Four Chenango County wrestlers capture Section IV titles, spot at New York State Championships
The Norwich wrestling team poses following the Section IV Division II Championships at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Arena in Binghamton. The Purple Tornado placed third as a team and all wrestlers who participated placed with three winning Section IV titles. The winners will move on the New York State Tournament, held at the Times Union Center in Albany on February 28-29. (Submitted Photo)
Norwich, BGAH and Greene/Oxford all finish in top 10 of team standings
BINGHAMTON – An action-packed Saturday on the mats as the Section IV Division I and Division II Wrestling Championships took over Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena for the first time after a three year hiatus.
After the one-day tournament finished, a total of four Chenango County wrestlers captured their spots at the New York State Championships in Albany on February 28 and 29.
Brody Oleksak of Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville along with Norwich’s Dante Geislinger, Mikey Squires and Tyler Rice finished first in their respective weight classes to win the Section IV title.
The Purple Tornado finished third as a team while BGAH placed fourth. Also wrestling throughout the day and seeing three reach the finals was the Greene/Oxford Blackhawks. The team secured eighth place out of the 25 school field for Division II.
Norwich had all seven wrestlers who participated on Saturday place in the top five of their bracket with all reaching the semifinals. Geislinger, Squires and Rice were the three that moved onto the evening matches with a spot at the state championships on the line.
Geislinger, a two-time New York State Champion, won all three matches wrestled during the tournament by way of pinfall. The Norwich senior saw a total of 2:25 seconds of mat time as he pinned his opponents at 40 seconds, 45 seconds and 1:20 in the finals.
In the championship bout of the 113 pound bracket, Geislinger took on Kaad’n Wakefield of the Blackhawks. Wakefield defeated Jose Bivar in the semifinals with a 6-0 decision.
The Blackhawks wrestler then put up a fight for most of the first period against the defending state champion but Geislinger landed his chance and heard the slap of the mat with just 40 seconds remaining.
The Bears’ Oleksak took a first round pin at 1:33 to move into the semifinals. There, Oleksak was put to the test against Marathon’s Ethan Morrison. Fortunately for the BGAH wrestler, he captured a 12-4 major decision win to secure a spot in the 145 pound finals.
Oleksak met against Dryden’s Bobby Brotherton – the number two seed of the weight class – in the finals. Taking a 5-0 lead at the end of the first two periods, Oleksak then cruised to an 11-2 win after adding six back points due to near-fall five-counts.
Squires reached the finals with a 4:25 pin in the quarterfinals then an 11-0 major decision over Windsor’s Langdon Sibley.
On the other side of the bracket was Owego’s Cam Bundy, winning two matches by a 13-3 major decision and a close 4-3 decision in the semifinals. Bundy taking the one point victory set up a rematch between the two wrestlers from a week earlier at the Section IV Class B qualifier.
Just 47 seconds into the finals bout for 170 pounds, Squires landed a shot for a takedown. Bundy found a way to escape, bringing the score to 2-1 with 30 seconds left in the first period.
Taking the bottom to start the second, Squires jumped on the whistle and fired out to escape quickly. With the score now 3-1 in favor of the defending Section IV Champion, Squires and Bundy were now neutral. The Norwich wrestler added a takedown and worked his way for the pin. Squires nearly scored the pin but was able to score three back points. Seconds later, he captured the pin and his fourth straight Section IV title.
Like his colleague of the lighter weight classes, Tyler Rice wasn’t on the mat long in his three matches before winning his second Section IV title in his career.
The junior won his first bout of the day in 45 seconds before taking a pinfall victory in 43 seconds to land in the finals.
BGAH’s Timmy James was on the other side of the bracket with the two-seed of the 285 pound weight class. James also won his first two matches by pinning his opponents, setting up the second Chenango County finals bout of the day.
Rice quickly took James down to the mat, scoring two points 30 seconds into the match. The Norwich junior added two near-fall counts before landing both of James’ shoulders flat to hear the slap of the mat at 1:42.
BGAH’s Darren Florance and Joey Florance also moved into the finals but fell to Tioga teammates Gianni Silvestri and Caden Bellis.
Greene/Oxford’s Brady Smith finished second in the 132 pound division, falling to Newark Valley’s Josh Post – who is ranked in the top five for all of New York State. Also reaching the finals was Noah Kennedy of the Blackhawks. Kennedy, who reached the finals a season ago, fell in the finals 1-0.
Norwich’s Max Morris and Andrew Brown each finished third while teammates Joey Marvin and Dakota Powers placed fourth. Greene/Oxford’s Damien Hitt stood on the fifth place spot of the podium while BGAH’s Jacob Terpstra, Brady Buttice and Rocco Arduini each came away with a fifth place finish.
The four wrestlers who captured titles are guaranteed a spot in the state tournament while the second and third place finishers have to wait for a possible wild card bid. Those who will advance to the New York State Championships will be announced later this week.
BINGHAMTON – An action-packed Saturday on the mats as the Section IV Division I and Division II Wrestling Championships took over Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena for the first time after a three year hiatus.
After the one-day tournament finished, a total of four Chenango County wrestlers captured their spots at the New York State Championships in Albany on February 28 and 29.
Brody Oleksak of Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville along with Norwich’s Dante Geislinger, Mikey Squires and Tyler Rice finished first in their respective weight classes to win the Section IV title.
The Purple Tornado finished third as a team while BGAH placed fourth. Also wrestling throughout the day and seeing three reach the finals was the Greene/Oxford Blackhawks. The team secured eighth place out of the 25 school field for Division II.
Norwich had all seven wrestlers who participated on Saturday place in the top five of their bracket with all reaching the semifinals. Geislinger, Squires and Rice were the three that moved onto the evening matches with a spot at the state championships on the line.
Geislinger, a two-time New York State Champion, won all three matches wrestled during the tournament by way of pinfall. The Norwich senior saw a total of 2:25 seconds of mat time as he pinned his opponents at 40 seconds, 45 seconds and 1:20 in the finals.
In the championship bout of the 113 pound bracket, Geislinger took on Kaad’n Wakefield of the Blackhawks. Wakefield defeated Jose Bivar in the semifinals with a 6-0 decision.
The Blackhawks wrestler then put up a fight for most of the first period against the defending state champion but Geislinger landed his chance and heard the slap of the mat with just 40 seconds remaining.
The Bears’ Oleksak took a first round pin at 1:33 to move into the semifinals. There, Oleksak was put to the test against Marathon’s Ethan Morrison. Fortunately for the BGAH wrestler, he captured a 12-4 major decision win to secure a spot in the 145 pound finals.
Oleksak met against Dryden’s Bobby Brotherton – the number two seed of the weight class – in the finals. Taking a 5-0 lead at the end of the first two periods, Oleksak then cruised to an 11-2 win after adding six back points due to near-fall five-counts.
Squires reached the finals with a 4:25 pin in the quarterfinals then an 11-0 major decision over Windsor’s Langdon Sibley.
On the other side of the bracket was Owego’s Cam Bundy, winning two matches by a 13-3 major decision and a close 4-3 decision in the semifinals. Bundy taking the one point victory set up a rematch between the two wrestlers from a week earlier at the Section IV Class B qualifier.
Just 47 seconds into the finals bout for 170 pounds, Squires landed a shot for a takedown. Bundy found a way to escape, bringing the score to 2-1 with 30 seconds left in the first period.
Taking the bottom to start the second, Squires jumped on the whistle and fired out to escape quickly. With the score now 3-1 in favor of the defending Section IV Champion, Squires and Bundy were now neutral. The Norwich wrestler added a takedown and worked his way for the pin. Squires nearly scored the pin but was able to score three back points. Seconds later, he captured the pin and his fourth straight Section IV title.
Like his colleague of the lighter weight classes, Tyler Rice wasn’t on the mat long in his three matches before winning his second Section IV title in his career.
The junior won his first bout of the day in 45 seconds before taking a pinfall victory in 43 seconds to land in the finals.
BGAH’s Timmy James was on the other side of the bracket with the two-seed of the 285 pound weight class. James also won his first two matches by pinning his opponents, setting up the second Chenango County finals bout of the day.
Rice quickly took James down to the mat, scoring two points 30 seconds into the match. The Norwich junior added two near-fall counts before landing both of James’ shoulders flat to hear the slap of the mat at 1:42.
BGAH’s Darren Florance and Joey Florance also moved into the finals but fell to Tioga teammates Gianni Silvestri and Caden Bellis.
Greene/Oxford’s Brady Smith finished second in the 132 pound division, falling to Newark Valley’s Josh Post – who is ranked in the top five for all of New York State. Also reaching the finals was Noah Kennedy of the Blackhawks. Kennedy, who reached the finals a season ago, fell in the finals 1-0.
Norwich’s Max Morris and Andrew Brown each finished third while teammates Joey Marvin and Dakota Powers placed fourth. Greene/Oxford’s Damien Hitt stood on the fifth place spot of the podium while BGAH’s Jacob Terpstra, Brady Buttice and Rocco Arduini each came away with a fifth place finish.
The four wrestlers who captured titles are guaranteed a spot in the state tournament while the second and third place finishers have to wait for a possible wild card bid. Those who will advance to the New York State Championships will be announced later this week.
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