Wrestling

Norwich 44, Susquehanna Valley 27

CONKLIN – Norwich won its first STAC Central Division title since the 1996 season – when head coach Joe Downey was a freshman – beating Susquehanna Valley Thursday night for its 11th win of the season.

“Not too many people in the history of Norwich can say they were STAC division champions,” Downey said. “It’s something to be proud of and definitely not something to take for granted.”

Norwich (11-5) set the tone of the meet at the outset with pins from Frank Garcia (130), Matt Thompson (135), and Tanner Cummings (140) to build a 18-0 lead. “We had the kids pretty pumped up before the meet,” Downey said. “Everyone went out and seemed to wrestle well. We got kids on their back and kept them there. We didn’t make a lot of mistakes tonight.”

Morgan Crawford (160), Cody Bradbury (171), Landon Cummings (103), and Tristan Rifanburg (119) also had pins. Kegan Levesque (215), facing one of the top 189-pounders in the section, edged the Sabers’ Zach Barker, 2-1 in overtime.

Norwich competes in the Class B sectional tournament Saturday at Afton. “We have a lot of guys wrestling at the top of their game,” Downey said. “I think we’ll do well.”