WINDSOR – The Windsor Christmas tournament is a tournament that features some of the top talent in New York State year after year. The 62nd annual tournament was no different as it saw two Chenango County teams place second and third for the two-day event. Norwich, defending champions from a season ago, finished second with Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville (BGAH) captured third out of the 33-team field.
BGAH had three of their wrestlers stand at the top of the podium when all was said and done as the Bears’ Brody Oleksak (138), Shane Hoover (160) and Austin Eggleston (170).
Oleksak’s season in 2017 came to an early end after an injury at the tournament a year ago. Entering this year’s 138 pound field at a seven-seed, Oleksak had a long journey but pulled off many upsets on his way to the top.
In the final match, the BGAH wresler defeated top-seeded Brady Worthing of Tioga with a 1-0 decision.
After taking the bottom to start the second period, Oleksak earned an escape for the 1-0 lead. That one point escape ultimately became the winning point as Worthing’s last second effort to tie the match with an escape point came up short.
Hoover took home the Windsor Christmas championship at the 160 pound weight class for the second straight year in dramatic fashion.
The Bears’ top-seeded wrestler took a shot and landed a takedown against Towanda’s Cooper Mosier in overtime after the two were tied at 1-1 after the end of the six minute regulation match.
Eggleston of the Bears earned his title with a 12-4 major victory against Colonie’s Logan Stark. Eggleston started the tournament out in the 170 pound bracket as a four seed and upset Chenango Forks’ Jeremiah Allen in the semifinals with a pin in the third period.
Norwich’s Dante Geislinger yet earned another Windsor Christmas title, this time at 106 pounds. Geislinger trailed early in the match but found away to escape Horseheads’ Zach Levey to tie the score at 3-3 in the second period.
Geislinger, one of the three New York State Champions in the tournament, then went on two score five straight points in the third to earn the 8-3 decision win.
The Tornado’s Mikey Squires won the 152 pound title after defeating Hunter Adams of Suffield 4-2.
Squires scored two points immediately with a take down and earned a third point after Adams was called for a penalty in the second. With the Norwich wrestler starting in the down position in the third period, Squires earned his final point of the match with an escape to secure his first ever Windsor tournament title.
Norwich’s Tyler Rice and Nick Glanville fell in their championship matches.
Glanville was pinned by Caleb Robinson of Walton/Delhi in the second period of the 126 pound championship bout. Rice, the top-seed of the 285 pound bracket, fell to Craig Sawyer of Hoosick Falls by a 6-1 decision.
The Tornado also saw Max Morris place in his first Windsor Christmas Tournament, finished sixth place in the 99 pound bracket.
Joey Florence of BGAH placed third after winning a 4-0 decision in his consolation match against Gianni Silvestri of Tioga. Florence fell in the semifinals to Chenango Forks’ Tyler Ferarra, the winner of the 99 pound title, with a first period pin. Teammate Hayden Lewis placed sixth for the Bears.
Noah Kennedy of the Greene/Oxford team finished as their only wrestler to place, taking sixth in the 195 pound weight class. Greene/Oxford also saw Damien Hitt, Brady Smith and Kaden Wakefield in action at the tournament. All wrestlers earned at least one win in their respective brackets.
Mount Sinai, placed nine wrestlers in the top six and had two finalists on their way to the Windsor Christmas Tournament team title.
Norwich is in action again on Wednesday against Susquehanna Valley. The meet will be hosted by the Sabres with a start time slated for 6 p.m.
Windsor Christmas Tournament Results
Team scores: Mount Sinai 153, Norwich 123, Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville 121, Horseheads 107.5, Walton/Delhi 107.5, Chenango Forks 106.5, Indian River 90, Elmira 87.5, Towanda 85, Tioga 84, Saratoga Springs 78, Spencer-Van Etten/Candor 74, Windsor 65.5, Suffield 64, Syracuse-Christian Brothers Academy/Jamesville-DeWitt 64, Phoenix 49.5, Colonie 48, Waverly 46, Honeoye Falls-Lima 45, Susquehanna Valley 43, Dryden 42.5, Hoosick Falls 42, Homer 37, Groton 27, ELS 26, Corning 19, Greene/Oxford 18, Canandaigua 15, Union-Endicott 14, Maine-Endwell 12, Deposit-Hancock 10, LaSalle 10, Mountain View 2.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
99 pounds: Tyler Ferrara (Chenango Forks) dec. Donovan Smith (Elmira), 6-2.
106: Dante Geislinger (Norwich) dec. Zach Levey (Horseheads), 8-3.
113: Anthony Noto (HFL) tech. fall over Zach Johns (Suffield), 18-3.
120: Caleb Robinson (W/D) pinned Nick Glanville (Norwich), 3:07.
126: Tyler Kellison (CBA/JD) dec. Chandler Merwin (W/D), 9-8, OT
132: Devin Woodworth (HH) dec. Mike O’Brien (MS), 6-5, OT.
138: Brody Oleksak (BGAH) dec. Brady Worthing (Tioga), 1-0.
