THE FINAL WORD: THOUGHTS ON THE WINTER SEASON — PART I (2019-12-19)
If Tioga wrestling fans were concerned after the graduation of state
champion John Worthing, Austin Lamb, and Stephen Taylor, who combined
for more than 500 wins and eight state place-finishes, there's no need
to worry.
The Tigers have won both tournaments they've entered
with 13 champs and six runners-up. Saturday, they hosted four of the top
12 Small Schools in New York State, and won the team title
convincingly.
It's even more impressive when you consider several of their football players are still working their way into wrestling shape.
One
football player who hasn't missed a beat is returning state champ Brady
Worthing, who is 11-0 with nine pins - six in the first period, one
second-period technical fall and a forfeit. Not one of his match has
gone a full six minutes.
Worthing has been much more aggressive this season, and is wrestling with ultimate confidence.
It's
early, very early, but Tioga could be very well-represented again in
Albany this year. Eighth-grader Giannni Silvestri is the top-ranked
99-pounder in the State, and has twice manhandled the second-ranked
99-pounder (BGAH's Darren Florence) in Section IV. Silvestri has been
extremely impressive in the early-going.
Eighth-grader Caden
Bellis and Owego's Matt Laubach will likely battle it out for the
Section IV title at 106 pounds, and the automatic bid to States. Bellis
has looked strong and more confident this season.
If freshman
Donovan Smith gets down to 113 pounds as planned, he's likely battle
BGAH's Joey Florence for the top spot. Smith is slick and athletic, a
lot of fun to watch.
The Tigers have a few other candidates -
senior Jacob Welch, senior David MacWhinnie, sophomores Emmett Wood and
Mason Welch, but they'll face a tougher road to get there.
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Waverly is much-improved this season, with a pair of "surprises" among those leading the surge.
Senior
Ethan Stotler appears to be on a mission to get to Albany. He is 14-1,
with his only loss to returning state runner-up Cooper Kropman of
Penfield. He has been a machine in the early-going.
Sophomore Garrett Skeens is another one with postseason aspirations and potential, but 126 and 132 are tough weight classes.
Junior
Trevor Meyers has taken his lumps since the 8th-grade, but it's paying
off this season. He's currently 14-1 and ranked fourth in Section IV at
182 pounds. It's a tough weight class, and we'll have a better gauge of
where he's at after the Windsor Tournament.
Freshman Gage Tedesco
has also been a major surprise. After a brief glimpse of him last
season, it was easy to see he was going to be good, but for a freshman
to post a 13-2 record at 195 and 220 pounds is eye-opening. Again, 195
is a tough weight class, and he could run into a couple of the guys
ranked ahead of him at the Windsor Tournament, so we may have a better
handle on him after that.
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Last year, Gavin Bradley became just the second Athens freshman to win a PIAA medal, joining Brian Courtney in the elite club.
Bradley
looks even better at the start of his sophomore season. He wrestled
more than 70 matches over the summer, and it appears he's improved in
every facet of his game, especially getting off bottom, which was his
only big weakness last year.
He has a motor that just doesn't stop, and often wears down his opponent with his in-your-face style.
Junior
Kyler Setzer is off to the best start of his career, while sophomores
Karter Rude and Kaden Setzer, and seniors Alex West ad Keegan Braund are
off to good starts as well.
One wrestler to keep an eye on is freshman Aidan Garcia.
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With their second win of the dual season, the Redskins have already topped last year's win total.
There
have been a couple more holes in the Sayre line-up than first-year
coach Ralph Warner expected due to academic issues, but the Redskins
have shown some glimpses of a promising future and should have a
close-to-full line-up after the New Year.
Sophomore Jacob Bennett
was Sayre's lone representative at Districts this year, and appears
poised to take the next step to Regionals.
The next step for the Redskins is to get more wrestlers to Districts this season.
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The
Waverly indoor track & field team has had just two meets this
season, but already seniors Sheridan Talada and Isaac Chandler, and
junior Collin Wright are re-writing the record book.
Talada broke
hew own record in the 3,000-meter run in the first meet by 3 1/2
seconds, then smashed it by more than 15 seconds at the second meet.
Wright's
record-breaking performance weren't quite as dramatic, but still
impressive. He broke his record by nearly 1 1/2-seconds in the first
meet, and by nearly 2 1/2 seconds in the second meet.
Chandler
just keeps soaring to new heights. He broke his own indoor pole vault
record of 14-feet, 6-inches by six inches, clearing the bar at 15-feet.
He's also among the top 55-meter hurdlers in Section IV.
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The Final Word returns tomorrow with a look at the remainder of winter season sports.