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FROM THE PRESS BOX: WRESTLING, SWIMMING DOMINATE 'SUPER 7 STORYLINES' OF 2022-23 WINTER SEASON (2023-03-21)

The 2022-23 winter season was yet another incredible season for the record books — from the wrestling mats to the basketball hardwoods, to the swimming pool, records were broken, milestones were hit, and state titles were won.

I've talked about storylines in the past and how they normally come in one of four realms: the start of a storyline, the continuation of one, the likely culmination of one, or a storyline totally out-of-the-blue.

This year, the winter storylines featured a nice mix, with the continuation of an incredible storyline taking the spot, and the culmination of a few record-breaking careers in another one of the top spots.
 
With any further ado, I give you, from No. 7 to No. 1, the top storylines of the winter:

7. Sayre basketball teams exceed expectations: Neither the Sayre boys, nor the Sayre girls entered the 2022-23 seasons with any real expectations placed upon them. Yet, when it was all said and done, both teams were better than anyone could have anticipated.

Rookie coach Jon Ward led the Redskins to a 12-10 regular-season record and their first-ever NTL Small School title, a berth in the NTL Showdown, and a berth in the District 4, Class AA playoffs. They finished 12-12.

Longtime Athens girls coach Bob Fauver returned to the sidelines after an extended absence, and took over a program that was 0-15, and not competitive whatsoever, in 2021-22. After an 0-10 start, the Lady Redskins reeled off three wins in a row, and finished the season at 4-18.

This storyline came out of the blue, but there could be a couple chapters left to write.

6. Waverly boys bowling team posts best finish ever at States: After a strong regular season, Waverly enjoyed an even better postseason that ended with a program-best fourth-place finish at the New York State Championships.

The Wolverines won the IAC Large School regular-season title, but finished third at the IAC Championships. After the hiccup at the IACs, Waverly bounced back to win the Section IV, Class C Championships, and the State Qualifier, with senior Zach Vanderpool winning individual gold at both events.

Bowling against Division 2 opposition for the first time at States, Waverly finished fourth, led by Vanderpool, who was 10th in the individual standings.

This has been a recurring storyline over the years, and there is likely another chapter or two to be written in the neat future.

5. Girls wrestling taking flight: With Tioga senior Emily Sindoni, the top-ranked 126-pounder in the nation, leading the way, girls wrestling on both sides of the border saw an increase in numbers, and performance.

Sindoni won her second Section IV title, and her second state title, while Waverly’s Mackenzie LaForest also won a state title.

The Athens girls won duals against Waverly and Horseheads this season — the first two duals ever in Section IV. And, freshman Anaiah Kolesar brought home a state medal for the Lady Wildcats.

This storyline has just begun. There are many, many more chapters to be written.

4. Athens swim teams enjoy historic seasons: After a very good regular season, the Athens boys and girls swim teams took a school-record 23 swimmers to the District 4 Championships.

Senior Ethan Denlinger had four top-two finishes to pace the boys, while senior Taegan Williams and freshman Olivia Cheresnowsky each won three medals to lead the Lady Wildcats.

Both teams finished second in the team standings — their best finishes ever.

Both teams are chock full of talented young swimmers, so it’s just the beginning of this storyline.

3. Prolific scorers highlight Valley hoop season:
Four different Valley basketball players — Athens senior Mason Lister, Waverly junior Joey Tomasso, Sayre senior Jackson Hubbard, and Waverly senior Kennedy Westbrook — scored their 1,000th career point this season.

Tomasso scored a school record 30.9 points per game, including a school-record 49-point outing, while Hubbard scored 25.8 points per game, including a school-record 55-point performance.

Tioga’s Evan Sicker, who ended his junior season with 963 points, averaged 22.5 points, including a career-high 46-point outing, and 9.1 rebounds, and Lister, who may have had the most complete season, averaged 18.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.1 steals per game.

And, Westbrook averaged 19.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 5 steals per game for the Lady Wolverines.

On top of that, Sickler knocked down 58 3-pointers, Hubbard made 53, Tomasso 50, and Westbrook 42.

There will most likely be an addendum to this storyline next year as Tomasso and Sickler finish up their careers, but it could be quite a while until another chapter like this one is written.

2.  Senior Jerrell Sackett leads Waverly relay to State gold: Senior Jerrell Sackett won seven state medals in his two trips to the New York State Swimming Championships, but he will be most remembered for his record-breaking 50-yard leg in the 200-yard freestyle relay that helped the Wolverine foursome secure a gold medal — the first in the storied history of the boys program.

Sackett, who finished fourth in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle sprints, just a day after swimming the fastest times in both events during the preliminaries, teamed with classmates Oscar Williams, Ryan Clark, and junior Liam Wright to win the 200 free relay.

Sackett, Clark, and Williams also won a pair of relay medals, including a silver medal in the 200-yard free relay, last year.

1B. Waverly wrestling rejoins elite programs in Section IV: Last year, we called the Waverly rebuilding program under coach Devan Witman complete after the Wolverines earned a berth in the Section IV Duals, and sent two wrestlers to States.

This year, Waverly took the next step — advancing to the finals of the Section IV Duals, and sending five wrestlers to States — and rejoined the upper echelon of programs in Section IV.

The Wolverines return three of their five state qualifiers, and are flush with talented young wrestlers headed to the varsity program in coming years, so there are likely several more chapters to be written in this storyline.

1. Tioga wrestling continues dominance in Section IV, and New York State: In Kris Harrington’s seven years at Tioga, the Tigers have won six Section IV titles (there were no Section IV or state tournaments in 2021), four teams titles at the New York State Division 2 Championships, four Section IV Duals titles (and have participated in all five State Duals — the first year as a wild card), and two New York State Division 2 Duals titles.

In the six postseasons under Harrington, Tioga has sent 35 wrestlers to states, and brought home 27 state medals, including seven state champions, six runners-up, and three third-place finishers.

Tioga is currently riding a 31-match dual win streak, and is 66-8 during Harrington’s tenure. The Tigers are 50-3 since the start of the 2017-18 season.

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