SECTION IV WRESTLING: TIOGA RALLIES TO EDGE WINDSOR, 40-34; REPEATS AS DIVISION 2 DUALS CHAMPIONS (24 PHOTOS) (2020-01-25)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportBINGHAMTON "” Tioga dug itself a deep hole, 31-0 to be exact, but won eight of the final nine weight classes, including falls in the final two, for a 40-34 win over Windsor to repeat as Section IV, Division 2 Duals champions.
The Tigers, now 7-0 and ranked fifth in the state, beat the Black Knights (7-1 and ranked sixth), 43-25, in last year's championship match.
Tioga, which finished second to Norwich in 2018 and advanced to the State Duals as a wild card, will make its third straight trip to the New York State Duals next weekend.
"Starting with coach (Mike) Norcross and Josh (Roe), they built a tradition of winning," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington. "The expectations at Tioga are high. We feel it, and the kids feel it. You forget that they're kids, for them to come out an perform and win continuously is a credit to them.
"We need to enjoy the moment a little bit more because it doesn't happen all the time," noted Harrington. "We're making it look like it's normal, but it's not.
"We had a huge turnover from last year. This is a different group completely from last year, where they knew they were the guys," he continued. "This year, we're still trying to figure out who the guys are.
"I feel good about where we're at, but we have our work cut out for us next week," added Harrington.
It's no secret that Tioga strength is in the lower weights - from 99 pounds through 152 pounds, while Windsor's strength is in the upper weights - from 160 through 285 pounds.
The match started at 160 pounds, and Windsor won the pre-match coin flip, which allowed them to dictate the bouts.
After the Black Knights received a forfeit at 160, Dave Flora, Langdon Sibley and Gabe Monroe - all up a weight class - picked up first-period falls at 170, 182, and 195 pounds, respectively, against first-year Tioga wrestlers to extend the lead to 24-0.
At 220 pounds, Windsor's Brandon Butler, the top-ranked wrestler at 195 in Section IV, forged a 9-1 decision over Tioga senior Aaron Howard, who also bumped up from 195, to give the Black Knights a 28-0 lead.
At 285, Windsor's Collin Bidwell, ranked third at 220 in Section IV, edged Dom Wood, ranked fifth, 5-2, to give Windsor a 31-0 lead.
"(Windsor) is pretty good up top, and we're weaker there.
"We lost the (coin) flip - we always lose the flip, and that really took the decisions out of our hands," said Harrington. "We knew we were going to bump (Aaron) Howard up to 220, and we knew we were going to bump Dominic (Wood) up to heavyweight.
"(Aaron and Dom) staying off their backs was huge - it won the match for us," noted Harrington. "They're seniors, you have to give them credit. They weren't wins, but they were point-savers - those were bonus points (Windsor) was counting on to beat us.
"For them to grind against some really, really good kids is a credit to them," added Harrington.
At 99 pounds, 8th-grader Levi Bellis quickly turned the momentum toward the Tigers. He scored a quick takedown and recorded a fall in 45 seconds over Nathan Javier to put Tioga on the board.
"We knew a week ago if we got here, this was how the line-up was going to play out at the bottom," said Harrington. "(Levi) was prepared.
"Levi (Bellis) is pretty good," noted Harrington. "He starts on 80 or 90 percent of the teams in Section IV.
"We felt pretty comfortable at 99, right into Gianni (Silvestri), we felt super-comfortable with him at 106, and I thought Caden wrestled a great match (at 113)," added Harrington.
Eighth-grader Gianni Silvestri scored a takedown seven seconds into the 106-pound bout, then worked an arm bar for a fall of Noah Taylor at 1:19 to cut the Windsor lead to 31-12.
Eighth-grader Caden Bellis scored an early takedown, and turned an arm bar into three near-fall points at the first-period buzzer for a 5-0 lead over Nick Swartz at 113 pounds. Caden Bellis continued to build on his lead and ended up winning a 12-1 major decision to trim the deficit to 31-16.
Freshman Donovan Smith kept it rolling for the Tigers at 120 pounds, decking Ethan Dibble in 1:24 to make it 31-22.
At 126 pounds, Tioga sophomore Mason Welch trailed Troy Hayes, 7-3, midway through the second period, but rallied to tie the bout at 9-9 with a reversal with 25 seconds remaining in the third period.
Mason Welch appeared to take the lead on a stalling call as Hayes scurried backward out-of-bounds with 11 seconds remaining, but after the officials conferenced, and the call was waived off.
In overtime, Hayes was in deep on a single-leg, but Welch ended up on top when the two crashed to the mat for a five-point move and a 14-9 decision to make it 31-25.
"Mason (Welch) got into a crazy match," said Harrington. "He and (Troy) Hayes have wrestled these types of matches every year. I wasn't surprised it was that crazy.
"Mason kept his composure, and pulled out a big win," he added.
At 132 pounds, Tioga senior Jacob Welch built a 4-0 lead, but Windsor's Ryan Kennedy scored a takedown at the second-period buzzer to trim the deficit to 4-3, then scored a reversal early in the third period for a 5-4 lead. Kennedy rode Welch out for the final 1:44 to earn the win, extending Windsor's lead to 34-25.
"Give credit to Ryan Kennedy," said Harrington. "Jacob (Welch) majored him earlier this year, so that was a big turn-around win there. It was quite an impressive display."
The 138-pound bout between Tioga's David MacWhinnie and Windsor's Deekon Flint was a wild one, too.
Moments after taking an injury timeout early in the second period, MacWhinnie scored a five-point move to take a 5-2 lead, but Kennedy countered and led 8-5 after a takedown with 40 seconds remaining in the third period.
MacWhinnie scored a reversal with 19 seconds remaining, then cut Kennedy loose, only to take him down with seven seconds remaining to tie the bout at 9-9.
MacWhinnie notched a takedown just 13 seconds into the overtime period for an 11-9 win that trimmed the deficit to 34-28.
"That's a gutty performance, and a good win for David," said Harrington.
The good thing about starting at 160 pounds, said Harrington, was knowing the Tigers would finish the night with senior Brady Worthing and sophomore Emmett Wood.
"It's not football, you ride a wave every six minutes," said Harrington. "Once that waved turned, we knew "˜all right, here comes our thumpers.'"
And "thump" they did.
At 145 pounds, Worthing scored a quick takedown and a 42-second fall of Regan Conrad to tie the match at 34-34.
At 152 pounds, Wood, with Windsor's James Hoby in control of his head, scored a pin at 2:45 to sew up the win.
"David (MacWhinnie) and Emmett (Wood) have been sick, so for them to come out and overcome some adversity was nice to see," said Harrington.
All in all, Harrington said the match went as expected.
"The match played out just like I thought it would, aside from 126 - I thought we'd win that one."
Tioga returns to action Saturday at the New York State Division 2 Duals at the SRC Arena on the campus of Onondaga Community College. Action begins at 9 a.m.
"”"”"”"”"”"”
TIOGA 40, WINDSOR 34160: Steve Paugh (W) by forfeit;
170: Dave Flora (W) by fall by fall over Josh Snell (T), 1:35;
182: Langdon Sibley (W) by fall by fall over Ryleigh Shedden (T), 0:24;
195: Gabriel Monroe (W) by fall by fall over Bradley Guiles (T), 0:24;
220: Brandon Butler (W) major dec. Aaron Howard (T), 9-1;
285: Collin Bidwell (W) dec. Dom Wood (T), 5-2;
99: Levi Bellis (T) by fall by fall over Nathan Javier (W), 0:45;
106: Gianni Silvestri (T) by fall by fall over Noah Taylor (W), 1:19;
113: Caden Bellis (T) major dec. Nick Swartz (W), 12-1;
120: Donavan Smith (T) by fall by fall over Ethan Dibble (W), 1:24;
126: Mason Welch (T) dec. Troy Hayes (W),15-10, OT;
132: Ryan Kennedy (W) dec. Jacob Welch (T), 5-4;
138: David MacWhinnie (T) dec. Deekon Flint (W), 11-9;
145: Brady Worthing (T) by fall by fall over Regan Conrad (W), 0:42;
152: Emmett Wood (T) by fall by fall over James Hoby fall by fall over (W), 2:45.
Semifinals
TIOGA 54, BGAH 21152: Emmett Wood (T) by forfeit;
160: Brody Oleksak (BGAH) by forfeit;
170: Zach Gardepe (BGAH) by fall over Josh Snell (T), 1:16;
182: James Craig (BGAH) by fall over Ryleigh Shedden (T), 1:40;
195: Aaron Howard (T) by fall over Nathan Houle (BGAH), 1:35;
220: Dom Wood (T) dec. Rocco Arduini (BGAH), 10-6;
285: Dalton Griffith (BGAH) dec. Jared Lamb (T), 1-0, OT;
99: Gianni Silvestri (T) major dec. Darren Florance (BGAH), 14-2;
106: Levi Bellis (T) by forfeit;
113: Caden Bellis (T) major dec. Jose Bivar (BGAH), 14-0;
120: Donavan Smith (T) major dec. Joey Florance (BGAH), 12-1;
126: Mason Welch (T) by fall over Garrett Kiehle (BGAH), 0:25;
132: Jacob Welch (T) major dec. Dylan Decker (BGAH), 11-2;
138: David MacWhinnie (T) by fall over Devon Rowe (BGAH), 0:38;
145: Brady Worthing (T) tech. fall over Brady Buttice (BGAH), 15-0 @ 4:05.
