Valley Sports ReportSARATOGA — Sophomore Declan McKee and junior Jayden Duncanson won weight class titles Saturday at the Saratoga Invitational here Saturday, and four of their teammates reached the podium in a sixth-place finish for the Tigers in the 21-team field.
Junior Logan Bellis finished third in his bracket, while senior Tate MaCauley and sophomore James Howey placed fourth, and senior Austin Babcock finished fifth.
Saratoga Springs won the team title with 159.5 points, while runner-up Averill Park had 136.5 points, and third-place Ballston Spa had 135.5 points. Valley Central was third with 116 points, while Mahopac was fifth with 114.5 points, Tioga tallied 107 points, and Windsor was seventh with 97 points.
McKee, the top seed, was dominant with two technical falls and a first-period fall on his way to a 101-pound title.
McKee opened with a 17-2 technical fall of Mahopac's eighth-seeded Anthony Tornambe in just 57 seconds. He scored a takedown, and two seven-point moves to score the win.
In the semifinals, McKee took down fifth-seed Lenny Rossa of Corinth three times before turning him for a fall at 1:03.
In the finals, McKee faced second-seed Nahjeed Abel of General Brown, who is ranked second at 101 in Section III.
McKee led 6-1 after the first period, then started the second period with an escape and takedown for a 10-1 lead midway through the period.
After Abel escaped, McKee took him to his back for a 17-2 technical fall at 3:31.
Duncanson, the top seed, was 4-0 — all via falls, including three first-period pins, to win the 138-pound title.
Duncanson decked Norwich's Bryce Wellington in 66 seconds in the round-of-16, then pinned Mahopca's Henry Ramirez in 1:53 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Duncanson had his toughest bout of the day, scoring a fall of Valley Central's fourth-seeded Maximus Smith in 5:52. Duncanson built a 17-5 lead before scoring the fall.
In the finals, Duncanson pinned sixth-seed Luke Stoutenburg of Saratoga Springs in 1:42.
Bellis was 4-1 on the day to finish third in the 124-pound bracket.
Bellis, the second seed, pinned Galway's Cody Schneider in 69 seconds in the round-of-16, then scored an 18-2 technical fall of South Glenn Falls Dylan Keech in 3:38 in the quarterfinals.
Bellis was knocked into the consolation bracket via a 20-5 technical fall loss to Mohonasen's third-seeded Nico Rivera.
Bellis bounced back with a 15-0 technical fall win over Queensbury's Bradley Maranville in 3:31 in the consolation semifinals.
In the third-place match, Bellis scored a 9-6 win over sixth-seeded Aiden Schurr of Corinth.
Norwich's Maverick Beckwith won the 124-pound title, edging Rivera, 5-4, in sudden victory.
MaCauley, the third seed, was 3-2 to finish forth in the 285-pound bracket.
After dropping a 2-1 decision to sixth-seeded Luke Beattie of Windsor in the quarterfinals, MaCauley bounced back with three straight wins, including a pin of seventh-seeded Riley Nissinoff of Queensbury in 2:03 in the blood round.
In the consolation semifinals, MaCauley scored a 1-0 win over top-seeded Gabe Soundararaj of Windsor in the consolation semifinals.
In the third-place match, MaCauley lost to Beattie again in overtime, this by by a score of 4-2.
Howey, who was unseeded at 190 pounds, reached the semifinals before falling back to fourth place.
Howey scored a 9-4 win over fourth-seeded Jack Barnes of Norwich in the round-of-16, then pinned Galway's Max Sicard in 1:31 in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, Howey lost via fall to to top seeded Myles DePrima of Putnam Valley in 1:56.
Howey bounced back in the consolation semifinals with a hard-fought 4-1 sudden-victory win over Corinth's Ashton Moores.
In the third-place match, Howey dropped a 12-1 major decision to Isaac Erickson of Averill Park.
Babcock posted a 4-2 record to finish fifth in the 215-pound bracket.
Babcock, the fifth seed, opened with a first-period pin of Northern Adirondack's Arthur Trudo, then lost via first-period fall to fourth-seeded Cobi Walter of South Glenn Falls.
Babcock bounced back with a pin of Mohonasen's Travon Morris in 1:24 in wrestlebacks, then scored a 4-3 win over Norwich's Ryan Evans in the blood round.
Babcock lost via fall in the consolation semifinals, then bounced back with a 7-0 win over Lansingburgh's Logan Recore in the fifth-place match.
Junior Brayden MacWhinnie was 1-2 at 124 pounds. He scored a second-period fall for his only win, and lost a pair of decisions.
Eighth-grader Liamm Comstock was 0-2 at 108 pounds, and sophomore Max Stauder was 0-2 at 160 pounds.
Tioga has a busy week ahead with duals Wednesday at Newark Valley, and Thursday against Waverly at the Lecom Center in Elmira, before competing in the Southern Tier Memorial Friday and Saturday.
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IN PHOTO: Tioga senior Jayden Duncanson and coach Kris Harrington. ... VSR STOCK PHOTO.
