Battle of endurance
Fredonia tops Dunkirk in third match in as many nights
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Thursday's CCAA high school wrestling match between rivals Dunkirk and Fredonia was just the match both teams needed.
Fredonia, wrestling for the third time in three nights, finally faced a team of equal skill level as it had two tough losses to Olean (No. 3 in Western New York) and Falconer (No. 1 in Western New York and No. 3 in the state). Meanwhile, Dunkirk was coming off a tough loss to Olean on Wednesday night.
In the end, the Hillbillies defended their home mat with a 47-21 victory over the Marauders.
"We needed it and the guys needed it," Fredonia coach Joe Santilli said of the win against a team with the same level of competition. "When you are outgunned by two fine programs, it can take your edge away and your confidence. This was good for the team."
For Dunkirk, though losing, coach Joe McMurdy was pleased with his team's effort compared to Wednesday's showing against the Huskies.
This one here I will take," he said. "(Wednesday) I wasn't happy with the effort. I thought (Thursday) we at least fought. A lot of kids who got beat (Thursday) are inexperienced. I will take the effort though."
The highlight match of the night came at 138-pounds where Fredonia's Hector Colom defeated Dunkirk's Billy Seiders, 6-3.
Colom is No. 1 in Western New York at 132 pounds while Seiders is No. 2 in Western New York at 138 pounds.
Colom held a 5-0 lead midway through the second period, but Seiders turned it on in the third, scoring with an escape and a takedown. He went for another takedown late, but ran out of time.
"Off the mat, they are friends," McMurdy said. "They have been waiting for this matchup for a little bit. I thought Billy started tentative then picked it up and made it a good match. I think they are two of the best in the Section. It was a good time for them to meet. It allows Hector to work on what he needs to work on and Billy work on what he needs to work on. We are getting to end here. We need them getting to their best."
"Hector needed that battle," Santilli added. "Billy is ridiculously strong. I was glad we got the match for both of them. Billy is a fine young man and I expect him to make it to Albany. It was well wrestled. I think Hector relaxed a bit (near the end) and you can't do that against Billy. He is physically well conditioned and has fine technique. He is solid."
Meanwhile, at 132, Dunkirk's Adam Sanchez wrestled a fine match in defeating Fredonia's Jin Kim, 6-2.
Kim had beaten Sanchez twice already this season, including a pin in their last faceoff.
With a 3-2 lead heading into the third frame, Sanchez earned three points for the win.
"That was big for us there," McMurdy said.
Also for Fredonia, Lucas Green picked up a 10-1 major decision over Cole Golembeski.
With the 10-1 lead, Green tried for a pin, but Golembeski fought off the pin.
"He has moved up a couple weight classes and is trying to get him to adapt to the weight class," Santilli said of Green. "He wrestled a good match with Cole. Cole is solid. I am pleased with the effort, especially trying to get the six points at the end for the team."
At 152, Kenny Pisa earned a first-round pin over Tanner Davis.
"It was nice to see him go out aggressively," McMurdy said of Pisa. "We talked about getting kids on their back and get a pin. We knew we needed pins and hoped Pisa would come through, and he did."
Pisa's teammate, Alton Ingram, came through with a pin of his own at 171 as he stopped Alex Christie with 53 seconds left in the first round.
At the time, Ingram's pin gave the Marauders a 15-7 lead. But from there, the Hillbillies took over, all starting with Jack Storm's pin over Owen Fred.
"I think that worked out well," Santilli said. "I wanted Jack to take it into the third period. I am confident in the team's conditioning. We have good workouts. That was huge. I could take a breath at that point."
Fredonia's Jake Skinner picked up six more points for the home team with 32 second pin of Brad Jones.
Dunkirk's Nick Jones continued his strong season with a second-round pin of Yannie Acevedo at 285.
Other pins for Fredonia were earned by Antonio Pagan (106) and Brandon Wallace (120).
Wallace defeated Hunter Larson, who McMurdy notes is one to keep an eye on in the future.
"He is only a seventh grader and he is going to be a good one," he said. "He has nine wins as a seventh grader in a tough weight class. He is a fighter who works hard and he is the most coachable kid you have ever seen."
Fredonia's Giovani Russo ended the evening with a 12-2 major decision over Brad Yochum.
"Gio is a solid wrestler," Santilli said. "He and Brad have had some frisky scraps. Technique wise, Gio is coming along."
Now both teams have today off before competing in the Cattaraugus-Little Valley tournament Saturday.
"I enjoy the competition but three in a row is tough," Santilli said. "You lose practice time. That is important time. We couldn't have a grinding practice on Monday and we can't have a tough practice (today) either. In that regard, I am glad we are through it and relatively unscathed. This is a tough match, it's cross-town rivals. We are friends with Dunkirk wrestlers. We want the best for them and want them to do well."
"The way the schedule us falling, we have had a ton of matches the last couple weeks," McMurdy concluded. "The bodies are taking a beating. I hope we get a good rest before Class tournament and Sectionals. We had kids who really fought (Thursday). That's all we ask."