Norwich wrestlers for 6-for-6 in finals, take second place at Class B championships
The Norwich wrestling team captured second place at the Section IV Class B qualifier on Saturday in Waverly. The Purple Tornado took nine wrestlers to the tournament and ended with six champions and two other place winners. The eight that placed in the top five will move on to the Section IV Division II Championship Saturday, February 15 at the Broome County Floyd L. Maines Arena in Binghamton. (Evening Sun Photo, Meagan Schulz)
WAVERLY – Seeing six of the nine wrestlers that the Purple Tornado brought the to Section IV Class B Qualifier reach the final, all six returned home with championships in their respective weight classes for the second straight year.
Norwich finished with 188 team points and placed second at the qualifier and had all but one wrestler stand on the podium by the end of Saturday’s one-day tournament. Mikey Squires of the Purple Tornado was named the Class B’s Most Outstanding Wrestler with his title win at 170 pounds.
The top five in both the A and B qualifier tournaments will return to action on Saturday at the Broome County Floyd L. Maines Arena in Binghamton for their shot to represent Norwich and Section IV at the New York State Championship tournament at the end of the month.
Winning titles for the Purple Tornado were Max Morris (99), Dante Geislinger (113), Andrew Brown (120), Joey Marvin (152), Mikey Squires (170) and Tyler Rice (285). Taking fourth at 132 pounds was Mason Edwards while Dakota Powers earned a third-place finish at 160 pounds.
All eight place finishers reached the semifinals, however, Edwards fell to an injury that ended his day earlier than expected. Powers was pinned by Windsor’s Dave Flora at the buzzer, sending him into the third/fourth place bout.
Powers quickly rebounded in the next round, pinning Noah Yadlosky of Windsor 30 seconds into the second period.
Sliding right into the semifinals were Morris, Geislinger and Brown as all three received first and second round byes.
Morris then pinned Deposit/Hancock’s Kyle Mead to move into the finals. In the championship bout for 99 pounds, Morris took on Tim Boyce of Susquehanna Valley. The Norwich youngster needed just the first period to claim his first Class B title, pinning Boyce at 1:47.
Geislinger also earned his championship with back-to-back pins in his only two matches of the day. First, the Tornado senior defeated Ethan Dibble in the second period of the semifinals, winning by pinfall at 3:18. Then the two-time New York State Champion needed just 1:17 to defeat Andrew Hatch of Moravia for his fifth Section IV class title.
Norwich’s Brown picked up his first Class B championship of his career, winning a tough finals match over a familiar foe from Windsor. Troy Hayes and Brown matched up for the second time this season – the first meeting took place in the consolation finals match of the Southern Tier Athletic Championships two weeks ago.
Following up the 7-2 decision win from the STAC tournament, Brown earned a 4-0 decision with two takedowns against Hayes. The Purple Tornado junior reached the finals with a pin at the end of the first period, beating Deposit/Hancock’s Hunter Couse.
Also earning his first Class B title was Norwich junior Joey Marvin. Marvin’s close 5-4 decision against Groton’s Anthony Rotunda landed him into the finals at 152 pounds.
In the semifinals, Marvin started off with a quick shot for the takedown points. The Norwich wrestler then put Rotunda on his back, nearly coming away with the pin. However, Rotunda wiggled his way out, giving Marvin two back points for the 4-0 lead early.
Rotunda was able to get a reversal in the second period, cutting Marvin’s lead down to two points but Marvin picked up a point for an escape and was able to pull ahead 5-2 at the start of the third and final period of the match.
The Groton wrestler was able to get Marvin in position for a two-count near fall but the Norwich junior was able to get out before the pin and held on for the 5-4 decision win. He then won his finals bout with an 18-7 major decision over Waverly’s Austin Kimble.
Squires earned a first round bye then took back-to-back pins in the quarters and semifinal matches to move into the finals for the fifth time of his career.
Taking on Cam Bundy of Owego, it was a battle of two 2019 Section IV Division II Champions. Squires took the early 4-0 lead as he had a take down in the first period and a second to start the next two minutes of action.
Squires added another five points for the 9-0 lead in the third before Bundy gained a point for an escape. The Princeton-bound Norwich senior then took the title with a 12-1 major win for his fourth class championship in the five years of wrestling on varsity.
Earning his first-place finish in the fastest time of the day was the Tornado’s Tyler Rice. After a first round bye, Rice took a 38 second pin over Windsor’s Garrett Bidwell then a 44 second win against Owego’s Logan Bailey.
In the finals, Rice wasted no time win his second straight class title. Starting out aggressive, the Tornado junior took down Evan Kenyon of Deposit-Hancock within the first 10 seconds of the match.
Rice then worked his way towards the pin, running Kenyon to his back before capturing the 35 second pin – the fastest of all three bound for the Norwich junior throughout the day – to earn the 285-pound Class B title.
The eight Norwich wrestlers now prepare for the Section IV Division II Championship tournament that makes it’s return to the Arena after two years of being held at schools. Each weight class will see the top 10 wrestlers on Saturday and all bouts will be wrestled in one day, starting at 10 a.m.
Norwich finished with 188 team points and placed second at the qualifier and had all but one wrestler stand on the podium by the end of Saturday’s one-day tournament. Mikey Squires of the Purple Tornado was named the Class B’s Most Outstanding Wrestler with his title win at 170 pounds.
The top five in both the A and B qualifier tournaments will return to action on Saturday at the Broome County Floyd L. Maines Arena in Binghamton for their shot to represent Norwich and Section IV at the New York State Championship tournament at the end of the month.
Winning titles for the Purple Tornado were Max Morris (99), Dante Geislinger (113), Andrew Brown (120), Joey Marvin (152), Mikey Squires (170) and Tyler Rice (285). Taking fourth at 132 pounds was Mason Edwards while Dakota Powers earned a third-place finish at 160 pounds.
All eight place finishers reached the semifinals, however, Edwards fell to an injury that ended his day earlier than expected. Powers was pinned by Windsor’s Dave Flora at the buzzer, sending him into the third/fourth place bout.
Powers quickly rebounded in the next round, pinning Noah Yadlosky of Windsor 30 seconds into the second period.
Sliding right into the semifinals were Morris, Geislinger and Brown as all three received first and second round byes.
Morris then pinned Deposit/Hancock’s Kyle Mead to move into the finals. In the championship bout for 99 pounds, Morris took on Tim Boyce of Susquehanna Valley. The Norwich youngster needed just the first period to claim his first Class B title, pinning Boyce at 1:47.
Geislinger also earned his championship with back-to-back pins in his only two matches of the day. First, the Tornado senior defeated Ethan Dibble in the second period of the semifinals, winning by pinfall at 3:18. Then the two-time New York State Champion needed just 1:17 to defeat Andrew Hatch of Moravia for his fifth Section IV class title.
Norwich’s Brown picked up his first Class B championship of his career, winning a tough finals match over a familiar foe from Windsor. Troy Hayes and Brown matched up for the second time this season – the first meeting took place in the consolation finals match of the Southern Tier Athletic Championships two weeks ago.
Following up the 7-2 decision win from the STAC tournament, Brown earned a 4-0 decision with two takedowns against Hayes. The Purple Tornado junior reached the finals with a pin at the end of the first period, beating Deposit/Hancock’s Hunter Couse.
Also earning his first Class B title was Norwich junior Joey Marvin. Marvin’s close 5-4 decision against Groton’s Anthony Rotunda landed him into the finals at 152 pounds.
In the semifinals, Marvin started off with a quick shot for the takedown points. The Norwich wrestler then put Rotunda on his back, nearly coming away with the pin. However, Rotunda wiggled his way out, giving Marvin two back points for the 4-0 lead early.
Rotunda was able to get a reversal in the second period, cutting Marvin’s lead down to two points but Marvin picked up a point for an escape and was able to pull ahead 5-2 at the start of the third and final period of the match.
The Groton wrestler was able to get Marvin in position for a two-count near fall but the Norwich junior was able to get out before the pin and held on for the 5-4 decision win. He then won his finals bout with an 18-7 major decision over Waverly’s Austin Kimble.
Squires earned a first round bye then took back-to-back pins in the quarters and semifinal matches to move into the finals for the fifth time of his career.
Taking on Cam Bundy of Owego, it was a battle of two 2019 Section IV Division II Champions. Squires took the early 4-0 lead as he had a take down in the first period and a second to start the next two minutes of action.
Squires added another five points for the 9-0 lead in the third before Bundy gained a point for an escape. The Princeton-bound Norwich senior then took the title with a 12-1 major win for his fourth class championship in the five years of wrestling on varsity.
Earning his first-place finish in the fastest time of the day was the Tornado’s Tyler Rice. After a first round bye, Rice took a 38 second pin over Windsor’s Garrett Bidwell then a 44 second win against Owego’s Logan Bailey.
In the finals, Rice wasted no time win his second straight class title. Starting out aggressive, the Tornado junior took down Evan Kenyon of Deposit-Hancock within the first 10 seconds of the match.
Rice then worked his way towards the pin, running Kenyon to his back before capturing the 35 second pin – the fastest of all three bound for the Norwich junior throughout the day – to earn the 285-pound Class B title.
The eight Norwich wrestlers now prepare for the Section IV Division II Championship tournament that makes it’s return to the Arena after two years of being held at schools. Each weight class will see the top 10 wrestlers on Saturday and all bouts will be wrestled in one day, starting at 10 a.m.
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