Geislinger, Squires and Oleksak capture Windsor Christmas Tournament titles
Norwich’s Dante Geislinger nabbed his third consecutive Windsor Christmas Championship in the 113 pound bracket. The Norwich senior landed in the final bout after winning his first three matches by quick pinfalls. (Keith Lanfear Photo)
WINDSOR – The 63rd Annual Windsor Christmas Tournament saw some of the toughest competition of the New York State wrestling world this past Friday and Saturday take to the mats of the Black Knights High School gymnasium. Over the course of the two day tournament, 36 teams participated and hundreds of matches were wrestled.
At the end, only 15 wrestlers out of the full field were crowned champions, three of which were from Chenango County.
Norwich's Dante Geislinger and Mikey Squires along with Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville's Brody Oleksak captured titles in their respective weight classes.
Geislinger nabbed his third consecutive Windsor Christmas Championship in the 113 pound bracket. The Norwich senior landed in the final bout after winning his first three matches by quick pinfalls.
In the championship, Geislinger took a big lead over Horsehead's Tommy Dale before winning with a 10-2 major decision.
Squires, who like his senior teammate Geislinger, started off the tournament at the top seed in the 170 pound weight class. He claimed his first two wins with a pin at 4:44 and a 15-0 technical fall.
In the semifinals, Squires won with a 5-0 decision to move into the championship. There he took on Matt Campo, a familiar foe for the Purple Tornado senior.
Knowing what Campo was capable of, Squires was ready. He went through the full six minute battle with the score close before coming out on top 6-4, winning his second tournament title.
BGAH's Oleksak defeated Norwich's Ashton Jenkins in his opening round bout by pinfall in the first period. The Bears' junior then went on to win with a pin in the quarterfinals and a 4-0 decision in the semis.
The championship bout was a test for Oleksak as he took on Eric Griskowitz of Saratoga Springs. The two fought hard for the entire six minute match before the BGAH wrestler captured the 132 pound championship with a 1-0 final, securing his second Windsor championship medal.
Norwich also had Tyler Rice reach the finals at 285 pounds, where he went up against Chenango Forks' Lucas Scott. The two have a long history against each other, dating back to when they were wrestling partners at practice during their youth wrestling days.
Scott, however, was the victor of the finals match to claim the 285 pound title with a 3-0 decision over Rice. The Purple Tornado junior reached the finals after starting out as the third seed of the bracket. He pinned two of his first three opponents and took a 7-0 decision win in the quarterfinals.
BGAH's Timmy James placed sixth in the same weight class as Rice while colleagues Austin Egglston, Joey Florance and Darren Florance also stood on the podium. Eggleston placed sixth whole the Florance brothers each came away with a third place finish in their respective weight classes.
Max Morris, Norwich's youngster of the squad, finished fifth in the 99 pound bracket. Morris reached the semifinals on Saturday but fell in his first match of the day to the eventual champion in a 7-0 decision.
Seeing a rematch from the Clyde Cole Tournament, he then went against Darren Florance in the consolation semis. As he was unable to get revenge from the early season loss, Morris fell to a 2-0 decision to the Bears wrestler.
The Norwich youngster quickly rebounded, taking down Lucius Anderson of Saratoga Springs with an 11-0 major decision to seal fifth place for the tournament.
Teammate Dakota Powers finished sixth at 160 pounds in his first action this season. Returning from a knee injury over the summer, Powers was awarded the fifth seed of the bracket.
The Norwich senior won his first match with a quick pin then won with a 6-0 decision. In the quarterfinals, Powers fell to a 6-4 decision to Windsor's Dave Flora.
Wrestling his was back for a podium spot, Powers stole two 1-0 wins before falling in an 11-7 decision in the consolation semifinals. Tired from the previous six matches, he was then pinned in the fifth/sixth place match in the second period.
At 132 pounds, Greene/Oxford's Brady Smith finished third, rebounding from a quarterfinals loss on Friday night. Smith won his first match of the tournament with a 6-2 decision but was downed by the same score in the next round.
Pinning his way through the wrestle back rounds, Smith won matches in 45 seconds, 3:55 and 3:32 to land in the consolation finals. The Greene/Oxford sophomore then captured a two point win (6-4) to finish third overall.
The top seed of the 195 pound bracket was Greene/Oxford's Noah Kennedy. The senior wrestler reached the semifinals with back-to-back pinfalls. However, Homer's Sam Sorenson ended his chances of an appearance in the finals, stealing a 3-2 decision.
Kennedy was downed in the consolation semifinals by the same score but sealed a fifth place finish with a 1:34 pinfall victory in his next bout.
Norwich finished sixth in the team standings with 110.5 points while BGAH placed eighth with 97.5 points. The Blackhawks ended the tournament with 49.5 points, placing them at 17th.
Squires was named the Jim Howard's Most Outstanding Wrestler for his performance throughout the tournament. On Monday, he was also named Section IV's wrestler of the week.
Next on the schedule for the Bears is the Ross Kordell Rotary Duals in Oneonta on Friday and Saturday while Greene/Oxford will wrestle in the Stan Elinsky Tournament at Deposit/Hancock Saturday. Both tournaments are scheduled to at 10 a.m.
Norwich is now off until after the holiday break is over when they take on Chenango Forks at home on January 8.
At the end, only 15 wrestlers out of the full field were crowned champions, three of which were from Chenango County.
Norwich's Dante Geislinger and Mikey Squires along with Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville's Brody Oleksak captured titles in their respective weight classes.
Geislinger nabbed his third consecutive Windsor Christmas Championship in the 113 pound bracket. The Norwich senior landed in the final bout after winning his first three matches by quick pinfalls.
In the championship, Geislinger took a big lead over Horsehead's Tommy Dale before winning with a 10-2 major decision.
Squires, who like his senior teammate Geislinger, started off the tournament at the top seed in the 170 pound weight class. He claimed his first two wins with a pin at 4:44 and a 15-0 technical fall.
In the semifinals, Squires won with a 5-0 decision to move into the championship. There he took on Matt Campo, a familiar foe for the Purple Tornado senior.
Knowing what Campo was capable of, Squires was ready. He went through the full six minute battle with the score close before coming out on top 6-4, winning his second tournament title.
BGAH's Oleksak defeated Norwich's Ashton Jenkins in his opening round bout by pinfall in the first period. The Bears' junior then went on to win with a pin in the quarterfinals and a 4-0 decision in the semis.
The championship bout was a test for Oleksak as he took on Eric Griskowitz of Saratoga Springs. The two fought hard for the entire six minute match before the BGAH wrestler captured the 132 pound championship with a 1-0 final, securing his second Windsor championship medal.
Norwich also had Tyler Rice reach the finals at 285 pounds, where he went up against Chenango Forks' Lucas Scott. The two have a long history against each other, dating back to when they were wrestling partners at practice during their youth wrestling days.
Scott, however, was the victor of the finals match to claim the 285 pound title with a 3-0 decision over Rice. The Purple Tornado junior reached the finals after starting out as the third seed of the bracket. He pinned two of his first three opponents and took a 7-0 decision win in the quarterfinals.
BGAH's Timmy James placed sixth in the same weight class as Rice while colleagues Austin Egglston, Joey Florance and Darren Florance also stood on the podium. Eggleston placed sixth whole the Florance brothers each came away with a third place finish in their respective weight classes.
Max Morris, Norwich's youngster of the squad, finished fifth in the 99 pound bracket. Morris reached the semifinals on Saturday but fell in his first match of the day to the eventual champion in a 7-0 decision.
Seeing a rematch from the Clyde Cole Tournament, he then went against Darren Florance in the consolation semis. As he was unable to get revenge from the early season loss, Morris fell to a 2-0 decision to the Bears wrestler.
The Norwich youngster quickly rebounded, taking down Lucius Anderson of Saratoga Springs with an 11-0 major decision to seal fifth place for the tournament.
Teammate Dakota Powers finished sixth at 160 pounds in his first action this season. Returning from a knee injury over the summer, Powers was awarded the fifth seed of the bracket.
The Norwich senior won his first match with a quick pin then won with a 6-0 decision. In the quarterfinals, Powers fell to a 6-4 decision to Windsor's Dave Flora.
Wrestling his was back for a podium spot, Powers stole two 1-0 wins before falling in an 11-7 decision in the consolation semifinals. Tired from the previous six matches, he was then pinned in the fifth/sixth place match in the second period.
At 132 pounds, Greene/Oxford's Brady Smith finished third, rebounding from a quarterfinals loss on Friday night. Smith won his first match of the tournament with a 6-2 decision but was downed by the same score in the next round.
Pinning his way through the wrestle back rounds, Smith won matches in 45 seconds, 3:55 and 3:32 to land in the consolation finals. The Greene/Oxford sophomore then captured a two point win (6-4) to finish third overall.
The top seed of the 195 pound bracket was Greene/Oxford's Noah Kennedy. The senior wrestler reached the semifinals with back-to-back pinfalls. However, Homer's Sam Sorenson ended his chances of an appearance in the finals, stealing a 3-2 decision.
Kennedy was downed in the consolation semifinals by the same score but sealed a fifth place finish with a 1:34 pinfall victory in his next bout.
Norwich finished sixth in the team standings with 110.5 points while BGAH placed eighth with 97.5 points. The Blackhawks ended the tournament with 49.5 points, placing them at 17th.
Squires was named the Jim Howard's Most Outstanding Wrestler for his performance throughout the tournament. On Monday, he was also named Section IV's wrestler of the week.
Next on the schedule for the Bears is the Ross Kordell Rotary Duals in Oneonta on Friday and Saturday while Greene/Oxford will wrestle in the Stan Elinsky Tournament at Deposit/Hancock Saturday. Both tournaments are scheduled to at 10 a.m.
Norwich is now off until after the holiday break is over when they take on Chenango Forks at home on January 8.
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