I received a phone message this week complimenting last week’s Evening Sun basketball all-star edition. The caller then asked when we would be publishing our wrestling all-stars. No name or return phone number was given, just a mildly expressed pledge by the caller that he would try to reach me another time.
For those who have followed our sports coverage the past 15 years – and even the last 30 years for that matter – we have put out a basketball postseason all-star edition every year with the exception of maybe one or two years. As for wrestling, we have released maybe two wrestling all-star editions (compiled by yours truly) and none over the past 10 years.
Admittedly, I have no cut-and-dried reason to exclude wrestlers from their own all-star team. However, the criteria for evaluating some wrestlers in the same weight class is often as difficult as memorizing the mathematical formula for a quarterback passer rating.
In the past, we used a pyramid system for evaluating a wrestler’s season with a place finish in the most important tournaments currying the most favor. Using this criteria, the best place finish in the New York State Tournament was criterion one, next was the best place finish at the sectional tournament, and third, the best place finish at the class tournament. At this point, I hope we would not need to dig any deeper to find our first-team wrestling all-star.
Using this system was not without anomalies, though. What about head-to-head competition during the regular season? Here are two prime examples of what makes selecting a wrestling all-star team so difficult:
Based on the above criteria, Sherburne-Earlville’s Tyi Franklin should earn our all-sar nod at 103 pounds. He won the Section III title, then finished his season with a third-place finish at the New York State Division II meet. Yet, Norwich’s Frankie Garcia beat Franklin in two successive meetings during the regular season. Since the two were from different sections – and Garcia did not qualify for the state tourney – they never saw each other during the postseason.
Just one weight class up, we have a similar situation. Norwich’s Tanner Cummings finished second in the Section IV 112-pound, Division II tournament, the best finish in that weight class of any local grappler. Yet, Cummings lost two close decisions during the regular season to Sherburne-Earlville’s Spencer Franklin, who did not place in the Section III tourney. Again, Franklin and Cummings are not from the same section, and we have no way to accurately compare their sectional competition.
Each wrestler can make a legitimate case as the best wrestler in that weight class.
At 135 pounds, we have two more wrestlers who have legitimate grounds for first-team all-star status. Greene’s Mike Beckwith won his first Section IV title taking the D-2 135-pound crown. Meanwhile, Sherburne-Earlville’s Greg DuVall earned a state tournament wild-card bid based on his two previous sectional titles, plus his sectional finals loss was to eventual state champion Derek Pfluger. DuVall went 2-2 at the state tournament, and Beckwith was 1-2. The two did not wrestle in the postseason, so which one merits first-team status?
Because the selection process for wrestling all-stars will often lack a decisive, conclusive front-runner, I have opted this year to move toward an unofficial list of top wrestlers by weight division. Some wrestlers will stand alone for obvious reasons, while deciding on others will likely remain up for debate.
Below are the weight class, name, school, and 2009-2010 accomplishments.
96: Tristan Rifanburg, Norwich. Easy choice here. He won his school’s first-ever state title, and is the first NYS wrestler to win a state title as a seventh-grader.
103: Tyi Franklin, Sherburne-Earlville. In wrestling, dual meet results are not as significant as sectional titles and state place finishes. Garcia should be on this list next year.
112: Tanner Cummings, Norwich. Cummings had some tough losses during the regular season, but performed his best at the right time of year.
119: Jake Shearer, Greene. He placed second in the sectional tournament losing an extremely close decision in the finals to eventual state place finisher Colton Perry of Windsor.
125: Danny Gormley, B-G/Afton. A four-time Section IV champion, the junior grappler had his best state tournament placing third.
130: Nick Wilcox, Greene. Finished an outstanding career with a third state championship, the most in school history.
135: Tie between Mike Beckwith and Greg DuVall. Can we have a wrestle-off please?
140: Tyler Peet, Unadilla Valley. Peet gave UV its second-ever state title, and beat a defending state champion to do it.
145: Danny Cleveland, Sherburne-Earlville. A lot of good wrestlers toiled in this weight class at different times, but it was Cleveland who had the best overall finish placing fourth at the Section III tourney.
152: Zach Montgomery, Unadilla Valley. Montgomery, who has not wrestled throughout his high school career, made a big leap in the sport this season placing third in the Section IV meet.
160: Vinnie Buttice, B-G/Afton. The number one seed at the Section IV tournament, Buttice was knocked off in the finals, but earns our spot with the best area finish.
171: Tyler Beckwith, Greene. Beckwith has been the Most Outstanding Wrestler in just about every tournament he has entered. He finished his career with back-to-back unbeaten seasons en route to two state titles, and recently won a fourth national wrestling title.
189: Kurt Shear, Greene. Shear was oh so close to representing Section IV in the state meet losing a close decision to Ryan Todd of Lansing. Todd, as it turns out, advanced all the way to the state finals finishing second.
215: Kyle Stanton, Greene. Stanton peaked at the right time and placed second in the sectional tournament to eventual state place-winner Noah Sibley of Windsor.
285: Derrick Nelson, Sherburne-Earlville. Nelson wound up fifth in the Section III tournament, the top finish for locals.