WINDSOR – Dubbed year after year the pre-state tournament, the prestigious Windsor Christmas Tournament will be getting underway on Wednesday, Dec. 28.
With wrestling starting at 12 p.m. on Dec. 28, it will continue on until the later parts of Dec. 29, where 15 champions will be crowned in each weight class – placing rounds on Thursday are set to begin at 4 p.m.
Of the 31 teams scheduled to attend the tournament, it was Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville out of Section IV and Chenango County who pulled out a miraculous team tournament win in 2015, and will be looking for similar results when they bring back a county high 13 wrestlers in 2016.
Of these 13 wrestlers for BGAH– Teague Rezucha 99, Brody Oleksak 106, Haiden Burns 113, Damian Knapp 126, Cody Ferrara 132, Ben Bivar 138, Shane Hoover 145, Hayden Lewis 152, Madison Hoover 160, Austin Carr 170, Bradley Wilson 182, Mitchell Weist 195, and Nick Decker 285 – seven have been seeded in the top eight of their weight classes.
• Brody Oleksak, an eighth grader, at 99 pounds has been seeded first at the weight and currently holds a season record of 9-1 overall. Oleksak's lone loss came in the finals of the Clyde Cole Tournament when he lost to Norwich's Mikey Squires by 4-2 decision.
• Cody Ferrara, a junior, at 132 pounds has been seeded seventh at the weight. Ferrara's 2016-2017 season record is unavailable but the prior year Ferrera reportedly held an 18-9 record overall.
• Ben Bivar, a junior at 138 pounds has a been seeded second behind Vestal's Dereck Osman. Bivar currently holds an overall season record of 10-2.
• Shane Hoover, a sophomore, at 145 pounds has been seeded third at the weight class. Hoover currently holds a 11-1 record at the weight for the 2016-2017 season.
• Madison Hoover, a senior, at 160 pounds has been seeded second at the weight behind Noah Curreri of Eldred-Liberty-Sullivan West who took fifth in the state last year. Hoover currently holds an overall season record of 11-0.
• Austin Carr, a senior, at 170 pounds has been seeded third at the weight. Carr currently holds an overall record of 10-0.
• Mitchell Weist, a senior, at 220 pounds has been seeded fifth at the weight for the Bears. Weist currently holds an undefeated 11-0 record on the season.

Following the impressive showing last year, and hopeful Bears team in 2016, it will be fellow Chenango County powerhouse Norwich who will look to rival many at the Christmas Tournament this season.
Norwich will be bringing 11 wrestlers to the tournament – Dante Geislinger 99, Mikey Squires 106, Eli Rodriguez 113, Nick Glanville 120, Christobal Caballero 126, Ty Rifanburg 145, Cole Rifanburg 152, Kegan Wright 160, Jake Franklin 170, Brennan Slater 182, Tyler Rice 220 – seven have been seeded in the top eight.
• Mikey Squires, a freshman, at 106 pounds has been seeded third at the tournament. Squires currently holds an overall season record of 11-0.
• Eli Rodriguez, a freshman, at 113 pounds and a state-placer last season has been seeded second in his weight. Rodriguez currently holds an overall season record of 11-1.
• Nick Glanville, a sophomore, at 120 pounds has been seeded seventh in his weight. Glanville holds a season record of 10-3.
• Ty Rifanburg, a junior, at 145 pounds and a state-placer last season is seeded second in the weight behind Phoenix's Ross McFarland. Rifanburg holds a season record of 12-2 for 2016 thus far.
• Cole Rifanburg, a senior, at 152 pounds has been seeded third at the weight. Rifanburg currently holds an overall season record of 11-1.
• Jake Franklin, a senior, at 170 pounds has been seeded sixth at the weight. Franklin holds a season record of 9-3 thus far.
• Brennan Slater, a junior, at 182 pounds has been seeded fourth at the weight. Slater holds an overall season record of 12-1.

The up and coming Greene Trojans will not have any top ranked wrestlers in the tournament, but will boast an impressive group nonetheless as they will be bringing six wrestlers – Jordan Taft 106, Hunter Wells 113, Harrison Stone 138, Logan Kennedy 145, Noah Kennedy 160, Ty Nolan 182.

The Blackhawks of Oxford will be bringing the least wrestlers for the four county teams, however, of only five wrestlers attending the tournament, two will be ranked – Cooper Rice 99, Brady Smith 106, Adam Brady 126, Daren Law 132, and Dakota Friedel 195 pounds.
• Cooper Rice, an eighth grader, at 99 pounds is seeded eighth in the weight class. Rice currently holds an overall season record of 7-4.
• Dakota Friedel, a junior, at 195 pounds is seeded fourth in the weight class. Friedel currently holds an overall season record of 10-2.

The 35 Chenango County wrestlers will be competing in one of New York State's toughest tournaments prior to sectionals – with some of Section IV and New York State's top wrestlers all gathered into a 31 team two day tournament, the fantastic match ups will be abundant as the tournament progresses. Wrestling starts at noon on Dec. 28, with the placing rounds starting at 4 p.m. on Dec. 29.
All statistics and records were taken from cnywrestling.com per the request from the coaching staffs. Stay tuned for additional coverage and results from the 60th annual Windsor Christmas Tournament in a later edition of The Evening Sun.
Check online later today for the possibilty of the full updated brackets being posted, brackets can be found on the Windsor Central School District tournament website.