Valley Sports Report
FULTON, N.Y. - Tioga won five straight bouts, including four by fall, through the middle of the match, then senior Stephen Taylor applied the finishing touch on a 42-39 win over Division 1 powerhouse Fulton here Saturday afternoon in non-league wrestling action.
The Tigers, ranked second in Division 2 in New York State, entered the match with a 2-0 record in duals, while the Red Raiders, ranked 11th in Division, were 20-2 with their losses coming at the hands of the top two teams in the Division 1 rankings - Massapequa and Hilton.
"We're tournament tested," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington. "We have a lot of guys who have been in big matches. Coming up here and being in a tough environment was a good test for us.
"It's a tough place to wrestle," he noted. "They always have good crowds, and it's always loud, and that's why we came up here. We came here to be in a hostile environment.
"It's a great win, and a testament to our kids," added Harrington.
Seventh-grader Caden Bellis, at 106 pounds, gave the Tigers a quick 3-0 lead with a wild 14-8 decision over Dylan Waldron, and Tioga freshman Mason Welch received a forfeit at 113 pounds to make it 9-0.
The Red Raiders answered with a pair of pins to take a 12-9 lead.
Fulton senior Thomas Hughes (22-2), the top-ranked 120-pounder in Section III, pinned Tioga freshman Justin Hopkins in 3:04, and junior Andru Walts (19-5) pinned Tioga junior David MacWhinnie in 1:09 at 126 pounds.
Harrington said the only surprises of the day came early in the match.
"David (MacWhinnie) got caught, so I was surprised there.
"Fulton's 113-pounder (Samuel Waldron, 15-8) got hurt Friday in practice, so the forfeit there obviously didn't help them - that was a surprise," said Harrington. "Other than that, it was pretty much as expected."
Junior Brady Worthing put the Tigers back in front with a pin of Walter Crofoot in 1:49. Crofoot was wrestling in place of junior Cole French (12-5), who is the top-ranked 132-pounder in Section III.
The next two weight classes were the marquee match-ups of the afternoon. At 138 pounds, Tioga's two-time state place-winner John Worthing squared off with junior Samuel May (11-5) - ranked first in Section III, and Tioga senior Austin Lamb, also a two-time state place-winner faced Section III's top 145-pounder Cuinn Burlingham (17-3).
John Worthing built a 10-0 lead before pinning May in 1:45, and Lamb followed with a 4-0 win over Burlingham to give the Tigers a 24-12 lead.
"Aside from Thomas Hughes, Fulton's best guys are at 132, 138, and 145, we went in there and got a couple of big wins.
"Austin (Lamb) got a 5-0 win, and (Cuinn Burlingham) is really tough," said Harrington. "Lamb dominated the match, even though he wasn't feeling all that great today ... for him to wrestle through a little adversity, that's a nice win.
"John Worthing looked great," noted Harrington. "He took (Samuel May) down, put him on his back, put him on his back again ... finally the fourth time it was over.
"It was good to have John back in the lineup," he added.
Freshman Emmett Wood kept it rolling for the Tigers, pinning Jeshua Lopez in 3:30 to make it 30-12 after the 152-pound weight class.
Senior Zac Warner capped Tioga's run with a pin of Brandon Guernsey in 3:55 at 160 pounds to make it 36-12.
Three of the five wins in the Tioga run were by seniors.
"If you look at our seniors and what they've done for us this year - they've set the tone," said Harrington. "From 132 through 160, we're pretty tough to beat. If they keep wrestling like that, we're going to be tough to beat."
Camrin Galvin (21-3) and Nick Noel (12-2) - both wrestling up a weight class for the Red Raiders - scored first-period pins to close the gap to 36-24.
Ian Bogardus (21-4) and Dylan DeMauro (20-3) kept the pin parade rolling for Fulton at 195 and 220 pounds, respectively, to tie the match at 36-36 and set the stage for Taylor's heroics.
Taylor scored a quick takedown and eliminated any suspense with a 26-second fall of Jonathon Bell to give Tioga a 42-36 lead and their eighth win of the match, which also sewed up the first tiebreaker criterion.
"It's a nice win for Stephen," said Harrington. "We were counting on six from him, we got it, and his win closed the door."
Tioga returns to action with home matches Wednesday and Thursday against Waverly and Dryden, then wrestles at Bradshaw Invitational in Canandaigua over the weekend. The next two weeks also includes the IAC Championships and the Section IV Duals.
"We're entering the stretch run, over the next two weeks things start to get real serious for us," said Harrington.
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TIOGA 42, FULTON 39
106: Caden Bellis (T) dec. Dylan Waldron (F), 14-8;
113: Mason Welch (T) won by forfeit;
120: Thomas Hughes (F) by fall over Justin Hopkins (T), 3:04;
126: Andru Walts (F) by fall over David MacWhinnie (T), 1:09;
132: Brady Worthing (T) by fall over Walter Crofoot (F), 1:49;
138: John Worthing (T) by fall over Samuel May (F), 1:45;
145: Austin Lamb (T) dec. Cuinn Burlingham (F), 4-0;
152: Emmett Wood (T) by fall over Jeshua Lopez (F), 3:30;
160: Zach Warner (T) by fall over Brandon Guernsey (F), 3:55;
170: Camrin Galvin (F) by fall over Vincent Sullivan (T), 1:59;
182: Nicholas Noel (F) by fall over Dom Wood (T), 0:31;
195: Ian Bogardus (F) by fall over Joe Lloyd (T), 2:56;
220: Dylan DeMauro (F) by fall over Matt Babcock (T), 5:10;
285: Stephen Taylor (T) by fall over Jonathon Bell (F), 0:26;
99: Dominick Hofmann (F) dec. Gianni Silvestri (T), 6-0.
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