ONONDAGA COUNTY – A season full of building for the Liverpool wrestling team would include hosting a newly-named event, the Legends Duals, on Jan. 25, utilizing the new nickname for LHS athletics effective in July.
Overall LHS went 3-2, starting out by defeating Malone 48-24 as it swept all eight bouts from 138 pounds upward, just one of them a forfeit.
Andrew Lodge’s pin of Eric Lapage at 138 began the surge, with pins also going to Samir Amiri (145 pounds), Will Cowan (170 pounds) and Jonathan Underwood (190 pounds), with Mateo Gonzales edging Calvin Landry 5-4 at 215 pounds.
David Blue Moore got a technical fall at 215 pounds as Matt Loncosky (152 pounds) won 12-3 over Jordan Spinner. Aidan Adams-Bovenzi had the lone other win at 116 pounds with a technical fall.
By that same 48-24 score Liverpool also beat South Lewis, jumping out 29-0 with pins from Landon Bunyea (108 pounds) and Gavin Davis (131 pounds) along with Sajad Amirzada (124 pounds) pinning Gunner Galarneau in 54 seconds.
Cowan won a tense 8-7 bout over Jaden Morczek after Loncosky beat Landon Sage 9-1. Moore would add a 78-second pin over Jack Teal late in the match.
During a 57-13 loss to Homer, Liverpool had just three wins on the mat. Loncosky handled Evan Sullivan 14-4, with Cowan beating Karson Kemp 9-3 and Amirzada winning the opener pinning Cody Hall in the third period.
Liverpool also fell to Beaver River 43-24, though Loncoski and Amiri picked up pins along with tough wins by Gonzales at 190 over Austin Fort 7-3 and Jude Atchie (124 pounds) over Nate Fort 8-3.
To close out the meet Liverpool beat Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville 45-24. It included a trio of forfeits and trio of pins from Adams-Bovenzi, Lodge and Amirzada, with Moore earning a technical fall and Loncosky handling Silas Greenman 15-6.
Cicero-North Syracuse met Syracuse City Monday night in its only action of the week, the Northstars having little trouble on the way to a 63-12 victory.
Kasey Kalfass earned the first contested victory at 124 pinning Julian Brown in the second period, just as Javone Dawkins would do at 131 pounds beating Austin St. Louis.
Lucas Peck’s pin of Anthony Riley at 145 was followed, in the 285-pound finale, by Ahmed Ashkar working his way past Teddy Toe in a 4-1 decision.
Forfeits went to seven Northstars, from Colton Chaney at 101 pounds to Colton Chaney (108), Anthony Lisi (116 pounds), Mason Indick (138), Kennedy Thomas (152), Joe Schaefer (170) and Tom O’Connell (190).
Then Liverpool faced Syracuse Thursday night and prevailed 36-26, clinching the victory when Gonzales, moving down to 170, pinned Keyshawn Williams in 78 seconds.
Lodge began a string of three consecutive pins with his fall over Hsa Wah in 2:52 before Derrick Eggleston (145) pinned Noah Huntington in 82 seconds and Loncosky topped Anthony Riley with a second-period fall. Adams-Bovenzi needed just 61 seconds to pin Tyree Sharpe.
Both C-NS and Liverpool are now heading into post-season action, making their way to Jamesville-DeWitt next Saturday for the Section III Class AA championship meet.
