Keith Lanfear Photo

CHENANGO COUNTY – Over the course of Friday and Saturday and between two locations, six wrestlers of area earned their automatic bid into the New York State wrestling tournament while 15 others placed in the top six or higher.
The Section IV Championships were held in Watkins Glen. The teams of Norwich, Oxford, Greene and BGAH made their long journey to the school on Friday and finished on Saturday evening. Norwich finished with four wrestlers headed to Albany in two weeks while Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville (BGAH) will be sending two after their finals match wins.
At 99-pounds, Norwich’s Dante Geislinger earned his big to the New York State tournament by dominating his bracket with his 4-0 record. In the finals, he took on Cody Merwin of Walton/Delhi and won by 7-0 decision. In the 99-pound bracket, Geislinger and teammate Andrew Brown matched up yet again for the second week in a row. This time it was a semifinal match that Geislinger took with a tech fall of 15-0.
Brown needed one win to move into the consolation finals. In that match, he was squared up against Tioga’s Mason Welch. Brown moved onto the consolation final match by taking the 2-0 decision over Welch and went on to face Maine-Endwell’s Payton Bennett. By a decision win of 9-3, Brown finished third in the bracket.
“Andrew wrestled awesome,” said Norwich’s head coach Bob Hagenbuch. “If not being on the same side of the bracket with Dante, it might have been a Norwich final. With Andrew being new to varsity this year, he is a long shot for a wild card bid to States with no points.”
Oxford’s Cooper Rice is the lone Blackhawk to earn his trip to the state tournament, after an exciting and dramatic 15-14 win over the first seed Kyle Willard. Rice held the lead for most of the match and had a few pinning chances before Willard squirmed loose. Rice had gained a 15-9 advantage before Willard earned the take down and five-count near fall to close the gap. But it was not enough to overcome Rice’s big lead.
Nick Glanville of the Purple Tornado and Teague Rezucha of BGAH were in the 113-pound bracket. Rezucha lost his first match of the day to Glanville and was sent to wrestlebacks. In the first round of wrestlebacks, Rezucha received a bye and moved into the next round. It was there he met Ryan LaForrest of Waverly and was handed a tough 5-4 decision loss, giving him an early exit from the tournament.
Glanville moved through the bracket into the semis to face Chandler Merwin of Walton/Delhi. Merwin, ranked just ahead of Glanville before the weekend, took a 1-0 decision win and sent Glanville to wrestleback for no higher than a third place finish. Glanville made it to the consolation finals match and was leading 3-0 late in the match. But having to wrestle hard til the last second against David MacWhinnie of Tioga, Glanville was pinned at 4:16 to finish fourth in the bracket.
In the next weight class, the 120-pound featured Damien Hitt of Greene and Brady Smith of Oxford. Neither wrestler placed in the bracket but both had tough roads on their way. In his first match, Hitt squared off against Parker Sexton of Spencer Van-Etten/Candor who is ranked number three section at that weight. Hitt was pinned at 1:23 and was sent to the wrestlebacks rounds. It was there he was faced with an early tournament exit by Richard Bellanger of Dryden. Bellanger, who’s record on the year was 15-9 before the sectional tournament started, pinned Hitt early in the first-period.
Smith’s journey started with a first round tech fall win. He then faced Brady Worthing of Tioga, who was ranked number one of the section before the tournament. Worthing send Smith to wrestleback rounds after the quarterfinals pin in the first round. Smith then pinned Bellanger at 4:11 in his next match. Facing the fourth-ranked Dan Tester of Chenango Valley, Smith ended his tournament run by way of a pin.
Mike Squires of Norwich repeated as Section IV Champion, this year in the 126-pound weight class. Squires pinned his first two opponents, landing him in the semifinals against Dryden’s Sam Dow. Dow pushed Squires to the full length of the match but was not able to overcome the 7-0 score, sending Squires to the final.
In the final, Squires faced the second-ranked Owen Wormuth Deposit/Hancock. Squires led the entire match and won by a 7-2 decision.
Eli Rodriguez of Norwich was a sectional champion last year and was looking to repeat this year. But in the quarters, Rodriguez lost to Landon Sibley of Windsor in the last second of the match by way of pin. Rodriguez had a long journey back through the wrestleback rounds.
With a pin and a tech fall, Rodriguez was one match away from reaching the consolation finals. In that match, he faced Ethan Stotler, the fifth-ranked 132-pounder in the section. Stotler took early control of the match, making Rodriguez climb a steep hill back. But there wasn’t enough time as Stotler won by a 10-4 decision.
Rodriguez placed fifth after facing Sibley again. In this match, Rodriguez never game Silbey a chance, taking the 15-0 tech fall win in the early minute of the second period.
BGAH’s Ben Bivar repeated as sectional champion in the same weight class. At 138-pounds, Bivar took a 12-0 decision win in the first round before a pin and tech fall to reach the finals.
In one of the toughest matches he has had all season, Bivar was matched up against Tioga’s Austin Lamb. The match was held scoreless until Bivar’s second period escape with 26 seconds left. The score stayed the same for the remainder of the match, allowing Bivar to take match win and earning his trip to Albany.
Oxford’s Darren Law took an early tournament loss, heading the wrestleback rounds. Law managed to fight his way all the way back the consolation finals against River Burgess of Deposit Hancock. Burgess, ranked number four in the section going into the tournament weekend, topped law by a pin early in the second period. Law finished fourth in the tournament after starting as 13-seed.
Harrison Stone of Greene finished in sixth for the 145-pound weight class. Stone made it to the semifinals but was pinned by the eventual champion Corey Swartz of Windsor. Stone then took a loss to Tioga’s Emmet Wood placing him in the fifth-place match against first-ranked Paddy Lupole of Susquehanna Valley. Lupole, the expected champion of the 145-pound bracket, pinned Stone in the first-period.
BGAH’s Shane Hoover was crowned the 152-pound champion after a major decision win over Gabe Monroe from Windsor. Hoover reached the finals by two pins and a 10-0 major decision win in the semis. He won with a 10-1 major over Monroe, avenging his second place finish in last year’s final to Ty Rifanburg. Hoover will join Bivar to represent the Bears at the state tournament in two weeks.
His teammate Haiden Lewis also placed in the 145-pound bracket. After losing in the quarterfinals, Lewis wrestled his way back to a third place finish. In the consolation finals match, he topped Jacob Zimmer of Odessa-Montour with a 12-5 decision after the full three periods. O-M’s Zimmer was ranked fifth in the section before the tournament started, giving Lewis a shot at a wild card bid for the state tournament.
Mike Wilmot was BGAH’s third wrestler to reach the finals. Wilmot started his 160-pound finals run with a :46 pin and then two straight decisions. In the finals, it was battle of number one Wilmot against number two Max Johnson of Tioga. Johnson ensured his finals win with a reversal and few back points at the end. Wilmot’s second place finish gives him a chance for an at large bid to join teammates Bivar and Hoover.
As one of the only back-to-back title winners, Ty Rifanburg of Norwich was looking to make it three in a row. Rifanburg’s journey started with two first-period pins and a tech fall in the semifinals. Going against second-ranked Grady Alpert, Rifanburg knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
Alpert took the exact same journey to the finals. Rifanburg led in 6-5 with 46 seconds remaining in the third period. Alpert escaped Rifanburg’s grip to score another point and tie the match at 6-6. Dealing with an injury from earlier in the match, Rifanburg had hard time getting up after the buzzer sounded to signal overtime. The official called an injury default, handing Rifanburg a second place finish. Rifanburg still has a shot to make it to the state tournament as he will likely receive a wild card bid.
At 182-pounds, Norwich’s Brennan Slater dominated his bracket from start to finish. Slater was the only wrestler in the championship tournament to win by way of pin in all four of his matches. Slater won in the finals with a 2:53 pin over Mitchell Knapp of Susquehanna Valley. The two have met three times this season and every time has been a pin win by Slater. Two out of three meetings for the two have been in finals matches.
Greene’s Noah Kennedy faced Slater in the semifinals match. Kennedy lasted in the second period of that match but fell victim to Slater. Kennedy topped Windsor’s Brandon Butler with a 4-0 decision to land into the consolation finals. In the battle for third place, Kennedy won by a 17-1 tech fall landslide over Moravia’s Nate Williams.
In the 195-pound bracket, Norwich’s Kegan Wright placed fifth. Earlier in the day, Wright faced Richie Knapp of Sus Valley in the semis. Knapp, ranked number one in the second, pinned Wright in the first-period. Wright then lost the next round by a pin as well. In his last match of the day, Wright took a 7-2 decision win over Steve Lageman from Maine-Endwell.
Third-seeded Tyler Rice entered his 220-pound match against number one seed Dylan Dunham. Going into the match, Dunham’s season record was 31-0, including two pins in less than a minute in this tournament. One week again, Dunham and Rice faced off against each other at the Class C Section IV Tournament.
Dunham pinned Rice, keeping his perfect record intact then. This week, Rice was the better wrestler for these six minutes. At the end of the first period, the score was tied 2-2. In the first minute of the second, Dunham took a 4-2 lead. With just two seconds remaining in the period, Rice scored a reversal, tying the score at 4-4. Early in the third, Rice scored another reversal, this time taking a 6-4 lead. Rice secured the finals win with a three count, near-fall to upset the perfect Dunham and represent Section IV at the state tournament.
“I was overwhelmed and excited,” said Rice after his big upset. “It definitely was a proud moment, the kind that really make you happy when your hard work pays off.
“I knew what was on the line with that match. My goal was to make States as a freshman and I didn’t want to relay of the chances of a wildcard. I was not 100-percent at Classes last weekend. I worked hard to fix the things I needed to with my coaches and partners Brennan and Ty. I owe a lot to them and my family for all the support.”
Rice was also awarded Most Outstanding Wrestler of the Section IV Tournament after his huge upset win.
Also placing in the 220-pound weight class was BGAH’s Brock Weist. Weist lost to Dunham in the first-period of the semifinals and took it out on his next two opponents. Weist pinned Nick Bashta of Lansing in just 48 seconds to get in the consolation finals. In that consolation match, Weist just took eight seconds to win third place.
In Section three, Otselic Valley and Sherburne-Earlville had 10 wrestlers in the championship tournament. Under a slightly different rule in their tournament, many wrestlers who suffered a first round loss were eliminated early.
Morgan Lakin of Sherburne-Earlville lost by a 6-0 decision in the quarterfinals of the 132-pound bracket. In his next match, the 8-6 decision gave Lakin an early exit of the tournament.
Otselic Valley’s Corbin Learned won his first round match in the 138-pound bracket by pin but lost in the quarterfinals. Learned then loss by a tough 8-5 decision to Ian O’Neil of VVS.
S-E’s Bailey Walzer wrestled in the 160-pound weight class at the championship. Walzer won his first match by a 7-4 decision but lost his next one by tech fall. Walzer lost his final match of the day by a close 3-1 decision.
Teammate Ethan Elred won by a 56 second pin in his first match of the day but lost his next with a 6-3 decision. Elred wrestled his was back to consolation semifinal match. He took a loss by pin in the second period, setting himself up for either a fifth or sixth-place finish. He faced Garrett Evans of Holland Patent and pinned him in 58 seconds. Elred may have a chance with a wild card bid for the state tournament.
The last to place in the Section III Championship was Sherburne-Earlville’s Alex Thompson. Thompson pinned his way to the semifinals, both coming in the second period of the match. In his semis match against second-seed T.J. Greenfield of Skaneateles, Thompson took a decision of 2-1 to land a spot in the finals.
Facing the top-seeded Joe Benedict of South Jefferson-Sandy Creek. Benedict secured his finals spot with wins by way of pin, all coming in less than one minute. Benedict’s win over Thompson was no different than his other, topping Thompson with a 43 second pin. Despite the loss, Thompson should receive a wild Card bid for the New York State Tournament.
The state tournament will be held on February 23 and 24 at the Times Union in Albany, NY. Tickets may be purchased now or at the door. Preliminaries and Quarterfinals will be held on the first day with semifinals and finals on February 24. More details as well as seeds and those wrestlers receiving wild cards will be announced later this week or early next week, once the information is passed along.