Randolph wins team title, Gowanda’s Poff earns MOW
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CATTARAUGUS -- The Randolph Cardinals did not make last weekend's inaugural Section VI Championship Dual tournament.
It was deemed the Cardinals were not one of the top eight teams in Western New York.
They earned some redemption Saturday at Cattaraugus-Little Valley Central School, winning their first Section VI Class D title in 19 years with a dominating performance.
Randolph finished with 216.5 points while Gowanda was second at 173.5. Maple Grove was third at 170.5 followed by Portville 159, Franklinville, 153.5, Cattaraugus-Little Valley 121.5, Southwestern 95, Wilson 75, Frewsburg 34 and Salamanca was 10th with 21.
"I am really excited about first place," Randolph coach Todd Conley said. "It's 19 years in the making for us. We have been close a few times in my career. We set it as a goal to be class champions. I am proud of my guys. That was unfortunate (that we didn't make the Dual Tournament). We did put in for that and wanted to do it, but didn't have enough points. This is a little redemption for that."
Meanwhile, Gowanda's David Poff was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler, taking first place at 120-pounds, defeating Maple Grove's AJ Putt in the championship match, 4-3.
Putt is a two-time state qualifier.
Poff took a 3-0 lead into the final period of the championship match, but Putt did not go down easily, as he earned an escape and a takedown with :50 seconds left for a tie. With :39 seconds left, Poff was able to escape and hold Putt off for the 4-3 victory.
"Poff is on a mission," Gowanda coach Mark Leous said. "He finished third last year at Sectionals and second the year before. He wants to get to the state tourney. That was a good match against Putt."
At 99, Gowanda eighth grader David Ball was spectacular with an 11-2 victory over Maple Grove's Luke Tomlinson. After a scoreless first period, Ball earned six points as he put Tomlinson in a cradle two separate times and never looked back.
"Dave has been wrestling well all season," Leous noted. "He put Tomlinson on his back three times. That was impressive."
At 106, Randolph's Marcus Evans took first place with a 16-1 technical fall win over Franklinville's Nolan Palmatier.
Conley noted there were only three wrestlers in that weight class.
"He didn't have much competition," he said. "He is pushing ahead for next week and he hopes to win a Sectional title."
Maple Grove's two-time state qualifier Shane Hetrick was in postseason form with a 1:01 pin of Portville's Devin Hall at 113.
For Southwestern, Dagon Bryant earned a 10-4 win over Franklinville's Jake Peters.
Even with the win, it was not Bryant's most impressive win of the day. That came in the first round when he knocked off No. 1 seed Caleb Palmatier of Franklinville.
"That was awesome," Southwestern coach Mark Arnold said. "He started off the day and beat the No. 1 seed in overtime and just wrestled great, smart matches. We really think he is peaking at the right time. He wrestled great. We told him not to hold anything back. He got caught in a couple scramble positions (in the championship match) and he kept it under control. It was just a great match and great tournament overall for him."
Gowanda's Dominik Rodriguez took second place, falling in the finals to Wilson's Kevin Hoover via pin at the 3:10 mark of their 152-pound bout.
But Leous was proud of Rodriguez, who entered the tournament with a 10-17 record.
"That's fabulous," Leous said of Rodriguez's day. "He had a losing record coming in. He would usually make a fatal mistake, but didn't this time. He would be with guys til the end and then make a mistake. This time he was waiting for them to make the mistake and he capitalized. He has a great future."
At 170, Maple Grove's Trevor Micek was unstoppable, as he cruised to the title with a 22-7 victory over Franklinville's Derek Langdon.
Micek's teammate, Zak Trim, also took first place with a nail-biting 5-4 victory over Portville's Mat Waugh at 182. The score was tied, 4-4, with 1:50 left. And with :40 seconds left, Trim was awarded a point due to Waugh stalling, which gave Trim the victory.
For Randolph, Marshal Johnson earned a pin over Portville's Alexx Quattrone at the 1:05 mark.
It was nothing new for Marshall, who holds a 32-2 record this season with 29 of those wins coming way of pinfall.
"Marshal has pinned almost every kid he has wrestled," Conley said. "He has wrestled really well and is peaking at the right time. He is a senior and early on this year, he looked really good in our wrestling room. He has been really focused. His goal is to make the state tourney. He has worked really hard. He had an injury at the Sectional tourney last year and didn't place."
Gowanda's Charles Valone continued his winning ways at 220 with a pin of Southwestern's Seth Bennett at the 3:17 mark.
"He has come a long ways," Leous said, noting Valone is now 40-3 on the season.
And at heavyweights, Randolph's Nick Becker defeated teammate Noah Pesson with a pin at 1:51.
"Those two guys wrestle each other all the time," Conley said. "They are good friends. You let them go. Nick does a good job. Both of them work really hard and have done an awesome job all season long. Every tournament we have been in, they both finish in the top three."
Now, the wrestlers who finished in the top four Saturday travel to Salamanca next weekend for the Sectional finals. The first place winner there advanc to the Times Union Center in Albany for the New York State Public High School Athletic Association championships.