DEWITT – Trying to take back the Section III Class AA championship last Saturday at Jamesville-DeWitt High School, the Cicero-North Syracuse boys wrestling team put out an all-out effort, and it nearly worked.
The Northstars finished with 191.5 points, topping everyone except West Genesee, who rode eight different top-three finishes to a sectional team title earning 234.5 points. Liverpool was seventh with 111 points.
C-NS got just one individual title from Kennedy Thomas at 152 pounds. Having pinned Baldwinsville’s Cameron Sullivan in the semifinals, Thomas then pinned Sullivan’s teammate, Nathan Cali, for the top spot.
Sean Aldrich nearly got the title at 145 pounds, pinning Liverpool’s Samir Amiri in the second period of their semifinal before a 12-7 loss to WG’s Logan Willis in the finals.
Kaydin Welch got to the 190-pound final, where he was pinned by Syracuse’s Ryan Brown as Kasey Kalfass made it to the 124-pound title bout only to get pinned by New Hartford standout Caden Beecher.
Grady Ellswoth’s pin of teammate James Conklin at 101 pounds produced a third-place finish, while Mason Indick was third at 138 pounds when a medical forfeit kept Liverpool’s Lantz Herrera from continuing,.
Ahmed Ashkar (285 pounds) and Michael Pease (215 pounds) each lost close consolation bracket finals to finish fourth – Ashkar 2-1 to WG’s Omar Almlaiti, Pease to Fayeteville-Manilus’ Caleb Haase.
Gaining fifth-place finishes, Lucas Peck pinned Liverpool’s Andrew Lodge in 46 seconds at 138 pounds, while Derek Eells did so at 160 pounds holding off another WG wrestler, Samir Abochreakh 11-8.
Liverpool’s best finish came from Aiden Adams-Bovenzi, who at 116 pounds pinned WG’s Owen Fuller in the semifinals before a title bout where he was pinned by B’ville’s Cael Bruce.
Samir Amiriwas third at 145 when he topped the Bees’ Brendan Fredenburg with a second-period pin, with Sajad Amirzada doing the same at 116 pounds pinning WG’s Owen Fuller.
Matt Loncosky settled for fourth place at 152 pounds after a 9-6 defeat to another WG wrestler, Ali Aboumustafa, while Landon Bunyea (108 pounds), Andrew Lodge (138 pounds) and Mateo Gonazles (215 pound) each placed sixth.
