At the Division II Class B,C, and D championships Saturday, all three top spots were claimed by Chenango County teams. B-G/Afton reigned atop the Class B ranks winning four titles and outdistancing runner-up Owego by nearly 50 points. In the Class C race, Greene narrowly edged Tioga, while Unadilla Valley was on top in Class D edging Delhi by just two team points (189-187). Below are summaries of each classification:
Class B
(at Oneonta)
The Bears had four tournament champions, and 11 of its wrestlers were among the top-four. Danny Gormley (125) was a repeat champion, the Bears had a string of three straight title victories in Paul Parsons (145), Daren Terpstra (152), and Vinnie Buttice (160).
Norwich, fifth in team scoring, seems to have turned the corner with its program after a bit of a downward trend the past few years. The Tornado matmen had four tournament champions – as many as B-GA – and send six wrestlers on to the Section IV championships this weekend.
“It was a great showing and we had a bunch of fans over there,” said Norwich first-year coach Joe Downey. “The crowd was going nuts in every match, and it’s nice to see the energy back in the program.”
Energizing the crowd were title winners Tristan Rifanburg (96), Frankie Garcia (103), Tanner Cummings (112), and Kegan Levesque (189).
Rifanburg, 27-1 this season, pinned his last two opponents within the first period to cruise to his first Class B title. “He just walked through the tournament, I expect a much tougher time next week,” Downey said of Rifanburg.
Garcia (25-1) beat Windsor’s Jesse Holton 3-0 for the third time this season. Holton has the only win over Garcia this season, but failed to score for the first time. Scoreless after two periods, Garcia was able to turn Holton for three nearfall points, and rode out the victory.
Cummings was thoroughly impressive winning a 14-4 decision in the finals. “Tanner beat a kid from Waverly who had just beaten a kid that Tanner lost to twice this season,” Downey said. “It was the best I’ve seen Tanner wrestle this season.
During his title run, Cummings also notched his 100th career victory, Downey said.
Levesque, a number two seed, avenged a 9-3 loss to Elmira Southside’s Ryan Barta earlier this season with a victory in overtime. “Kegan was just in a zone and focused,” Downey said. “He was there (at the tournament) for one reason, and that was to beat the number one kid. He showed great technique this weekend.”
Norwich’s Jordan Lockwood and Zach Ketchum also earned sectional tournament bids for NHS.
Team scores (top five): Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton 192; Owego 143.5; Chenango Valley 143; Waverly 137; Norwich 126.
(Norwich, B-G/Afton top-four finishers)
96: Tristan Rifanburg, Nor. (1); 103: Frankie Garcia, Nor. (1); Jordan Lockwood (5). 112: Tanner Cummings, Nor. (1); 119: Wayne Cirigliano, BGA (3); 125: Danny Gormley, BGA (1), 130: Chris Burnett, BGA (2), Zach Ketchum (4). 135: Chris Burnett, BGA (3), Justin Cirigliano, BGA (4). 145: Paul Parsons, BGA (1), 152: Daren Terpstra, BGA (1), 160: Vinnie Buttice, BGA (1); 171: Chris Anthony, BGA (2); 189: Kegan Levesque, Nor. (1); Mark Viviano, BGA (3). 275: Paul Hamilton (3).
Class C
