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FROM THE PRESS BOX: PUTTING A BOW ON A MEMORABLE 2021-22 WINTER SPORTS SEASON (2022-03-27)

Somehow, the winter sports seasons just keep getting better.

The 2021-22 winter sports season will long be remembered for state championships — both team and individual — ground-breaking tournaments, historic wins, record-setting performances, and milestones reached.

The winter headlines were dominated by wrestling, with Tioga garnering the biggest headlines.

The Tigers won their third straight Section IV Duals championship, and finally broke through and won its first N.Y. State Duals title after three straight losses in the semifinals.

Tioga also won its fifth straight Section IV, Division 2 championship, and sent nine wrestler to States, including seven Section IV champs. Tioga brought home seven state medals, including two gold, two silver, and one bronze, as well as its third consecutive team title.

Sophomore Gianni Silvestri was dominant on his way to his second state title, and sophomore Ousmane Duncanson was impressive in winning his first state gold.

Junior Donovan Smith and sophomore Caden Bellis rolled into the finals, where they both lost close decisions to unbeaten top-seeded seniors. And, 8th-grader Jayden Duncanson announced his presence to the entire state with a third-place finish.

Perhaps the most heart-warming story of the winter was Athens senior Gavin Bradley’s dominant run to his first PIAA gold. Bradley, who became just the second Wildcat grappler to win four state medals, was 39-1 on the season, and avenged that loss, which came to Montoursville’s Branden Wentzel in the District 4 finals, with wins in the regional and state finals.

In all, 13 Valley wrestlers qualified for States, and eight of them brought home state medals.

Girls wrestling is gaining traction on both side of the border, and Tioga junior Emily Sindoni is at the forefront. She won the first-ever title at the inaugural Section IV Girls Championships, and followed that up with first-place finishes at the N.Y. InterSection Tournament, the New York State Girls Folkstyle Championships, and the National High School Coaches Association High School Nationals.

Waverly freshman Mackenzie LaForest also won a Section IV title, and won a silver medal at the Folkstyle State championships.

Like N.Y., Pa. still hasn’t sanctioned girls wrestling, but there was an unofficial state tournament. Athens senior Raven McCarthy-Gardner brought home a fourth-place medal, and Sayre’s Layla Bennett (wrestling for Athens) finished fifth.

Speaking of history, the Athens boys basketball team advanced to the District 4 finals for the first time since 2000. Despite losing the 4A title game, the Wildcats moved on to the PIAA playoffs and won their first state playoff game since 1956.

In the pools, the Waverly foursome of juniors Jerrell Sackett, Oscar Williams, and Ryan Clark, and senior Kaden Wheeler re-wrote the Wolverine record book in all three relays, erasing the names of some legendary swimmers in the process, like Ben and Pat Fell, Josh Hogan, Brett Gillan, John Hallett, and Jeff Mastrantuono.

The foursome wrapped up the season by swimming its fastest times at the state championships, and brought home a silver medal — the best finish ever at States for the Wolverines — and a ninth-place medal.

Sackett also won a bronze medal in the 50 free — matching the best individual finish in program history.

Pivoting back to basketball, Athens senior Caydence Macik and J.J. Babcock both joined the 1,000-point club. Macik will graduate third on the all-time girls scoring list with 1,283 points, while Babcock wrapped up his career with 1,175 points.

Waverly sophomore Joey Tomasso broke a 30-year record, eclipsing David Sickler’s sophomore scoring record at 19.5 points per game. He is on pace to join the 1,000-point club next season.

Overall, it was a good hoop season in the Valley, with six of the eight teams qualifying for the postseason.

On the bowling hardwoods, Waverly junior Zach Vanderpool posted the best average in Section IV this season, and finished second at the State Qualifier to qualify for States, where he finished 30th.

And, the Tioga boys won their its seventh consecutive IAC Small School title. The Wolverines won the Large School Division title.

Those are just the highlights of the winter season. The Waverly indoor track & field teams had a number of newcomers, led by sophomore Micah Chandler and 7th-grader Lauren Gorsline, that could eventually find their way to the State Meet.

Ditto for the Athens boys swim team, which featured a strong freshman class, led by Ethan Hicks.

I don’t know how the 2022-23 can possibly measure up to this winter, but nine of the 13 state-qualifying wrestlers return next year, as well as three of the four record-breaking Waverly swimmers, and a host of young and talented athletes I didn’t mention, or may not know about yet.

I have a feeling next winter season will be a pretty good one, too.

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