SECTION IV WRESTLING: TIOGA RETURNS TO TOP OF DIVISION II WITH 51-19 WIN OVER CHENANGO VALLEY (23 PHOTOS) (January 21, 2026)

By TIM TAYLOR
Valley Sports Report
TIOGA CENTER — Top-seeded Tioga dominated No. 3 seed Chenango Valley, 51-19, to claim the title at the Section IV Division II Dual Meet Wrestling Championships here Wednesday.

It’s the Tigers’ sixth championship since the D-2 tournament was introduced in 2018. They were runners-up in the inaugural year and there was no tournament in 2021 due to COVID-19.

“I thought the kids wrestled pretty well tonight,” coach Kris Harrington said. “Our young guys are stepping up. They're starting to believe a little bit. The more high-practice situations like this, the better as the season goes on.

“We’ve got to close out matches, especially next weekend if we want to go deep into the tournament.

“You look top to bottom, I thought we wrestled pretty well overall today,” Harrington said. “I thought we had some big wins against Walton and then tonight, our guys that were supposed to win, won.

Tioga displayed its dominance early as it scored bonus-point victories in the first three bouts to grab a 15-0 lead. At 103 pounds, Drayke Ulrich posted a 20-4 tech. fall over Andrew Valls in 5:51, then Parker Jackson blanked Alexander Valls, 8-0, for a major decision at 110. Defending state champ Declan McKee ended the brief run with a 23-second fall over Lewis Wolcott at 118.

The Warriors crept back into the match with Armando Difulvio’s 9-3 decision over Liamm Comstock at 126 and unbeaten Anthony Valls’ 16-5 major decision of Logan Bellis at 132.

With Tioga still ahead, 15-7, Kadin Cole (138) put the Tigers back on track, starting off a run of five victories with a 17-2 tech fall against Travis White in 3:43.

Brayden MacWhinnie (144) decked Grayson Cortright in 1:48 and Jayden Duncanson (150) pinned Stanley Otis in 56 seconds, pushing the Tioga advantage to 32-7. MacWhinnie’s fall clinched the team victory as CV would be forfeiting two weights later in the dual.

At 157, Caden Bradley posted a 15-4 major decision over Jestin Bennett, then Aiden Black (165) battled past Nicholas Aftuck, 4-2, in a bout that went right down to the buzzer and put Tioga up, 39-7.

The Warriors’ Vincenz Difulvio (175) pinned Carson Labour in 1:19 and Riquier (190) added a fall over James Howey in 1:30.

The match ended with Jamie Woodcock and Mark McCane accepting forfeits at 215 and 285, respectively.

“Like I said, I think for our young guys taking that next step and starting to believe that they're one of the guys, and that goes a long way in this sport, believing that you're one of them,” Harrington said. “You know, you look at Drayke tonight. Confidence is key. Once you believe, it's a lot easier to go out and do it.”

The Tigers’ pins by McKee, MacWhinnie and Duncanson were all done using cradles and while that pinhold is something Tioga wrestlers do well, it was not necessarily the plan.

“It's not really a strategy, it's more just we’ve got some long guys,” Harrington said. “Jayden, we know, and when you have a guy like Jayden he can kind of show his licks and tricks there.

“We have guys that know more cross-face cradle, but we're more of a bar and cross-wrist team.”

The Tigers were also pretty slick on their feet, especially in the championship match where they scored more than 20 takedowns.

Tioga will compete in the state championships Jan. 31 at the SRC Arena and Events Center on the campus of Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, but not before competing in the IAC championships this Saturday at Watkins Glen.

TIOGA 51, CHENANGO VALLEY 19
103: Drayke Ulrich (T) tech. fall Andrew Valls (CV), 20-4 (5:51)
110: Parker Jackson (T) maj. dec. Alexander Valls (CV), 8-0
118: Declan McKee (T) pinned Lewis Wolcott (CV), :23
126: Armando Difulvio (CV) dec. Liamm Comstock (T), 9-3
132: Anthony Valls (CV) maj. dec. Logan Bellis (T), 16-5
138: Kadin Cole (T) tech. fall Travis White (CV), 17-2 (3:43)
144: Brayden MacWhinnie (T) pinned Grayson Cortright (CV), 1:48
150: Jayden Duncanson (T) pinned Stanley Otis (CV), :56
157: Caden Bradley (T) maj. dec. Jestin Bennett (CV), 15-4
165: Aiden Black (T) dec. Nicholas Aftuck (CV), 4-2
175: Vincenz Difulvio (CV) pinned Carson Labour (T), 1:19
190: Brennen Riquier (CV) pinned James Howey (T), 1:30
215: Jamie Woodcock (T) by forfeit
285: Mark McCane (T) by forfeit

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PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

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