Elmira, Horseheads each pick up win at state tourney
Andrew Legare
stargazette.com
Elmira and Horseheads fell short of state titles Saturday at the inaugural New York State Dual Meet Championships, but both Division 1 wrestling teams picked up a victory at Onondaga Community College in Syracuse.
After falling by a 70-8 score to top-seeded Wantagh in the first round, eighth-seeded Elmira came back with a 53-29 victory over Fox Lane in the third and final round of preliminaries.
Horseheads had its bye in the first round, then lost by a 58-14 score to second-seeded Minisink Valley in the second round. The Blue Raiders ended the tournament with a 43-33 victory over Lancaster in the third round.
The tournament was divided into four three-team brackets, with the top team from each advancing to the semifinals later in the day.
Also among Section 4 teams, Tioga advanced to the Division 2 semifinals behind a 61-23 win over Port Jervis in third round. The Tigers fell, 34-32, to Mount Sinai in a semifinal that came down to the last match. Mount Sinai went on to win the title, 33-30, over Canisteo-Greenwood.
Tioga lost its first meet, 37-36, to Central Valley, but the Tigers qualified for the semifinals based on point differential after all three teams went 1-1. Port Jervis was a 46-27 winner over Central Valley in the bracket's other meet.
Wantagh went on to beat Minisink Valley, 37-28, in the Division I final. In the semifinals, Wantagh was a 48-18 winner over Fulton and Minisink Valley topped Rocky Point, 47-26.
Elsewhere in Division 2, Section 4's Norwich was eliminated with a 1-1 record that included a 41-39 loss to Canisteo-Greenwood and a 56-25 win over Pearl River.
In Elmira's loss to Wantagh, Mat Reese at 132 pounds and Garret Andriene at 160 each won by major decision to give the Express its points.
The Express (7-1) came back and dominated Fox Lane in its second meet.
"It was definitely a very positive experience for us," Elmira coach Dave Guyette said. "They got to watch some of the best wrestlers in the state and I believe some of them firmly believe they should be among the best wrestlers in the state."
Express winners against Fox Lane were Reese, Andriene, Donovan Smith (99), Blake Brooks (106), Lucas Riley (113), Eli Carpenter (120), Ben Howe (138), Micah Carpenter (152), John Robyck (220) and Cullen Grover (285).
"I thought the kids wrestled really hard in both matches," Guyette said. "They rebounded after that first loss, but they even competed pretty tough in the first match. I know the score shows a lopsided victory, but our kids battled."
Among the standouts for Horseheads (14-3) on the day were Tommy Dale, Devin Woodworth and Jesse Johnson, who all went 2-0.
"This was a great experience," Horseheads coach Shane Lese said. "I think the kids truly enjoyed themselves. To come away 1-1 is pretty special. We came in as a wild card and unseeded. ... One loss to the No. 1 team in the state. We don't have much to complain about."
The Blue Raiders' strong showing against Lancaster came after they knew they were eliminated from semifinal contention.
"We knew the first one was going to be difficult," Lese said. "We tried to refocus and I think the kids did a great job refocusing and doing what they needed to do in the second match against Lancaster."
Elmira qualified for the state tournament as the Section 4 Division 1 champion. The Express was a 47-22 winner in the sectional final Jan. 18 over Horseheads, which went on to repeat as Southern Tier Athletic Conference Tournament champion last weekend.
Horseheads received one of three at-large Division I berths into the state tournament.
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