NEW YORK STATE WRESTLING: FIVE TIGERS SEEDED IN TOP SIX IN WEIGHT CLASSES — TIOGA TEAMMATES SQUARE OFF IN OPENING ROUND (2 PHOTOS) (2020-02-24)

Valley Sports Report
ALBANY - Five of Tioga's six wrestlers are seeded in the top six this weekend at the New York State, Division 2 Championships here at the Times-Union Center, while the other faces one of his teammate in the opening round.

Unbeaten defending state champion Brady Worthing is a top seed, while sophomore Emmett Wood and 8th-grader Caden Bellis are third seeds, and 8th-grader Gianni Silvestri is a fifth seed.

Freshman Donovan Smith is a sixth seed, and will face his teammate sophomore Mason Welch, the 11th seed, in the opening round.

The following are the six Tioga wrestlers' opening-round match-ups, and top seeds in their weight classes:

At 99 pounds, Silvestri (36-1) is the fifth seed and will square off with wild card entry Gavin Bobb (45-2), the District V runner-up from Canisteo-Greenwood in the opening round.

Camden freshman Trey Kimball (39-2) is the top seed, while Newfane 7th-grader Aiden Gillings (39-6) is the second seed, Canisteo-Greenewood sophomore Xavier Dejesus-Remch (42-0) is third seed, and Chautauqua Lake freshman Martin Ohlsson (32-8) is the fourth seed.

At 106 pounds, Bellis (36-2) is the third seed and will square off with a familiar foe in BGAH freshman Joey Florance (28-8), who is the 14th seed. Bellis has beaten Florance three times this season, including 2-0 in the Section IV finals. All three wins were by two points.

The defending 99-pound state champion Jace Shaffer (50-2), a junior from Pal-Mac, is the top seed, while Newfane junior Andy Lucinski (45-2), last year's 99-pound state runner-up, is the second seed. Petrides senior Matt Gatto (42-2) is the fourth seed.

At 120 pounds, Smith is 39-2 on the season, while Welch is 30-9. They've wrestled four times this season, and Smith has won all four, including a 13-1 major decision in the Section IV finals.

Three-time state champion Anthony Noto (33-1) of Honeoye Falls-Lima is the top seed, while Central Valley Academy junior Mason Bush (51-2) is the second seed, Cooperstown junior Avery Leonard (44-5) is the third seed and Pleasantville senior Len Balducci (43-3) is the fourth seed.

At 138 pounds, Worthing (42-0) is the top seed, and will face the winner of the pigtail match between Pavillion/York junior Ryan Caudill and Red Hook senior Alex Lopez.

A familiar foe in eighth-seeded Mike O'Brien (40-5) of Mount Sinai looms in the second round for Worthing. Worthing beat O'Brien, 3-1, at the State Duals on Feb. 1. Last year, O'Brien topped Worthing, 10-5 at the State Duals. Two years ago, Worthing beat O'Brien, 7-3, at the Windsor Tournament, and pinned him in 2:20 in the round-of-16 at the state tournament.

Pal-Mac junior Kaleb Burgess (50-4) is the second seed, while Gouverneur sophomore Carter Baer (38-3) is the third seed, and Sidney junior Zach Harrington (39-4) is the fourth seed.

At 152 pounds, Wood (36-6) is the third seed, and will face 14th-seed Liam Futterman (27-7) of Horace Mann in the opening round.

Christian Hansen (36-2) of Cold Spring Harbor is the top seed, while Keegan Case (50-3) of Central Valley Academy is the second seed, and Aidan Canfield (33-3) of Pleasantville is the fourth seed.

Action begins Friday morning at 10 a.m.

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IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Brady Worthing. IN PHOTO 2: From left: Tioga's Gianni Silvestri, Caden Bellis, Mason Welch, Donovan Smith, Brady Worthing, and Emmett Wood. ... PHOTO PROVIDED.