STAC WRESTLING: ROBINSON, WELLES WIN TITLES; WAVERLY PLACES THIRD AT SOUTHERN TIER MEMORIAL (24 PHOTOS) (January 10, 2025)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportELMIRA — Senior Cooper Robinson avenged a loss in last year's finals, and junior Matthias Welles won a title where his season ended last year to lead Waverly to a third-place finish here Saturday at the Southern Tier Memorial at the LeCom Event Center.
Four more Wolverines reached the podium, with senior Daltton Davis placing fourth, and senior Troy Beeman and juniors Rhylee Stotler and Parker Larson finishing fifth.
"Cooper (Robinson) has been wrestling out of his mind," said Waverly coach Devan Witman. "He was determined this year to take this championship in a rematch from last year and it wasn’t close.
"Matt (Welles) wrestle a smart match in the finals," noted Witman. "It was a special championship for him to come back from a season-ending injury last year.
"When Matt is exacting his basics he is a tough out for anyone in the state," added Witman.
Bellefonte won the team title with 208 points, while Penns Valley was second with 187.5 point, Waverly tallied 171.5 points in third, and Tioga was fourth with 149.5 points.
"Our team experienced its ups and downs throughout the weekend," said Witman. "What I am most proud of is how we responded from the downs.
"Third place in the in this tournament is an accomplishment.
"I am super-proud of our champions, but I am also incredibly proud of how we wrestled in the back side," added Witman.
Robinson, the second seed, faced top-seeded Ezra Swisher of Bellefonte, who is committed to wrestle at Division I UPenn, in the 157-pound finale.
Swisher topped Robinson, 9-6, last year in the 152-pound title match.
On Saturday, Robinson advanced to the final with an injury default win over third-seeded Austin Fesinger of West Genesee. Robinson led 13-3 when Fesinger was injured with 26 seconds remaining in the match.
Swisher, who was 4-0 with four falls heading into the finals, pinned fourth-seeded Chase Lytle of Milton in 4:55 in the semis.
In the finals, Robinson hit on a seven-point move midway through the first period, and added another takedown with 2 seconds remaining to take a 10-1 lead into the second period.
After a scoreless third period in neutral position, Robinson hit another seven-point move with 29 seconds left in the third quarter to end the bout at 5:40.
Welles, who broke his leg in the finals last year, tossed fourth-seeded Robert Martin of Penns Valley to his back for at 3:42 in the semifinals.
Welles, the top seed, squared off with third-seeded Patrick Donovan of St. Anthony's in the finals. Donovan advanced with a 4-2 win over second-seeded Luke Hockenberry of Bellefonte in the semifinals.
After a scoreless first period, Donovan scored first with an escape with 48 seconds remaining in the second period, but Welles got the only takedown of the match just 20 seconds later to make it 3-1.
Donovan scored another takedown in the closing seconds of the period to close the gap to 3-2 heading into the final two minutes.
Donovan was banged for stalling twice and hit with a penalty point with 1:22 remaining to make it 4-2, then cut Welles loose moments later to make it 5-2.
The final 79 seconds was spent upright, with Welles fighting off a few takedown attempts by Donovan.
Davis, the second seed at 138 pounds, dropped a 10-4 decision to third-seeded Tripp Watson of Penns Valley in the semifinals. Watson was pinned in the finals by top-seeded Jayden Duncanson of Tioga.
Davis bounced back with a 4-0 decision over fifth-seed Jake Barrett of Scranton Prep to advance to the third-place match, where he lost an 11-3 major decision to fourth-seeded Ty Locke of Milton.
Larson was 3-1 Saturday to finish fifth at 150 pounds. He was 6-2 on the weekend, with both losses to third-seeded Sawyer Fetteroff of Penns Valley.
Larson assured himself of a medal with a pin of Watertown's Donovan DeJesus in 1:50 in the blood round. He followed that up with a pin of fifth-seeded Gage Thomas of Haverling in 3:50.
In the consolation semifinals, Larson lost via fall to Fetteroff in 2:27. On Friday, Fetteroff win in 1:32.
In the fifth-place match, Larson won via a medical forfeit from Newark Valley's Logan Woodlin.
Beeman, the third seed, was 1-2 Saturday to finish fifth in the 285-pound bracket.
He scored a first-period takedown of second-seeded Frank Barrientos of Chambersburg, but Barrientos slapped on a headlock late in the first period for a fall at 1:40.
In the consolation semifinals, Beeman lost via fall to fifth-seeded Zach Kuelling of Williamson-Marion-Sodus in 3:31.
Beeman bounced back in the fifth-place match with a pin of Scranton Prep's Jordan Herring in 1:57.
Stotler, the third seed, was 1-2 Saturday to finish fifth in the 126-pound bracket.
Stotler fell behind second-seeded Conner Myers of Penn Valley, 7-0, early in their 126-pound match-up, but closed the gap to 7-6 early in the third period before Myers extended his lead to 11-6 before recording a fall at 5:53.
In the consolation semifinals, Stotler was caught and pinned in 48 seconds by fourth-seeded Barrett David of South Seneca.
In the fifth-place match, Stotler topped sixth-seeded Kadin Cole of Tioga, 14-8.
Three Wolverines lost in the blood round Saturday morning.
Junior Joey Mack dropped wild 15-12 decision to South Williamsport's Eli White in the 165-pound bracket.
Seventh-grader Mason Phillips lost a 16-0 technical fall to Tioga's Parker Jackson in the 110-pound bracket.
Freshman AveryBowman, the ninth seed at 118 pounds, lost 6-3 to Auburn's Lucas Maneri.
Waverly returns to action with duals at Chenango Forks Monday, and at home against Tioga Saturday.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Cooper Robinson. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly's Matthias Welles. ... PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES, TIM BIRNEY, CRISTINA ROSSI, and MIRANDA SZYMANSKI.
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