NEW YORK STATE WRESTLING: TIOGA'S McKEE WINS STATE; AVENGES EARLY-SEASON LOSS AT DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS (12 PHOTOS) (2025-03-01)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportALBANY — Tioga sophomore Declan McKee avenged an early-season loss on the biggest stage of them all, topping Southwestern's Adrian Torres, 5-1, in the 101-pound title match here Saturday night at the New York State Division 2 Wrestling Championships.
Torres beat McKee, 2-1, in overtime in the finals of the Linda Knuutila Memorial Trounament in mid-December. Tioga coach Kris Harrington said Torres allowed to slow that match down.
In the finals, Torres was warned for stalling with 16 seconds remaining in the first period.
After McKee escaped off the second-period whistle, Torres was banged a penalty point for stalling with 48 seconds left to make it 2-0.
Torres closed the gap to 2-1 with an escape midway through the third period to trim the deficit to 2-1.
McKee was warned for stalling in the closing seconds, and took advantage of a bad shot by Torres for a takedown at the buzzer for the 5-1 win.
"This is how the matches go when they wrestle," said Harrington.
"(Torres) is really, really hard to score on, but whey you're attacking and you get six or seven shots to one or zero .... that stall call really changed the complexion of the match.
"Once that stall was called, we were moving forward and he was forced to hold center -- the hand fights really start working into conditioning," noted Harrington.
"Then, (McKee) came right off bottom, and picked up a stall point," he added. "I thought he did a great job in all three facets."
Harrington said McKee's dedication paid big dividends.
"Declan has put the most hours into our program in the last year and that's one thing about this sport, you earn everything — nothing is given to you.
"He had a tough day yesterday, so for him to recover and come back, that's just a testament to how hard he trains, and just having some grit to be ready to go on Saturday," said Harrington.
McKee was the top seed last year, too, and finished fourth.
"Last year, the first time for those first times — your first match, your first time in the semifinals, all those things, all those firsts are tough," said Harrington.
"Declan took a huge growth measure this year compared to last year, just in the amount of skills he uses on his feet," noted Harrington. "Obviously a better conversion rate would help, but I thought his leg attacks and his controlling of center was outstanding. Now, we just need to build on it."
Harrington also believes McKee could be at the center of Tioga's next title run.
"It was a real tough year, with all the injuries," said Harrington. "We had a great group of kids ... we have empathy and not sympathy for the guys.
"We'll get Kadin Cole back here in a couple weeks, and Logan Bellis will be healthy by the fall," he noted. "I think there are a lot of building blocks here for us.
"It was a tough year for us, but doing what we've done the last eight years is not typical.
"I think with what we will have in the room next year, we're capable of going on another run with these young guys, but it's going to take some work, and that will start a week from Monday," added Harrington.
McKee wraps up the season with a 39-3 record.
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PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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