NEW YORK STATE WRESTLING: TIOGA'S COLE WRESTLES BACK FOR SIXTH-PLACE MEDAL AT DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS (10 PHOTOS) (February 28, 2026)

By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
ALBANY — Senior Kadin Cole wrestled back for a sixth-place medal here Saturday at the New York State Division 2 Wrestling Championships at the MVP Arena. 

Cole, who finsihed third at States in 2024, won his first two matches of the day in the 126-pound bracket to reach the consolation semifinals, while senior Logan Bellis and sophomore Drayke Ulrich each lost in the blood round.

"We had a tough go of it in the consolation bracket this morning," said Tioga coach Kris Harrington.

Cole bounced back from his loss in the quarterfinals Friday night with a pin of Portville's Riley Horsley in 3:53. Cole scored four takedowns in building a 16-3 lead before the fall.

In the consolation semifinals, Cole had a pair of seven-point moves in an 18-1 technical fall win over Ichabod Crane's Peter Filli.

Cole, the seventh seed, dropped a 17-7 major decision to fourth-seeded Barrett David of South Seneca in the consolation semifinals, then dropped an 8-6 decision to Falconer's Dylan Newman in the fifth-place match.

"I'm real proud of Kadin," said Harrington. "He wrestled real hard today, and kept us in the team title chase.
 
"He's a great kid," added Harrington. "We had him for five years, and we're going to miss him."

Heading into the finals, Tioga leads the field with 70 points and two finalists, while Waverly is second with 67.5 points, Honeoye Falls-Lima is third with 64.5 points and two finalists, Eden is fourth with 62.5 points and one finalist, and Southwestern is fifth with 54 points and two finalists. 

Bellis won his first match of the day, picking up a takedown in sudden-victory to pull out a 7-4 win over Our Lady of Lourdes' Bryce Reilly.

In the blood round, Bellis dropped a 4-2 decision to Port Jefferson's Chase Davis.

"Logan has a ligament tear in his foot, and he's been dealing with that since the class tournament, but no excuses," said Harrington. "He just couldn't keep it going ...  when it's taped, it's good, but when that tape gets loose, it's not good. 

"But Logan is a tough kid, and again and another five-year kid," added Harrington. "We will definitely miss him.

Ulrich lost in the blood round via fall to Mount Sinai's Parker Menechino in 59 seconds.

"I thought Drake wrestled pretty well," said Harrington. "This spring's going to be huge for him. 

"He's got to get better underneath," noted Harrington. "He's pretty dynamic on his feet, but he still has some problematic issues when he's underneath guys. We'll get that adjusted. 

"He beat a couple state place-winners this year, so he's right in the mix, and he's a young guy," added Harrington. "I think he took a good step forward for next year."

—————————

IN PHOTO 1: Tioga's Kadin Cole. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.

Print Friendly Version