Until we meet again?

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February 21, 2012

Stafford, Ryan on opposite sides of 120-pound bracket

By Dean Russin Sports Editor The Daily Star Tue Feb 21, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

It's probably a longshot, but Scott Stafford and Ryan Austin may meet again this wrestling season.

Half of the 16-person field in the Division II 120-pound weight class reached the state tournament last season, but none placed higher than fifth.

Stafford will open his title quest with a preliminary match against East Aurora junior Andrew Lazickas on Friday at the Times-Union Center in Albany, where the Sidney senior went 0-2 as a freshman wild-card selection at 96 pounds in 2009.

Lazickas is one of the four wild-card entries at 120, joining Unatego freshman Ryan, East Rochester senior Jeff O'Lena and Whitehall junior Al Aubin.

Lazickas and Ryan are making their first state appearances this weekend. O'Lena placed fifth at 119 pounds last season, when Aubin went 1-2 at 112.

Stafford (37-2) won the area's only sectional championship Feb. 11 at the Broome County Arena in Binghamton, where he beat Ryan (31-11) for the fourth time this season with an 8-2 decision in the D-II 120-pound final.

Stafford defeated Ryan, 19-4, during the regular season. He also beat Ryan, 9-0, to win his fifth straight Midstate Athletic Conference championship and followed with a 6-0 victory in the Section Four Class C final.

The good news for Ryan is that he's on the other side of the bracket, meaning he can only meet Stafford again this season if the two advance to the state final. The bad news? He'll start with Corinth senior Zach Marcel, whose 2012 state appearance marks his third in a row.

Marcel was pinned by Lackawanna's Abdulgawi Mohamed in each of his last two state openers. Mohamed placed third as a senior at 112 pounds last season, when Marcel went 2-2 at states. Marcel went two-and-out at 103 pounds in 2010 as he also was pinned by Falconer's Brandon Muntz in his first wrestleback.

Austin's side of the bracket also includes Lyndonville senior Sam Recco (fifth at 112 last season), Adirondack senior Pat Webster (2-2 at 119) and Bayport-Blue Point junior Justin Underwood (0-2 at 112).

Stafford's half includes O'Lena, Nanuet junior Anthony Calvano (1-2 at 112) and Gouverneur junior Zach Ayen (1-2 at 112). Calvano dropped a 2011 quarterfinal, 9-1, to then-senior Arik Robinson of Peru, who won his fourth straight state title with a 7-2 decision over Norwich's Tristan Rifanburg in the 112-pound D-II final.

Walton eighth-grader Dylan Wood's first state appearance will begin with Holley junior Andrew Flanagan at 99 pounds. Wood's bracket features Schoharie-Middleburgh's Alexis Bleau, an eighth-grader who beat Kalvin Abrams of Unadilla Valley, 10-8, in the 99-pound final of the Oneonta Rotary-Ross Cordell Tournament in January.

Wood (30-5) earned a wild-card entry after a 6-2 sectional championship loss to Oxford sophomore Joe Nelson, who is in the other half of the 99-pound field.

Walton junior Mike Beers and Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton junior Mark Viviano also received at-large berths.

Beers (26-6) will face senior Cody Houppert of Beaver River in his first match at 182 pounds. Should Beers win, he could face Greene's Keegan Cerwinski in the quarterfinals. Cerwinski pinned Beers with 17 seconds remaining in their sectional final Feb. 11.

The other side of the 182-pound bracket is highlighted by Pioneer senior Tony Lock, the 2011 D-II state runner-up at 171 pounds.

Viviano gets Maple Grove senior Jon Nickerson in his opener at 195, a weight class that also features Section Four wrestlers Ryan Todd of Lansing and Norwich's Kegan Levesque _ both seniors.

Viviano (29-7) was pinned in the first period of the 195-pound sectional final by Todd, the D-II state runner-up at 189 last season. Viviano reached the title match with a 5-2 semifinal decision over Levesque, who went on to place third at the sectional championships.

Complete brackets for the D-I and D-II state championships, which will run concurrently at the Times-Union Center this weekend, are available at the website www.nysphsaawrestling.com.

Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.