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LOCKPORT -- Chautauqua Lake finished fourth at the first-ever Section VI Team Dual Championships on Saturday at Starpoint High School.
In its first match, Chautauqua Lake topped Newfane, 36-33, before falling to second-place Falconer-Cassadaga Valley, 60-19. Then, in the wrestleback semifinals, the Thunderbirds edged the Fredonia Hillbillies, 45-33, before losing to Olean in the third-place match, 48-28.
Individually, Ben Szymanowski went 4-0 wrestling at 220 and 285 pounds, Bryce Rowe went 4-0 at 152 and 160, Austin Burgeois was 3-1 at 120 and 126, Derek Ecklund was 2-1 at 132 while Armando Arce (170, 182), Brendan Ramsey (113), Brendon Rowe (106) and Hunter Harris (99) all won a pair of matches.
In its match against Fredonia, Jordan Stebbins (195), Jake Skinner (220), Dalton Gardner (113), Giovani Russo (126), Lucas Green (138) and Hector Colom (145) all won for the Hillbillies.
"It was a great match," Fredonia head coach Joe Santilli said. "It was quite a battle and exciting and good for both teams. And I was happy for Chautauqua Lake making the top four. We have a tough league and four out of the top six teams are from our league, so that's pretty impressive."
Gardner (33-6), Russo (33-4) and Colom (41-1) all went 3-0, with Colom earning his 200th career win by way of forfeit in the Hillbillies' match against the Thunderbirds.
"It's not how he wanted to get it," Santilli said. "They pulled their wrestler back, but it was a strategy thing. They were thinking about winning the match and not accommodating a wrestler. I understand that and he does now, too."
As a team, the Hillbillies went 1-2, falling to Pioneer 58-16 and the Thunderbirds, while defeating Depew/Cleveland Hill, 49-36.
Also for Fredonia, Brandon Wallace (22-14, 120), Lucas Green (25-14, 145), Jordan Stebbins (23-8, 182) and Jake Skinner (18-16, 220 and 285) all went 2-1 on the day.
"We kind of had to move guys around and up and down," Santilli said. "Everybody was at different weights. You try to get proper matchups with your opponents and get your best line out there."
As for the inaugural event, Santilli could not have been more happy with how things went.
"I was extremely pleased with how we competed and it was a fantastic event," he said. "And it was a big hit. I think Section VI hit it out of the park and Starpoint did a great job of hosting it. It was well run and every match was a battle. I know we've been wishing and hoping for this for years and years and it was outstanding, so we're looking forward to more of this. It's good for wrestling."
NOTES: Pioneer won the event 33-32 over Falconer/Cassadaga Valley on a tie-breaker, as they had won one more bout than the Golden Falcons.