WOLVERINES PLACE SIXTH IN 38-TEAM FIELD
By TIM BIRNEY
Valley Sports Report
WINDSOR — Senior Troy Beeman was the only one of Waverly's four semi-finalists to reach the finals here Tuesday at Day 2 of the 68th annual Windsor Christmas Wrestling Tournament.
"We definitely had our ups and downs in this tournament," said Waverly coach Devan Witman.
"But, I'm pleased overall with the tournament, and we're just going to keep progressing and keep moving forward.
Beeman placed second for the Wolverines, while junior Rhylee Stotler was third, senior Cooper Robinson was fourth, and junior Matthias Welles and senior Daltton Davis each placed fifth.
"I thought Rhylee Stotler, wrestled out of his mind," said Witman. "He went from losing by a tech fall 24 hours ago, to coming back to beat a state place-winner ... it's absolutely incredible. He absolutely wrestled great.
"Same with Daltton (Davis)," added Witman. "You know, he ran into a hammer in the quarterfinals with (Landyn) Shaffer and then had a great match with (Tioga's Jayden) Duncanson."
Witman said his non place-winners also picked up some quality wins.
"Some of our guys came into this big tournament, a serious tournament, and didn't get a place-finish, but some big wins.
"Joey Mack got two wins, Parker (Larson) got a good win, and our 7th-grader Mason Phillips picked up a win," said Witman.
"All in all, there's work to be done, but I'm pretty proud of our guys," he added.
Waverly finished sixth in the team standings with 111 points, well off the pace of team champ Minisink Valley, which amassed 191 points. Poquoson (Virginia) finished second with 167 points, while Manhasset was third with 137, St. Francis was fourth with 119.5 points, and Tioga was fifth with 113.5 points.
Beeman was 1-1 on Day 2 to finish second in the 285-pound bracket.
Beeman scored a 6-2 decision over Minisink Valley's Shaheed Mitchell in the semifinals.
In the finals, Beeman came up on the wrong end of a hectic scramble in overtime in a 5-2 loss to South Jefferson's Jim Biccum.
"Those are the matches that Troy is used to winning," said Witman.
"He did everything correct in that match ... that match was decided by a two-second flurry, so nothing to hang his head about," he noted.
"He had a great tournament," added Witman.
Stotler reeled off four straight wins Tuesday to finish third in the 126-pound bracket.
Stotler began Day 2 with a pin of South Jefferson's Tanner Garrett in 57 seconds, then Pinner Indian River's Eli Fans in 2:21.
In the consolation semifinals, Stotler scored a 9-5 win over Tioga's Kadin Hill.
In the third-place match, Stotler avenged a loss in the quarterfinals with a 10-8 decision over Schuyler's Lucas Hoffman, who beat Stotler in a 23-8 technical fall Monday.
Robinson was 1-2 on Day 2 to finish fourth in the 157-pound bracket.
After dropping a 5-3 decision to top-seeded Jacob McVige of Honeoye Falls-Lima's Jacob McVige in the semifinals, Robinson scored a takedown in the final seconds to pull out a 6-4 win over Towanda's Reese Sluyter in the consolation semifinals.
Robinson issued a forfeit to Johnson City's William Ackley in the third-place match.
"Cooper (Robinson) has been fighting an abdominal issue," noted Witman. "It's December we're not going to risk anything for a third-place match.
"But, he wrestled very well the last two days," noted Witman. "He wrestled great in the semis against a returning state finalist.
"I think Cooper is starting to realize that he can wrestle with some of the best kids in the state," added Witman. "His goal is to win a state title, and now he knows he can win those matches."
Welles was 1-2 on Day 2 to finish fifth in the 215-pound bracket.
After dropping a 7-0 decision to Minisink Valley's Zachary Filip in the semifinals, Welles lost 12-9 in overtime to Lowville's Mason Ouellette in the consolation semifinals.
In the fifth-place match, Welles scored a 9-0 major decision over Manhasset's Anthony Glass. Welles beat Glass, 10-2, Monday.
Davis was 2-1 on Day 2 to finish fifth in the 138-pound bracket.
After going 3-1 Monday, Davis opened Day 2 with a 2-0 decision over Towanda's Tanner Vanderpool, then dropped an 8-2 decision to Tioga's Jayden Duncanson in the consolation semifinals.
In the fifth-place match, Davis hit a seven-point move in overtime for an 8-1 win over Saratoga Springs' Luke Stoutenburg.
Freshman Avery Bowman was 0-2 Tuesday to finish eighth in the 118-pound bracket.
Bowman lost a 10-1 major decision to Poquoson's Logan Keese, then dropped a 12-2 major decision to Horseheads' Tanner Knapp in the seventh-place match.
Waverly returns to action Sunday at the Armbar at the Armory in Halfmoon, N.Y.
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PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY and NIKKI BIRNEY.
