SECTION IV WRESTLING: TIOGA TOPS BGAH, 55-21; ADVANCES TO DIVISION 2 DUALS FINALS AGAINST WINDSOR (24 PHOTOS) (2020-01-25)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportBINGHAMTON "” Tioga fell behind early, but won nine of the last 10 weight classes, including the final eight, to rally for a 55-21 win over BGAH in the semifinals of the Section IV, Division 2 Duals here Saturday afternoon at Chenango Forks High School.
"(BGAH) is well-coached, and they're a good team. It's great to get a win against a program like that," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington.
"We're a little sick right now, so to see the kids overcome some adversity and wrestle as well as they did ... and to have another opportunity at a Sectional title, I feel really good about where we're at right now," added Harrington.
The top-seeded Tigers, now 7-0, will face second-seed Windsor (8-0) in the finals at 4:30 p.m. Windsor advanced to the championship match with a 60-24 win over Walton-Delhi.
The Tigers won the coin toss, and Harrington said it made things a bit easier on his squad.
"We were going to send Emmett (Wood) out to wrestle (Brody) Oleksak at 152 if we lost the flip," he said. "But, I think (BGAH coach Brandon McNaught's) plan was to bump up the whole time.
"I think it saved us some points winning the toss, but (the match) played out just about the way I thought it would," added Harrington.
Emmett Wood took a forfeit at 152 to open the match, and BGAH standout Brody Oleksak received a forfeit at 160 to make it 6-6.
BGAH senior Zach Gardepe and sophomore James Craig scored first-period falls for the Bears at 170 and 182, respectively, to give them an 18-6 lead, but senior Aaron Howard righted the ship for the Tigers at 195 pounds with a fall of freshman Nathan Houle in 1:35 to trim the deficit to 18-12.
Senior Dom Wood kept it going for Tioga with a 10-6 decision over junior Rocco Arduino at 220 pounds to cut the BGAH advantage to 18-15. In two previous meetings this season, Aruduini won a 5-4 decision in their dual meet, and Dom Wood forged a 10-4 decision at the Sgt. Justin Rogers Memorial Tournament.
Senior Dalton Griffith logged BGAH's final win of the day, edging senior Jared Lamb, 1-0, in overtime. The two battled on their feet for more than six minutes, before Lamb was penalized for stalling midway through the first overtime period.
At 99 pounds, Tioga 8th-grader Gianni Silverstri, ranked first in Section IV, squared off against BGAH 8th-grader Darren Florence, ranked second in Section IV, and built a quick 7-0 lead in the first period on his way to a 14-2 major decision to trim the deficit to 21-19.
It was Silvestri's fourth win over Florance this season. He won the first three by scores of 9-1, 7-0, and 10-1.
After a forfeit to 8th-grader Levi Bellis at 106 pounds gave the Tigers the lead for good, at 25-21, 8th-grader Caden Bellis scored a 14-0 major decision over Jose Bivar at 113 pounds to extend the lead to 29-21.
At 120 pounds, BGAH bumped standout Joey Florence, who is ranked second at 106, up to face freshman Donovan Smith, who took a quick 4-0 lead with a takedown and near-fall points.
Smith continued to pour on the points on his way to a 12-1 major decision to make it 33-21.
Harrington took note of the major decision wins over the Florances.
"That's the depth we have at bottom of our line-up."
Sophomore Mason Welch scored a 25-second fall of Garrett Kiehle with a tight cradle at 126 pounds, then his brother, senior Jacob Welch, locked up the win for the Tigers at 132 pounds with an 11-2 major decision over Dylan Decker to make it 43-21.
Senior David MacWhinnie added a 33-second fall of Devan Rose at 138 pounds, and senior Brady Worthing scored a 15-0 technical fall of Brady Buttice at 145 pounds.
The championship match against Windsor will start with the 160-pound bout. The Black Knights have distinct advantage from 160 through 285, while the Tigers enjoy the advantage from 99 through 152 pounds.
"We're going to put out what we're going to put out," said Harrington. "It will make for some excitement ... we'll know where we stand coming into 99 pounds, and what we have to do.
"It could look ugly for a while, but that's why we wrestle these matches," he added.
"”"”"”"”"”"”
IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Gianni Silvestri. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
