ITHACA – While the Norwich and Sherburne-Earlville varsity wrestling teams were busy conquering the STAC championship and Mustang Duals, respectively, one of Section IV and Chenango County's premier teams was busy proving their worth as the combined team of BGAH edged Tioga this past Sunday by a close score of 44-42.

Most recently, Bainbridge-Guilford-Afton-Harpursville's head coach – Brandon MacNaught – was named the New York State wrestling coach of the year by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. MacNaught has proved to be just that with multiple dominant seasons at the reigns – currently holding a 2016-2017 team record of 11-4 overall.

The MacNaught led Bears added this 11th win to their already dominant season on Jan. 22, when they traveled to Cornell University to take on Tioga. According to the New York Sportswriters Associations's latest state rankings for wrestling, as of Jan. 10, BGAH was ranked fifth overall in DII wrestling, while Tioga was ranked 13th overall in DII.

The two-point victory at 44-42 saw a dual start at 99 pounds and end at 285 pounds – oddly enough both losses for BGAH. However, BGAH was able to earn this tight win as they claimed eight match wins to Tioga's seven – earning the decisive victory essentially at 220 pounds.

BGAH senior Mitchell Weist dominated his opponent – DJ Hartman – at the 220 pound weight to take the win by fall at 1:34 to move BGAH to at that time a 44-36 lead.