STAC WRESTLING: WAVERLY TOPS CHENANGO FORKS, 44-27 (24 PHOTOS) (2024-12-17)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Waverly won six of seven bouts midway through the match to overcome an early deficit on its way to a 44-29 win over Chenango Forks here Tuesday night in STAC wrestling action at the Elm Street School gymnasium.
"I think we performed well," said Waverly coach Devan Witman. "(Chenango Forks) is still a young team, but they are well-coached. We knew they were going to give us fights in certain weight classes.
"We controlled most of the matches," noted Witman. "Our pace tonight was outstanding. We dictated the pace, we didn't slow down — we continued to push the pace all night.
"It's a great win for us heading into this weekend, and the break," he added.
The Wolverines, now 7-2, were not at full strength, wrestling without sophomore 116-pounder Rhylee Stotler, and sophomore 215-pounder Matthias Welles, a two-time state qualifier who has yet to make his 2024 debut
After teams exchanged forfeits to start the match, Chenango Forks' Maddox Hubbard forged a 16-1 technical fall over Jacob Sinsabaugh at 116 pounds to give the Blue Devils an 11-6 lead.
At 124 pounds, Waverly freshman Drayton DeKay scored an 18-3 technical fall win in 3:59 over defending Section IV, Division I champ Peyton Hubbard to give the Wolverines a 12-11 lead.
DeKay also beat Hubbard, 15-3, Saturday at the Dave Buck Memorial Tournament.
At 131 pounds, sophomore Nico Rae built a 12-1 lead before pinning Jason O'Connor in 3:42 to make it 18-11.
Witman said the wins by DeKay and Rae were crucial wins.
"Drayton continues to impress every time he goes out there.
"Hubbard is a tough kid, and to basically go out there and have his way with him was impressive," said Witman. "He was doing what he wanted to do ... he was hitting his outside singles, he was hitting his doubles, and that's really what we wanted to focus on today was our footwork.
"We knew Drayton could ride him, we wanted him to go out and dominate on his feet, and that's exactly what he did," added Witman.
"This is the second time (Nico Rae) has wrestled at his weight," said Witman. "Last week, he looked pretty good, and tonight he looked good at the weight he's suppose to be.
"It was a good win for him," Witman added.
After a Blue Devil forfeit at 138 pounds, Forks junior Ryan Ferrara, who placed sixth in the State in Division I as a freshman, but missed States last year due to an injury, scored a 47-second fall to close the gap to 24-17.
The Wolverines won the next three weight classes to put the match out of reach.
Junior Daltton Davis started the run with a pin of Grant MacRabie in 3:32 at 152 pounds to extend the lead to 30-17.
Junior Cooper Robinson built a 6-0 lead at 160 pounds, and ended up earning six points via an injury default when Jacob Andrews appeared to hurt his hand attempting to break his fall. Waverly led 36-17 after the bout was stopped.
Sophomore Parker Larson put the match out of reach with an 11-5 win over Brayden Wildey in the 170-pound match.
Forks added to its point total with a technical fall by Brysen Fry at 190, and a pin by Evan Trusdale at 215.
Reigning state champ Troy Beeman picked up a forfeit at 285 pounds to close out the scoring.
The match was the first wrestled at Elm Street since December of 1966. Waverly coach Devan Witman enjoyed the experience.
"When the building project was announced, I knew we didn't need to lose a home match because we could come here (Elm Street School gymnasium).
"The more I think about it, the more I wonder why we didn't do this before the building project," said Witman. "What a great venue this is, to have all of our fans up in the balcony looking down at the action ... the music was going, the lighting is perfect, it's just an awesome venue.
"It was an awesome experience for everyone involved tonight," he added.
Will this become an annual event?
"With everything that's going into the new gym, I don't know if we'll get back here," said Witman. "As cool as this was, it's going to be much cooler over there in a few weeks.
"If we run into a scheduling conflict, it's good to know this venue is great for wrestling," added Witman.
Waverly returns to action Saturday at the Take Down Cancer Tournament at Vestal.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Drayton DeKay. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Nico Rae. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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WAVERLY 44, CHENANGO FORKS 29101: Kamdin Henyan (CF) won by forfeit;
108: Avery Bowman (W) won by forfeit;
116: Maddox Hubbard (CF) by fall over Jacob Sinsabaugh (W), 16-1 @ 5:47;
124: Drayton DeKay (W) tech. fall Peyton Hubbard (CF), 18-3 3:59;
131: Nico Rae (W) by fall over Jason O`Connor (CF), 3:42;
138: Caden Bradley (W) won by forfeit;
145: Ryan Ferrara (CF) over Joey Mack (W), 0:47);
152: Daltton Davis (W) over Grant MacRabie (CF), 3:32;
160: Cooper Robinson (W) injury def. Jacob Andrews (CF);
170: Parker Larson (W) dec. Brayden Wildey (CF), 11-5;
190: Brysen Fry (CF) tech. fall Brooks Lathrop (W), 21-5 @ 3:24);
215: Evan Trusdale (CF) by fall over Chris Moskowitz (W), 3:34);
285: Troy Beeman (W) won by forfeit.
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