Wrestling

Johnson City 49, Norwich 30

JOHNSON CITY – Johnson City earned two pins and a forfeit in the three lightest weight classes to dispatch Norwich in a dual meet Wednesday at Johnson City High School.

The Wildcats’ pins at 99, 106, along with a forfeit at 113 gave the host grapplers an insurmountable 49-11 lead with four matches left to wrestle. “I told the guys we had some tough matchups tonight,” said Norwich coach Joe Downey. “I don’t think we are wrestling to our full ability right now. I know we can wrestle better. We’re just not seeing what is working in the practice room transition to the matches.”

In a spotlight matchup of top 195-pound wrestlers, Johnson City’s Reggie Williams, a Section IV, Division One champion, edged the Tornado’s Kegan Levesque, 7-4. Levesque scored a late takedown in the final stanza, and he turned Williams with less than 10 seconds to go. Levesque was not awarded the necessary back points that would have forced overtime. “Williams is one of the toughest guys in the state,” Downey said. “It was a good learning experience for Kegan. It shows where he is at, and where he needs to be.”

Cody Thompson (120) had the lone pin for Norwich sticking Nick Seymour in 1:26. Tanner Cummings cruised to a technical fall victory at 152 pounds, while two-time Section IV champion, Tristan Rifanburg (132) rolled to a 15-3 major decision. Frank Garcia closed the match with an 8-3 win at 138 pounds.