SECTION IV WRESTLING: TIOGA CROWNS TWO CHAMPS, SENDS SEVEN TO STATES; WINS DIVISION 2 TEAM TITLE (24 PHOTOS) (February 14, 2026)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
BINGHAMTON — Junior Declan McKee and sophomore Drayke Ulrich won Section IV gold, and five of their teammates also punched their tickets to States to lead Tioga to the team title here Saturday at the Section IV, Division 2 wrestling championships.

"It was a great day," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington. "I thought that it was a total team effort today to put forth what we did, specifically the quarter-final, semi-final rounds.

"I couldn't be happier," he added.

Joining McKee and Ulrich at States will be seniors Jayden Duncanson, Kadin Cole, and Logan Bellis, who were all runners-up Saturday, as well as junior Caden Bradley and freshman Parker Jackson, who were both third-place finishers.

Joining the seven state qualifiers on the podium for the Tigers were junior James Howey and sophomore Mark McCane, who qualifying for States by one spot with fourth-place finishes.

"Look, you go right down the list, Parker (Jackson) qualifying for the state tournament is outstanding," said Harrington. "Kadin Cole beating a kid who's beaten him on a handful of times was big.

"Logan (Bellis) beating the number-6 kid in the state, and battling some adversity there, too, with some injuries was impress.

"Just go up and down the lineup right now, and things are clicking," Harrington added.

Harrington did point out the efforts of a pair of underclassmen in Jackson and Bradley.

"I don't know if it's a surprise. but I think people have realized that Drayke (Ulrich) has arrived. He's one of the guys," said Harrington.

I'm really happy for him and Caden Bradley, who's just getting better every week," he noted. "And today, I think he had his best performance of the year.

"If you peek at the right time, good things happen," added Harrington.

Tioga amassed 187 points to run away with the team title, and runner-up Waverly had 120 points. Deposit-Hancock was third with 117 points, Unatego-Unadilla Valley was fourth with 112.5 points, and Newark Valley was fifth with 110 points, and Walton-Delhi was sixth with 109. 

Harrington, who saw his team's six-year run atop the Division 2 heap ended last season, is pleased to be back on top.

"We love it," said Harrington. "I think sometimes people forget that last year a bunch of these guys were hurt. To be as healthy as you can be at this time of the year and have them perform this way, it feels good.

"This is a nice team, a nice bunch of young men. I really enjoy being a part of it," added Harrington.

The longtime Tioga coach also credits a group of young coaches.

"I'd be remiss if I didn't say this has been a lot of fun for me, having John (Worthing), Emmett (Wood), Jacob Welch and David Crow, guys I coached giving back to the sport.

"It's something special when guys you coached are now coaching and giving back," said Harrington. "And they're leading the way for us; that's been really fun for me."

McKee, the top seed, was 3-0 — all falls — to win the 110-pound bracket for his third Section IV championship.

McKee flattened Susquehanna Valley's Jaxson Polhamus in 22 seconds in the quarterfinals, then flattened Owego Free Academy's Vitaly Sirotkin in 40 seconds in the semifinals.

In the finals, McKee built an 11-0 lead before finishing off second-seeded Mason Vanderhoff of Edison in 3:03.

Ulrich, the top seed, was 3-0 — all falls — to win the 118-pound weight class — his first Section IV title.

Ulrich pinned Moravia's Simon Greggs in 1:33 in the quarterfinals, then decked Chenango Valley's Andrew Valls in 1:22 in the semifinals.

In the finals, Ulrich scored a first-period takedown, then took second-seed Sava Gonoploskiy straight to his back for a fall in 3:36.

Cole was 2-1 to finish second in the 126-pound bracket. He will make his second trip to States.

Cole forged a 22-7 technical fall win over Unatego-Unadilla Valley's Brogan LaFever in the quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, Cole avenged three of his nine losses this season in one fell swoop with a pin of second-seeded Rhylee Stotler of Waverly in 3:09.

In the finals, Cole ran into Penn-bound Anthony Valls of Chenango Valley, who is the top ranked 126-pounder in the state. Valls led 9-0 after the first period, and 9-1 heading into the final two minutes, where Valls scored three takedowns to close out win.

Duncanson was 2-1 was to finish second in the 138-pound bracket and earn his fifth trip to States.

Duncanson pinned Windsor's Cassius Hudson in 72 seconds in the quarterfinals, then decked third-seeded Dalton Davis in 32 seconds in the semifinals.

In the finals, Duncanson dropped a 19-2 technical fall to Deposit-Hancock's Landyn Shaffer, who is the top-ranked 138-pounder in the state.

Bellis, the third seed, was 2-1 to finish second in the 118-pound bracket and earn his third trip to States.

Bellis pinned Windsor's Dylan Rogers in 1:14 in the quarterfinals, then scored a first-period takedown and held on to edge second-seeded Clayton Ritter of Oneonta, 5-3, in the semifinals.

Bellis, who injured his foot last weekend, issued a medical forfeit to Schuyler's Lucas Hoffman in the finals.

Bradley, the sixth seed, was 4-1 on the day to finish third in the 144-pound bracket to earn his first trip to Albany.

Bradley started off with a pin of Moravia's Trever Wells in 2:23 in the opening round, then knocked off second-seeded Parker Larson of Waverly, 10-5 in overtime, in the quarterfinals.

In the semis, Bradley dropped a 4-0 decision to second-seeded Evan Sheils of Lansing.

He bounced back in the consolation semifinals with a 4-2 win over Norwich's Bryce Wellington, then scored a 4-1 win over Marathon's Brendan Gumaer in the third-place match.

Jackson, the third seed, was 3-1 in the 110-pound bracket to finish third in the 110-pound weight class to earn his first trip to States.

Jackson started his day with a pin of Newark Valley's Andrew Lelik in 1:49 in the opening round, then lost to second-seeded Mason Vanderhoff of Edison in 5:27 in the quarterfinals..

He bounced back with a 19-2 technical fall of Walton-Delhi's Linkin Backus in the consolation semifinals.

In the third-place match, Jackson overcame an early takedown, then fended off Owego's Vitaly Sirotkin late in a 7-6 decision.

Howey was 3-2 to finish fourth in the 190-pound bracket.

Howey, the fifth seed, pinned Waverly's Liam Arnold in 1:47 in the opening round, then pinned Deposit-Hancock's Kam Hallock in 3:30 int he quarterfinals.

After losing via first-period fall to Unatego-Unadilla Valley's Yanni Drapanioitis, who is ranked second in the state, in the semifinals, Howey bounced back with a pin of Marathon's Infante Franks in the consolation semifinals.

In the third-place match, Howey dropped a 7-0 decision to Chenango Valley's Brennen Riquier.

McCane, the third seed, was 2-2 to finish fourth in the 285-pound weight class.

McCane pinned Oneonta's Eli Daggy in 2:27 in the opening round, but dropped a 6-4 decision to second-seeded Trey Parker of Susquehanna Valley in the semifinals.

McCane bounced back with a 1-0 overtime win over Windsor's Luke Beattie in the consolation semifinals.

In the third-place match, Oxford-Greene's Dante Wrench scored an early takedown and turned it into a first-period fall of McCane.

Senior Aiden Black was 1-2 at 165 pounds, with his lone win an 8-0 major decision over Oxford-Greene's Colin Morlando in the opening round.

Freshman Liamm Comstock was 0-2 at 132 pounds, and junior Jamie Woodcock was 0-2 at 215 pounds.



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