Wrestling
JOHNSON CITY – Norwich proved it has the best trio of lightweights in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference, and maybe the entire section.
Seventh-graders Tristan Rifanburg (96) and Frankie Garcia (103) won their first league championships on Saturday at Johnson City, and sophomore Tanner Cummings (112) placed third. The Tornado brought just five wrestlers to the tournament, yet still finished near the middle of the field in team scoring.
“Tristan looked great, and Frankie wrestled with a lot of determination,” said Norwich coach Joe Downey. “I think a lot of fans had their eyes on Frankie and Tristan this weekend to see if they were the real deal. They turned a lot of heads.”
Rifanburg was unfettered in his assault on the competition, and was never in danger of losing. He blew out Union-Endicott’s Kyle Hughes, 13-0, in the finals.
Garcia had a difficult road to the finals beating defending sectional champion Jacob Green of Chenango Forks in triple overtime in Saturday’s morning semifinals. After neither wrestler scored in the first overtime, each wrestler was given 30 seconds to escape from the other in the second OT. Both accomplished that feat setting up the third overtime. The wrestler who scored first, Green, had the choice of top or bottom position. Green selected the bottom position, but was unable to escape from Garcia in 30 seconds to give the Norwich wrestler the victory.
In the finals, Garcia won a 5-1 decision over U-E’s Thomas Babcock.
Cummings dropped his semifinals bout, but wrestled back with two wins, the latter a pin of Craig Luffman in the second period for third. “Tanner looked really good in the wrestlebacks,” Downey said. “He opened up and was aggressive. He wrestles a lot better when he is on the offensive and just trusts his moves.”
Norwich 189-pounder, Kegan Levesque, took home a fourth-place finish. Levesque dropped a 3-1 overtime decision to Reggie Williams of Johnson City in the consolation finals.
MAC
CHAMPIONSHIPS
DELHI – B-G/Afton supplanted defending MAC champion Greene at the MAC Championships Saturday in Delhi.
The Bears accumulated 180 team points to easily outdistance second-place Deposit-Hancock by 67 1/2 points. Unadilla Valley was third with 89.5, and Greene was a distance fifth with 82.
B-G/A won fou individual titles stringing them together in four straight weight divisions beginning with Wayne Cirigliano (119), Jesse Griswold (125), Danny Gormley (130), and Chris Burnett (135). Vinnie Buttice gave the champions a fifth championship at 171 pounds.
UV’s Tyler Peet gave his club its lone championship at 140 pounds, and Greene had a single champion at 189 with Kurt Shear taking the crown. The Trojans entered the tournament with key personnel out of the lineup due to the regular season match limit restrictions. Not appearing in the tourney were defending league champions Nick Wilcox and Tyler Beckwith among others.
Volleyball
Oxford 3, Hancock 1
OXFORD – Oxford (7-1, 9-6) moved a step closer to securing a winning season, and is in position to secure a MAC Division II title after defeating Hancock in four games Friday.
Sienna Brown, Kristi Shepard, and Taylor Simpson shared Oxford’s honors with four aces apiece. Chelsea Roach had six assists and four kills, while Malorey Muzzy also had four kills. Nicole Stoddard finished with a team-best seven digs.
