BY TIM TAYLORValley Sports Report
WINDSOR - Waverly senior standout Ethan Stotler added another first to his wrestling collection, capturing the 160-pound championship at the 63rd Annual Windsor Christmas Tournament here Saturday.
Stotler pulled out a wild 10-7 victory over top-seeded Aidan Poe of Indian River. Poe, ranked third in Section III Division I, came into the finals with a spotless 16-0 record while Stotler was 17-1 and ranked No. 1 in Section IV Division II. It was every bit the battle onlookers expected.
After feeling each other out for most of the first period, Poe scored a takedown with less than 45 seconds left on the clock, but Stotler responded with a reversal with 37 ticks to tie things up.
Stotler would tilt Poe for two near fall points early in the second then, following a Poe escape, would score a takedown to take a 6-3 advantage into the final two minutes.
Early in the third, Poe picked up two near fall points and Stotler added an escape, setting up a thrilling final minute. Down, 7-5, Poe tied the bout at seven on a takedown with 41 seconds remaining. Stotler would hit a switch for a reversal with 30 seconds to go as Poe locked hands in an effort to stop the move. It turned out to be a 3-point effort, giving Stotler his first Windsor title.
"He definitely made it exciting for us," said Waverly coach Devan Witman. "A little closer than I wanted it, but he's got a way of pulling it out in the end. Even in bad positions he ends up coming out on top most of the time.
It was Stotler's first Windsor title in five attempts. He pinned second-seeded Jarrett O'Connell of Horseheads in 3:20 to reach the finals. O'Connell was ranked No. 1 in Section IV Division I before trading places with teammate Jake Scibek. Stotler beat Poe last year to take third.
Facing tough competition like he did in the semifinals and finals will help Stotler prepare for the sectional tournament. He has placed second, third and fourth, respectively, the past three seasons and is looking to punch his ticket to Albany, which will host the state tournament two months from now.
"I think this was big," Witman said. He wrestled two state representatives in this tournament today and we did really well against both of them, so I think his confidence right now is really high.
"We're going back to the drawing boards. We're going to continue to get better and see what we can clean up and try to make that run at states."
The Wolverines' freshman Gage Tedesco (182) came up one win shy of a podium finish. The freshman pinned Horseheads' Allan Walker in his first wrestleback match, then beat Isaiah Colon of Elmira, 10-4. His tournament would end with a 5-0 loss to Chenango Forks' Brad Needels.
Like Tedesco, Austin Kimble (152) fell one win shy of the podium. He nipped Pat Spatafora of Saratoga Springs, 3-2, before falling to Walton / Delhi's Nick Lamoreaux 13-5.
Other Saturday wrestleback results:
Conner Stotler (106) decked Indian River's Kane Lynch in 4:54 before falling, 12-0, to Daniel Taggart of Suffield, Connecticut.
Rylan Laforest (126) lost to Ithaca's Dan Parker by fall in 4:57.
Garrett Skeens (132) dropped a 4-0 heartbreaker to Indian River's Ethan Garrison.
Andrew Kimble (160) fell by pin to Walton / Delhi's Will Pettit in 1:58.
Trevor Meyers (170) thumped Orestas Papas of Canandaigua, 10-3, then lost to Windsor's Langdon Sibley by fall in 35 seconds.
Trent Skeens (285) lost by pin to Shane Slowe from Canandaigua in 2:11.
"Some good wrestling in there," Witman said. "This is always a tough tournament right in (holiday) break. Some kids have weights that are coming up and down.
"Overall, we wrestled OK. I wouldn't say it's our best tournament. Gage was one round away. He wrestled a really close match in the blood round. We got some really poor draws and that's the thing about coming to Windsor is you cant do anything about the draws. They are what they are. It's about getting back into the room and fixing what we can fix, and going on to the next tournament."
That next tournament will be the Ross Kordell Rotary Duals at Oneonta Jan. 3-4.
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly's Ethan Stotler celebrates his Windsor title. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
