ALBANY – It was almost a case of one local wrestler trying to one-up the next.
Seventh-grader Tristan Rifanburg became Norwich’s first state champion in school history, and the first seventh-grader in New York State history to win a state title in the opening match of the Division II finals. Later on, Greene’s Nick Wilcox became his school’s first three-time state champion, UV’s Tyler Peet unseated a defending state champion, and to complete a quartet of state champions, Greene senior Tyler Beckwith had the only pinfall of the finals, and was named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler.
“All Chenango County wrestlers, that’s amazing,” said Greene’s longtime head coach, Tim Jenks. “That will be the headline tomorrow, right?”
Rifanburg (35-1) was not your typical first-year varsity wrestler from the moment he walked into practice nearly four months ago, and head coach Joe Downey expected big things right way. “He was the real deal, and he’s been working pretty much his whole life for this,” Downey said, himself a four-time sectional champion for Norwich. “This was not Tristan’s first big tournament. It’s his biggest tournament, but he’s wrestled all over. He was definitely prepared and ready.”
In the finals, Rifanburg found himself behind for the only time in the tournament giving up a first-period takedown to Drew Longo of Section I. Down 2-1 entering the second, Rifanburg proved dominant from the top position. He tilted Longo twice in the second period to forge ahead, and selected the top position in the third, a choice that led to more back points and a commanding lead on his way to a 10-6 win.
Rifanburg circled the mat in celebration, and after his hand was raised, jumped into the crowd to celebrate with his family. “The Norwich wrestling community has been waiting for this for years, and we were finally able to get our first state champion,” Downey said.
Wilcox, who has the quintessential poker face, shook off an early takedown by Section V’s Lance Compton in the 130-pound final. Wilcox was able to score a takedown in the final seconds of the first period, and never gave up another point in a 6-2 victory.
Wilcox, whose four state tournament appearances yielded three wins and a runner-up finish, finished this season with a 46-2 record. He also had just nine losses through his long varsity career. “I knew this was my last six minutes as a varsity wrestler,” he said. “I went out and gave it my all.”
Peet was facing Tioga’s Derek Heyman for the third time this season and fourth over the past two campaigns. Heyman owned a one-point win over Peet in the first meeting this year, and a convincing 5-1 victory in the Section IV finals. Peet, with two state tournament bids already under his belt, earned a wild-card bid into the 140-pound bracket, and was the only wild-card entry this year to win a state title.
“We’ve lost three times to (Heyman), and we were hoping this would be the final,” said UV coach Jim DuVall. “We only needed one win against him, and we were hoping to get it two weeks ago. We’ll take this one, it’s much bigger.”
Heyman, who was the state title winner at 130 pounds last year, fell behind for the first time as Peet picked up a second-period takedown to lead 2-1 entering the third.
The lead grew to 3-1 early in the last period as Peet escaped before Heyman tied the match with a takedown. Instead of riding Peet out, Heyman gave up the lead allowing Peet a one-point escape. Heyman pressed the action, and it seemed to pay off with a takedown in the final 15 seconds. Peet furiously scrambled to the top, and pulled off a reversal as time ticked off the clock for the dramatic 6-5 win.
“I looked up at the clock (after the takedown) and saw 10 seconds,” Peet said. “I knew I had to go all out for 10 seconds if I wanted to win.”
Peet knew he was the underdog in this match, and took a patient approach to his fourth meeting with Heyman. “I didn’t have any pressure at all, all the pressure was on him,” Peet said. “I had my head on straight, and just had to wait for a good shot.”
If you blinked a couple of times, you may have missed the brief, but explosive ending to Beckwith’s long and distinguished wrestling career.
Facing unbeaten Ryan Darch of Section II, Beckwith caught Darch with his signature move and pinned Darch in 36 seconds. In completed a 45-0 season for Beckwith, his second straight perfect campaign, and he finished his Greene career with a 236-10 mark.
“He underhooked me and tried to body lock me,” Beckwith said. “I’m known to thrown an overhook, and he walked right into it. It’s been my best move for four years.”
Beckwith advanced to the finals with a tight 2-1 decision over Lansing’s Jon Glennon, who wound up third in the state. Beckwith’s second-period reversal was the difference in that matchup.
“I know my high school career is over, and it feels like six years have gone by so fast,” Beckwith said. “It was great to end on this note.”