FROM THE PRESS BOX: THOUGHT ON TIOGA'S DOMINANCE AT STATES ... AND MORE ON POSTSEASON WRESTLING (2022-03-07)
I love my annual trips to Albany and Hershey for the state wrestling championships.
With Albany in the rear-view mirror, and Hershey looming just a few days away, I wanted to share a few thoughts.
Tioga coach Kris Harrington took over a storied program prior to the 2017 season, and has taken it to unprecedented heights.
This year, the Tigers sent a staggering nine wrestlers to States, and seven of them earned medals. They were crowned the Division 2 champs with 146 points — shattering the previous record of 110 points set by Central Valley Academy in 2017.
Of the nine state qualifiers, seven are underclassmen. And, of the seven medalists, six will return, so don’t be surprised if Tioga keeps pushing that record point total even higher the next couple years.
Tioga crowned two champs in sophomores Gianni Silvestri and Ousmane Duncanson, two runners-up in sophomore Caden Bellis and junior Donovan Smith, and a third-place finisher in 8th-grader Jayden Duncanson.
Silvestri capped a 38-1 season with a dominant run to his second state title. A technically sound and unflappable presence on the mat, he was unscored upon in his first three matches against wrestler attempting to keep it close and looking for a chance to score that never materialized.
In the finals, Silvestri met a familiar face in Canisteo-Greenwood senior Xavier Dejesus-Remchuk. Silvestri beat him 5-4 in the 99-pound finale in 2020, and lost to him 3-2 in the semifinals of the 2021 New York State Championships held in Spooky Nook, Pa.
Silvestri separated himself from Remchuk this season, beating him 8-3 at the State Duals, and then 12-3 in this year’s 118-pound state title match. All three of Remchuk’s points came on escapes.
Silvestri’s only loss was his first match of the season, a 3-1 overtime setback against Liam Carlin of Burnt Hills, who finished fourth in the State in Division I at 126 pounds.
With the win, Silvestri became the first Tioga wrestler to win consecutive trips to the state finals. Brent Rider won a state title in 1999, but lost in the finals in 2000, while Derak Heyman had a second-place finish sandwiched between state titles in 2009 and 2011, and Brady Worthing finished second in 2020 after winning a title in 2019.
There’s no such thing as a lock in wrestling, but Silvestri appears destined to be Tioga’s first three-time champ.
Duncanson is an explosive athlete, who used that athleticism to overwhelm his first two opponents at States for a pin and a technical fall.
He also showed a calm in tight spots that he hasn’t always had in winning a pair of one-point decisions, including a 2-1 win over Alexander’s Mitchell Gaiser in the 152-pound finals.
Duncanson finished the season at 45-2, with his losses to 152-pound Division I champ Rocco Camillaci of Hilton, and Corning’s Ethan Hart, who finished seventh in the state (Division 1) at 160 pounds.
Bellis and Smith are technically sound wrestlers and incredibly athletic. Like Silvestri, they have exceptional wrestling IQs, but both ran into unbeaten “hammers” in the finals.
Bellis led 3-0 and 4-2 before dropping a 6-5 decision to Mattituck’s Joseph Sparacio in the 132-pound finale.
He wrapped up the season with a 40-2 record, his only other loss coming in the finals of the Windsor Christmas Tournament to Honeoye Falls-Lima’s Nicholas Noto, who finished third and lost to Sparacio in the semifinals.
Smith may have been the most dominant Tiger through the first three rounds at States, scoring a 16-1 technical fall, building a 14-0 lead before finishing off a pin at 3:39, and winning 13-2 in the semifinals.
He dropped a 5-3 decision to unbeaten Jackson Polo of Cold Springs Harbor in the 145-pound finals.
Smith finished the season at 43-4. His other losses came to Pennfield’s Nolan Liess — a Division I state qualifier, Manhasset’s Jack Roszko, who suffered a season-ending injury in the Section VIII semifinals for his only loss of the season, and Gouverneur’s Vandavian Way, who finished fourth in Division 2 at 152 pounds.
Jayden Duncanson may have been Tioga’s most improved wrestler from the beginning of the season to the end.
At the end of the season, prior to States, Duncanson won 23 consecutive bouts and on five of them went a full six minutes. Just three of them were decided by less than six points — two of those against teammate, sophomore Deakon Bailey, who did not get an opportunity to wrestle in the postseason.
He is destined to earn a great deal of state hardware during his varsity career.
Sophomore Tyler Roe earned a fifth-place medal in his first varsity season, and will only get better for the Tigers.
Sophomore Drew Macumber went 0-2 at States, but may have been the best story of the postseason for the Tigers.
He had planned on playing, and was practicing with, the basketball team this season, but decided at the last minute to wrestle.
Macumber had wrestled a bit on the modified team, and was with the wrestling team during the Covid season, but had virtually no varsity experience coming into the season.
All he did was put together a 20-6 campaign, and was a Section IV runner-up heading into States. And he’s just a sophomore.
And finally, Tioga’s two seniors — Emmett Wood and Mason Welch.
Wood cruised into the semifinals, and led 11-0 in that match before suffering an injury, and getting pinned. He battled back, no where near 100 percent, and finished seventh.
Welch, who placed eighth at States in 2020, suffered tough losses in the quarterfinals, and again in his first wrestleback match to bring his career to an end.
Wood and Welch have been a big part of Tioga’s success since Harrington’s arrival. They both leave the program with more than 150 wins.
Looking ahead, Tioga will have just three starters to replace (Wood, Welch, and Josh Snell) and Justin Hopkins, who was a valuable utility guy, but battled injuries this season.
It’s likely some of the lighter wrestlers will fill out and move up a weight class or two, which will allow the likes Bailey, Levi Bellis, Zac Kobutska, Kaiden Cole, Jack Woodcock and Brennan Sindoni to work their way into the line-up.
There’s not much doubt that Tioga is the team to beat in Section IV and New York State alike over the next two seasons.
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A lot of people were anxiously awaiting the 113-pound clash between Athens senior Gavin Bradley and Montoursville junior Branden Wentzel.
On paper, you could not get a much better match-up. Bradley is a three-time PIAA medalist, including a runner-up finish in 2021, while Wentzel was a state champ as a freshman, and a third-place finisher last year.
Bradley entered the 113-pound title match at the District 4 Championship with an unbeaten record, while Wentzel’s only two losses came at the star-studded Powerade Invitational.
Bradley led 3-2, but eventually succumbed in a 5-3 setback. A week later, Bradley scored a pair of takedowns late for an 11-8 win in the Northeast Regional finals.
Bradley has a non-stop motor and is relentless with his leg attacks for six minutes. Once he has his opponent on the mat, he will get the legs in and stretch them to no end.
I have no doubt he’ll become the second Wildcat to win four PIAA medals. I also believe he has a very good chance to put the finishing touches on his legacy with a PIAA gold, but he may have to go through Wentzel again to do it.
Another good story this winter has been senior Karter Rude, who will be making his first trip to Hershey after a second-place finish in his first trip to Regionals.
Rude is a tremendous athlete, who is very good on his feet. He’s wrestling this season with a different level of confidence.
Winning a PIAA medal is not a easy chore, but Rude is capable. He’ll just have to be at his best this weekend.
One of the more heartbreaking stories of the winter is the knee injury that derailed Athens senior Kaden Setzer’s season.
Setzer was 28-4 and lead Troy’s Seth Seymour, 9-2, in the 132-pound finals at the North Section Championships when he injured his knee in a scramble. He was eventually forced to default.
I’m fairly confident a healthy Setzer would have advanced to Regionals, but with a gimpy knee he went 1-2 at Districts.
The injury also cost him a chance at 100 career victories. He finished up with 95. Despite a tough ending, it was a very good career for Setzer.
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Waverly advanced a pair of under classmen to States in freshman Kam Hills and junior Ty Beeman, and had two more juniors — Gage Tedesco and Connor Stotler — narrowly miss.
Hills is an incredibly athletic 285-pounder, who made it to States on sheer athleticism and power. He is only going to get better as he gains wrestling knowledge and experience.
Beeman is another ultra-athletic big man. The 215-pounder qualified for States in a tough weight class. It will be interesting to see how big of a step forward he can take next year.
Tedesco and Stotler should take the next step next season, and the Waverly contingent could swell past that with seniors-to-be Braeden Hills and Landon McCarty both potential state qualifiers. And, keep your eye on freshman-to-be Troy Beeman, another athletic Waverly big man.
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And finally, hats off to Tioga junior Emily Sindoni and Waverly freshman Mackenzie LaForest, who both won Section IV titles in the first year of the girls tournament.
On Saturday, Sindoni won the 126-pound title at the New York State Girls Folkstyle Championships, and LaForest won a silver medal at 215 pounds.
Sindoni is a tenacious competitor, who has nearly 50 career wins over boys at Tioga. She is a three-time IAC medalist, including a second-place finish at 113 pounds as a freshman.
LaForest, who was 5-1 against girls, earned one varsity win this season against the boys.
I am excited to see how much girls wrestling grows in New York and Pennsylvania over the next few years.
I am especially hopeful that New York State sanctions the sport, instead of focusing its efforts on flag football, for 2022-23, so that Sindoni has a chance to wrestle for a state title at the same venue her male counterparts do.
