and Derek Eells (160 pounds) as Michael Pease added a victory at 285.
Handling host Cortland 66-12, C-NS had Thomas, Ashkar and Kalfass get pins, plus Javone Dawkins (131 pounds) pinning Devlin Riotto in 31 seconds and Dominic Salvatore (195 pounds) pinning Landan West late in the first period.
Finally against the B team from Maine-Endwell C-NS won 66-6 which included seven pins, four in succession by Dawkins, Indick (moved up to 138 pounds), Aldrich and Thomas, with Conklin, Salvatore and Welch also earning falls.
Liverpool returned to league action last Wednesday night against Jamesville-DeWitt/CBA, ultimately taking a 40-22 defeat to the Rams.
All four bouts from 138 to 160 went in Liverpool’s favor starting with Lantz Herrera beating John Lemondes 12-3. Derrick Eggleston (145) and Samir Amiri (152 pounds) had second-period pins over, respectively,
Kai Vien and Chris Grosso, with Will Cowan topping Donald Money 8-2 for a victory at 160.
The only other win came at 116 pounds from Aiden Adams-Bovenzi defeating Tom LaValle 6-2. J-D/CBA swept the four highest weight classes, the closest of them at 170 pounds where Jonathan Underwood lost 10-5 to Braeden Hennessey.
As for the C-NS girls wrestlers, it went to nearby Baldwinsville for the Queen Bee Tournament and finished fourth in an 11-team field with 134 points, not far from the winning total of 174.5 from Homer.
Two Northstars emerged as champions. Aniyah Burton went to the top at 165 pounds with a 67-second pin over Homer’s Ella Spanbauer, while at 185 pounds Chloe Tice took the crown pinning Syracuse City’s Salome Dochiri.
Ellsworth lost her 100-pound final 11-0 to Phoenix’s Agnes Terpening, while Liliana Chiarizia pinned Catlyn Kalunda (Indian River) in 15 seconds for third place at 114 pounds.
Five others – Shanyrah Burton (120 pounds), Jaycea Davis (132 pounds), Elise English (145 pounds), Bela Mars Price (152 pounds) and Zoe Patton (185) – finished fourth, with Allison Tanton sixth at 107 pounds
and Savanna Abbott the same at 132.