IAC WRESTLING: TIOGA CROWNS THREE CHAMPS, PLACE FOUR OTHERS IN TOP THREE; TIE FOR TEAM TITLE AT BRADSHAW INVITE (24 PHOTOS) (2020-01-11)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportCANANDAIGUA, N.Y. "" Tioga advanced five to Saturday evening's finals, then crowned three champions, and tied for first place in the team standings here at the annual Robert Bradshaw Invitational at Canandaigua Academy.
Seniors Dom Wood, Brady Worthing, and David MacWhinnie all won titles, while sophomore Emmett Wood, and freshman Donovan Sutton each finished second, sophomore Mason Welch finished third, and 8th-grader Levi Bellis and junior Justin Hopkins each finished fourth.
"I feel good about it, especially leaving four guys at home, who would have scored for us. We left a lot of points at home," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington in reference to a trio of state-ranked wrestlers in 8th-graders Gianni Silvestri (second at 99), and Caden Bellis (fourth at 106), and senior Jacob Welch (15th at 126), as well as senior Aaron Howard.
Tioga and Division I Webster-Thomas both tallied 232.5 points, while Division I Horseheads was third with 223 points, Clarence was fourth with 192 points, Division I Pittsford was fifth with 173 points, and Division I Chenango Forks was sixth with 159 points.
"It feels good, and shows the depth of our program," noted Harrington. "It shows the kids are working hard every day and getting better.
"I think we're starting to round into shape, and we're building toward the IAC Championships next week," he added. "I think we're in a good spot right now."
Harrington made note of Bellis and Hopkins, who have been unable to crack the Tioga line-up, but both made the podium this weekend.
"A kid like Justin Hopkins to come in here and take fourth, that's a good weekend for him.
"And, Levi Bellis has had a great weekend," said Harrington. "No one has talked about Levi, and in most programs he's a starter, and has 30 matches by now. In our program, we have a really good kid there."
Harrington notes the Tigers will be at full strength Saturday at the IAC Championships at Waverly.
"I'm excited to see what we can do. We get to see everyone wrestle next weekend."
At 220 pounds, Dom Wood recorded a pair of falls to advance to the finals.
He pinned Kaleb Sparks of Canandaigua Academy in 1:37 in the quarterfinals, then pinned Rodney Jones III of Williamson-Marion-Sodus in 2:48 in the semifinals.
In the finals, Dom Wood scored the initial takedown with 2 seconds remaining in he first period to gain the momentum en route to a 7-4 win over Mitchell Tanner of Port Byron-Union Springs.
Wood led 7-1 with 40 seconds remaining in the bout, but cut Tanner loose in hopes of winning a major decision and putting the Tigers into sole possession of first place in the team standings, but Tanner spoiled those hopes with a takedown.
"When you talk about our finalists, I think you have to start with Dominic (Wood)," said Harrington. "It's his first tournament title, and he has a new confidence since Windsor (Christmas Tournament).
"I think he's turned a corner for us, and I feel really good about where he's at with his wrestling right now."
"In the beginning of the year, Dom was indecisive and a little scared," added Harrington. Now, he's really deliberate in what he's doing."
At 138 pounds, Worthing scored two more first-period pins to advance to the finals.
In the quarterfinals, Worthing decked Damien Snyder of Marcus Whitman-Penn Yan in 1:28. In the semifinals, he pinned Victor's Sam Ricci in 1:43.
Both of Worthing's pins Saturday came via the "pancake," catching his opponents at the shoulders as they came in for a takedown, and taking them directly to their back.
"His reaction time is pretty tremendous," said Harrington. "He puts a lot of pressure on guys.
"People feel comfortable leg-attacking, but his base is so strong that's he able to counter it with authority," noted Harrington.
In the finals, Worthing dominated Logan Gumble of Chenango Forks, the second-ranked 138-pounder in Division 1 of Section IV, in a 16-5 major decision.
Worthing scored a takedown just seven seconds into the bout, and immediately cut Gumble loose, then scored another takedown nine seconds later, and turned Gumble for two near-fall points and a 6-1 lead.
Gumble scored a reversal with 59 seconds left in the first period, but Worthing scored an escape moments later, then hit on a five-point move to take a 12-3 lead at the end of the first two minutes.
After a scoreless second period, Worthing sealed the victory with a pair of third-period takedowns.
"Brady beat a really good kid, and he extended the margin to an 11-point gap. Last year, he beat (Logan) Gumble 3-1 here; that's a good win," said Harrington.
"We have a couple of holes to work on with Brady, but he's widening the margin against good kids, and that's a good thing at this point," added Harrington.
Worthing is 25-0 on the season, with 21 pins and one technical fall. He's had just two matches go a full six minutes.
At 126 pounds, MacWhinnie advanced to the finals with an 8-3 decision over Ithaca's Danny Parker in the semifinals. He had decked Pal-Mac's Aiden Gales in 3:08 in the quarterfinals.
In the finals, MacWhinnie scored a pair of takedowns and led 4-1 before cinching in a cradle, and decking Cooper Rice of Chenango Forks in 1:22.
"Great short offense, right into a cradle, rolled it, and got a stick," said Harrington. "It's a nice win.
Again, another guy rounding into shape," he added. "He hasn't been healthy all year, so getting the healthy version of David MacWhinnie is pretty nice."
At 152 pounds, Emmett Wood advanced to the semifinals with a pin of Hilton's Nate Kasper in 5:06. In the semis, he scored a 5-1 decision over Pittsford's Josh Robinson.
In the finals, Horseheads senior Jacob Scibek, the top-ranked 152-pounder in Division 1 of Section IV, scored a takedown late in the first period, and again late in the second period for a 4-1 lead on his way to a 6-3 win over Wood.
"Emmett had a good weekend, and he closed the gap on Jacob (Scibek); that's what we're looking for," said Harrington.
At 120 pounds, Smith advanced to the finals with a 5-0 decision over Welch in the semifinals.
Smith scored a takedown of his teammat late in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. After riding Welch for the entire second period, Smith scored an escape early in the third period, and cemented the win with a takedown with 5 seconds remaining.
In the quarterfinals, Smith pinned Bryan McLean of Webster-Tomas in 1:47, while Welch flattened Trent Stagg of South Seneca in 1:30.
In the finals, Smith faced Horseheads junior Zach Levey, the top-ranked Division 1 120-pounder, and dropped an 8-0 major decision.
"(Zach Levey) is good, he took fifth in the State last year," said Harrington.
"I liked Donovan's third period, he was still going after it and trying to score points; that's important at this time of the year," he added.
Welch bounced back in the consolation semifinals with a pin of South Seneca's Trevor Sibley in 2:50, then topped Chase Gottstein of Webster-Thomas, 6-3, in the third-place match.
At 132 pounds, junior Justin Hopkins pinned Dillon English of Webster-Thomas in 1:54 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Hopkins led Clarence's Joe Palozzi, 3-2, midway through the third period, but was whistled for "locked hands" twice. Hopkins trailed 5-3 with 32 seconds remaining after cutting Palozzi loose in hopes of scoring a match-tying takedown, but Palozzi staved off his attempts for the win.
Hopkins bounced back in the consolation semifinals with a wild 11-9 win over Patrick McCray of McQuaid Jesuit, but in the third-place match, he dropped an 8-5 decision to Jack Smith of Port Byron-Union Springs.
At 99 pounds, Bellis went 4-0 in wrestlebacks Saturday to advance to the third-place match.
He opened with a 15-0 technical fall win over Pittsford's Zach Gerby, then blanked Honeoye Falls-Lima's Waylan Wiseman, 6-0.
In his third match, Bellis blanked Pittsford's Jackson Ciccoca, 8-0, to advance to the consolation semifinals, where he pinned Pennfield's Kieman Magee in 4:07.
In the third-place match, Bellis dropped a 3-0 decision to Henry Smith of Port Byron-Union Springs.
Not placing for Tioga were:
At 113 pounds, after going 2-0 Friday night, freshman Emily Sindoni went 0-2 Saturday.
At 126 pounds, freshman John Woodcock was pinned in the quarterfinals, and also lost his first wrestleback match.
At 160 pounds, junior Ethan Agan recorded his first varsity victory in the first round of wrestlebacks with a pin of O-M/Watkins Glen's Zach Burrows in 2:19, but was pinned by top-seed Jarrett O'Connell of Horseheads in his next match.
At 170 pounds, senior Mason Booser recorded his first varsity victory with a 5-4 win over Hunter Worden of Waterloo in the first round of wrestlebacks. He was pinned in the second period by Cameran Coccitti of Webster-Thomas in his next bout.
Sophomore Josh Snell dropped a 1-0 decision to Hilton's Eli Lloyd in the first round of wrestlebacks.
At 182 pounds, senior Ryleigh Shedden received a forfeit in the first round of wrestlebacks, then dropped a 13-3 major decision to Mitchell Bulling of Honeoye Falls-Lima in the second round.
At 195 pounds, freshman Bradley Guiles was pinned in the first period by top-seed Marquis Carns of Clarence in his first consolation bracket match.
At 220 pounds, senior Jared Lamb dropped a 3-2 decision to Jones III in the quarterfinals, but bounced back in wrestlebacks with a pin of Victor's Alex Weinback in 3:00.
Lamb then dropped an 8-2 decision to Mason Peterson of Marcus Whitman-Penn Yan, and a 6-2 decision to Hilton's Zach Grover in the seventh-place match to finish eighth.
At 285 pounds, junior Cole Williams, who received a bye into the quarterfinals, was 0-3 on the day, and finished eighth.
He lost by fall to Pal-Mac's Riley Belanger in the quarterfinals, then dropped a 5-0 decision to Dundee's Travis Bailey. In the seventh-place match, Williams lost via second-period fall to Shane Slowe of Canandaigua Academy.
Tioga hosts SVEC Wednesday night.
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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Dom Wood. .... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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