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February 13, 2012

Sidney senior wins first Section Four wrestling crown

By Dean Russin Sports Editor The Daily Star Mon Feb 13, 2012, 02:30 AM EST

BINGHAMTON _ Scott Stafford went deep Saturday at the Broome County Arena.

He kinda had to, though.

"I don't even know what to call it; he's like triple-jointed," said Stafford, who earned Sidney's first sectional wrestling championship since 2002 with an 8-2 decision over Unatego freshman Austin Ryan in the Section Four Division II final at 120 pounds. "Most kids are double-jointed, but he's twice what they are."

After an early miscalculation put Stafford into a 2-0 hole, the Sidney senior treated Ryan like 120 pounds of Silly Putty en route to the area's only sectional title. Had the two been wrestling on newspaper, Ryan very well may have walked away with a comic strip inked to his belly, which spent much of the six minutes pressed flat on the dingy, dark-blue mat.

"We both knew what we were getting into," said Stafford, who improved to 4-0 against Midstate Athletic Conference rival Ryan this season. "It's tough to wrestle a kid three or four times because you get to know each other. I was just trying to keep him flat."

Five-time MAC champion Stafford, who will compete in the state tournament Feb. 24-25 at the Times-Union Center in Albany, quickly opened with a takedown attempt that Ryan countered with a modified headlock.

Ryan maintained the hold as Stafford battled back to his feet, then stumbled backwards into a semi-suplex. The move drove Stafford face-first into the mat, and Ryan completed the two-point takedown with a spin to his opponent's backside.

"It felt great, considering the last two weeks he's kept me scoreless," said Ryan, who lost his Jan. 28 MAC championship match, 9-0, and his Feb. 4 Section Four Class C final, 6-0, to Stafford _ Sidney's first sectional champ since Anthony Chamorro won the 275-pound title in 2002. "It feels great to get the first takedown."

That feeling couldn't have lasted long, however, as Stafford soon popped his head free and tied the score with a reversal, maintaining the top position the rest of the period by pulling, tugging and bending Ryan every which way. Stafford attacked Ryan's ribs while yanking in his right arm to score two back points as the buzzer sounded for a 4-2 lead.

"You get into scrambles," said seventh-year Sidney coach Tim Stafford, a two-time Section Four champion in the 1980s for Bainbridge-Guilford who doubles as Scott's dad. "Ryan's the first one who took Scott down in the section. Things are going to happen and I think (the early takedown) woke Scott up."

Scott Stafford went up, 6-2, with a takedown from the neutral position shortly after the start of the second period. He then became Ryan's personal masseur, incessantly kneading his foe's right shoulder and locking legs to prevent any sudden movements.

"I'm usually a headhunter on the bottom," Ryan said. "He got those legs in deep and he kept them there. I couldn't get his head."

Stafford resumed his dominance in the third period, jerking Ryan to the floor from the neutral position for an 8-2 lead 15 seconds in. Another leglock and more work on Ryan's right shoulder and the two were engaged in a therapy session once again. Ryan tapped the mat with 1:20 left, though, as Stafford guided his right elbow behind his head toward his left ear.

"I've always had a flexible shoulder," said Ryan, who sat with a huge, plastic bag of ice on top of his right shoulder after falling to 31-11 this season. "I can pop it out and pop it back in. I think he's picked up on that, so he had to drive it through.

"I just pop it out and pop it back in. I can do that anytime someone pulls it over my head," he continued. "It was working, but he got it in there deep."

Ryan took the bottom position when the match resumed and stayed there until the final buzzer, which signaled an automatic berth to the state tournament for Stafford (37-2).

"This is awesome. Finally all the hard work has paid off," said Stafford, who earned a wild-card berth into the 2009 state tournament as a freshman at 96 pounds. "It's amazing. This is a first because freshman year when I went, I took second and I got the wild-card. So like tonight, I wouldn't know if I got (into states) or not. I don't think I found out until the next Monday. This time, I know."

Ryan and a handful of others will have to wait, though.

Section Four Wrestling Chairman and former Walton coach Rick Armstrong said Section Four's at-large berths should be determined by Wednesday.

Area wrestlers who may be eligible for wild-card berths are Walton's Dylan Wood (99 pounds) and Mike Beers (182); Ryan and Unatego teammates Kevin Thayer (138), Codie Nichols (145) and Ryan Marszal (145); Sidney's Nicholas Jump (160); and Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton's Mark Viviano (195). All but Marszal, who won a 3-0 overtime decision against B-G/A's Corey Burnett in the consolation finals, finished second in their respective weight classes.

Eighth-grader Wood (30-5) dropped a 6-2 decision to Oxford sophomore Joe Nelson, whose only points-against came on a second-period reversal.

Keegan Cerwinski earned one four championships for team winner Greene with a pin of Beers in 5:43. Beers scored on back-to-back escapes _ late in the second period and halfway through the third _ to pull to 7-2 before Cerwinski nonchalantly went in for a single-leg takedown. Cerwinski then scooped Beers (26-6) into a cradle for the pin with 17 seconds left.

Greene's Mike Beckwith won the 160-pound title with a 12-0 major decision over Jump (29-5), a freshman who rolled out of potential pins in each period.

"Nicholas is a good wrestler," Tim Stafford said. "I'm privileged to coach him, too. We've got three more years. We'll work and work and work. Hard work pays off."

Viviano (29-7) was one of five semifinalists for B-G/A but the only one to reach a title match. He lasted 1:02 with Lansing's Ryan Todd, who followed a takedown seven seconds into the 195-pound final with a tuck-and-turn from the top position for the pin.

Top-seeded Nichols lost a 7-2 decision to No. 2 seed Kyle Halladay of Chenango Forks in the 145-pound title match. Halladay scored two points with an aggressive takedown at the end of the first period and extended his lead to 7-0 with a reversal from the bottom position that led to three back points in the second. Nichols (36-6) capped the scoring on a takedown with 14 seconds left.

Third-seeded Thayer fell, 13-8, to Chenango Valley's Adam Greene in the 138-pound championship. Greene suffered a bloody nose about halfway through the opening period, which ended with Thayer behind, 10-1. Greene maintained a nine-point lead _ ahead 12-3 at the end of two _ before Thayer (34-8) ended their match on a 5-1 run.

Thayer scored two points on a takedown, then allowed an escape as Greene took a 13-5 lead. A stalling penalty on Greene made it 13-6 and, shortly after the two tumbled out of bounds, Thayer scored the final points on a takedown from the neutral position with 25 seconds left. Thayer had control of Greene's right ankle and prevented the three-time state qualifier from running out of bounds by dragging him back to the center of the mat by his leg.

"Kevin's tough," Unatego coach Mike Hamilton said. "I think he had a little butterflies in his stomach because it was his first time in the section finals. It was a learning experience for him. I think after the initial butterflies wore off, I think he realized that he's in a wrestling match and he showed what he's been doing all year."

Although the Spartans walked away without a title, Hamilton seemed hardly disappointed with their eighth-place finish.

"I just think we know how to prepare," said Hamilton, who also got a fourth-place finish from Leland Slawson at 152 pounds. "Every day they come in and work hard. They wrestled above expectations."

Lansing finished second in the team standings with 139 points _ 13.5 behind the Trojans. Norwich (112 points), Chenango Valley (107) and B-G/A (105) rounded out the top five. Unatego amassed 95.5 points for eighth, Walton placed 10th with 79, and Sidney had 77 for 11th.

Delhi (21st, 36.5 points), Oneonta (23rd, 30) and Unadilla Valley (24th, 26.5) also competed.

Austin Carr (99 pounds), Justin Cirigliano (132) and Jesse Griswold (138) joined Burnett as fourth-place finishers for B-G/A, which received a fifth from Brett Hubbard at 113.

Other local fifth-place finishers were Dustin Badger of UV (132), Cody LaFever (170) and Bryan Ingram (195) of Delhi, and Austin Dean (285) of Sidney.

Unatego's Lucas DeJoy (injury default to Badger), Oneonta High's Fred Thomas (7-0 loss to LaFever) and Walton's Eddie Castillo (pinned by Ingram in 4:11) placed sixth.

Walton's Logan Robinson also contributed a sixth as he forfeited the fifth-place match at 106 to Chenango Valley's Billy Liberati.

SECTION FOUR D-II TOURNAMENT

Results Saturday from the Section Four Division II Wrestling Tournament at the Broome County Arena in Binghamton.

Team scores: 1, Greene 152.5; 2, Lansing 139; 3, Norwich 112; 4, Chenango Valley 107; 5, Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton 105; 6, Windsor 104.5; 7, Tioga 98; 8, Unatego 95.5; 9, Waverly 80.5; 10, Walton 79; 11, Sidney 77; 12, Owego 73; 13, Oxford 68; 14, Whitney Point 64; 15, Marathon 58; 16, Susquehanna Valley 51.5; 17, Watkins Glen 51; 18, Deposit 45; 19, Dryden 40; 20, Harpursville 39; 21, Delhi 36.5; 22, Candor 33; 23, Oneonta 30; 24, Unadilla Valley 26.5; 25, Spencer-Van Etten 22; 26, Moravia 18; 27, Odessa-Montour 15; 28, Groton 12.5; 29, Southern Cayuga 8; 30, Thomas A. Edison 6; 31, Trumansburg 4.

CHAMPIONSHIPS

99 _ Joe Nelson (Oxford) dec. Dylan Wood (Walton) 6-2.

106 _ Lucas Malmberg (Marathon) major dec. Sean Ballard (Whitney Point) 12-0.

113 _ William Koll (Lansing) major dec. Nate Hayes (Windsor) 8-0.

120 _ Scott Stafford (Sidney) dec. Austin Ryan (Unatego) 8-2.

126 _ Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich) dec. Corey Dake (Lansing) 5-2.

132 _ Connor Lapresi (Lansing) dec. Jessy Williams (Windsor) 7-1.

138 _ Adam Greene (Chenango Valley) dec. Kevin Thayer (Unatego) 13-8.

145 _ Kyle Halladay (Chenango Valley) dec. Codie Nichols (Unatego) 7-2.

152 _ Dan Dickman (Greene) dec. Jordan Torbitt (Whitney Point) 4-1.

160 _ Mike Beckwith (Greene) major dec. Nicholas Jump (Sidney) 12-0.

170 _ Ryan Wolcott (Waverly) injury default Adam Hughey (Watkins Glen).

182 _ Keegan Cerwinski (Greene) pinned Mike Beers (Walton) 5:43.

195 _ Ryan Todd (Lansing) pinned Mark Viviano (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) 1:02.

220 _ Kyle Stanton (Greene) dec. Nick Talcott (Tioga) 3-2.

285 _ James Merritt (Owego) pinned Kraig Parker (Dryden) 1:39.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

99 _ Madison Hoover (Harpursville) pinned Austin Carr (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton).

106 _ Brendan Wheeler (Greene) dec. Greg Lee (Lansing) 9-3.

113 _ Stephen McKee (Deposit) dec. Kaleb Stone (Tioga) 3-0.

120 _ Ian Lupole (Susquehanna Valley) pinned Anthony Colon (Chenango Valley) :59.

126 _ Dustin Greene (Chenango Valley) dec. Austyn Bostwick (Waverly) 2-1.

132 _ Frank Garcia (Norwich) dec. Justin Cirigliano (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) 5-0.

138 _ Trevor Nocchi (Waverly) dec. Jesse Griswold (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) 3-2.

145 _ Ryan Marszal (Unatego) dec. Corey Burnett (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) 3-0 OT.

152 _ Nate Hansen (Oxford) dec. Leland Slawson (Unatego) 5-3.

160 _ Anthony Vittelo (Norwich) pinned Dylan Gutierrez (Waverly) 4:59.

170 _ Joel Roselle (Greene) dec. Tyler Spires (Tioga) 3-0.

182 _ Cody Bradbury (Norwich) dec. Luke Zakrajsek (Windsor) 3-2.

195 _ Kegan Levesque (Norwich) dec. Jesse Angevine (Windsor) 3-1.

220 _ Dillon Hurlbert (Marathon) dec. Matt Abbott (Windsor) 5-1.

285 _ Steve Kerrigan (Susquehanna Valley) dec. Tyler Hallett (Candor) 1-0.

FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES

99 _ Joe Rorick (Odessa-Montour) dec. Jackson Bell (Owego) 6-0.

106 _ Billy Liberati (Chenango Valley) forfeit Logan Robinson (Walton).

113 _ Brett Hubbard (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) dec. Devin Horton (Owego) 8-4.

120 _ Casey Tiffany (Spencer-Van Etten) pinned Dan Hosking (Tioga) 3:51.

126 _ Jesse Manuel (Tioga) dec. Nate Bell (Owego) 6-4.

132 _ Dustin Badger (Unadilla Valley) injury default Lucas DeJoy (Unatego).

138 _ Trevor Parrish (Greene) dec. Jon Wasson (Watkins Glen) 7-2.

145 _ Nick Cocola (Watkins Glen) dec. Jeremy Andrews (Dryden) 9-2.

152 _ Freedom Boda (Candor) forfeit Tanner Cummings (Norwich).

160 _ Josh Lord (Owego) dec. Nick Matthews (Whitney Point) 5-0.

170 _ Cody LaFever (Delhi) dec. Fred Thomas (Oneonta) 7-0.

182 _ Brendon VanEtten (Harpursville) pinned Caleb Cutting (Oxford) 2:38.

195 _ Bryan Ingram (Delhi) pinned Eddie Castillo (Walton) 4:11.

220 _ Dakota White (Lansing) pinned Pat Stoyell (Moravia) 2:24.

285 _ Austin Dean (Sidney) pinned Zach Kelsey (Tioga) 1:44.

SEMIFINALS

99 _ Joe Nelson (Oxford) pinned Austin Carr (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) :49; Dylan Wood (Walton) dec. Madison Hoover (Harpursville) 2-0.

106 _ Sean Ballard (Whitney Point) pinned Billy Liberati (Chenango Valley) 5:03; Lucas Malmberg (Marathon) dec. Brendan Wheeler (Greene) 7-0.

113 _ Nate Hayes (Windsor) pinned Kaleb Stone (Tioga) 5:08; William Koll (Lansing) pinned Stephen McKee (Deposit) 1:14.

120 _ Austin Ryan (Unatego) dec. Ian Lupole (Susquehanna Valley) 10-8; Scott Stafford (Sidney) pinned Anthony Colon (Chenango Valley) :31.

126 _ Corey Dake (Lansing) pinned Dustin Greene (Chenango Valley) 5:17; Tristan Rifanburg (Norwich) dec. Austyn Bostwick (Waverly) 10-6.

132 _ Connor Lapresi (Lansing) dec. Frank Garcia (Norwich) 3-0; Jessy Williams (Windsor) dec. Justin Cirigliano (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) 5-0.

138 _ Kevin Thayer (Unatego) dec. Trevor Nocchi (Waverly) 5-1; Adam Greene (Chenango Valley) dec. Jesse Griswold (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) 7-1.

145 _ Kyle Halladay (Chenango Valley) dec. Corey Burnett (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) 7-4; Codie Nichols (Unatego) dec. Ryan Marszal (Unatego) 5-3.

152 _ Dan Dickman (Greene) dec. Leland Slawson (Unatego) 4-2; Jordan Torbitt (Whitney Point) pinned Tanner Cummings (Norwich) 5:14.

160 _ Mike Beckwith (Greene) pinned Dylan Gutierrez (Waverly) 4:21; Nicholas Jump (Sidney) pinned Anthony Vittelo (Norwich) 2:24.

170 _ Ryan Wolcott (Waverly) dec. Tyler Spires (Tioga) 5-2; Adam Hughey (Watkins Glen) dec. Joel Roselle (Greene) 7-3 OT.

182 _ Keegan Cerwinski (Greene) pinned Luke Zakrajsek (Windsor) 7-2; Mike Beers (Walton) major dec. Cody Bradbury (Norwich) 13-5.

195 _ Ryan Todd (Lansing) dec. Jesse Angevine (Windsor) 4-2; Mark Viviano (Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton) dec. Kegan Levesque (Norwich) 5-2.

220 _ Kyle Stanton (Greene) major dec. Dillon Hurlbert (Marathon) 14-0; Nick Talcott (Tioga) dec. Matt Abbott (Windsor) 10-8.

285 _ James Merritt (Owego) pinned Steve Kerrigan (Susquehanna Valley) :59; Kraig Parker (Dryden) pinned Austin Dean (Sidney) 3:05.