BINGHAMTON - On Saturday, wrestlers representing Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville, Oxford/Greene, Norwich, and Unatego/Unadilla Valley competed in the Section IV Division II championships held at the Broome County Arena.

Each of these wrestlers stood out and placed well in the qualifiers to earn a sectional bid. At least one wrestler from each well-respected school will now have a chance to be on the list of state champions.

NORWICH

The Norwich Purple Tornado wrestling team celebrated Maverick Beckwith, Mason Edwards, and Yanni Drapaniotis, who will be representing them in states.

Norwich has not had a state champion since Dante Geislinger, who won it all in 2018, 2019, and recently in 2020.

Norwich brought a total of six committed wrestlers to sectionals and as a team, they earned fourth place overall. Coach Bob Hagenbuch is extremely proud of his hard working team.

“We train all preseason then through the regular season to get to this point,” he said. “Blessed to be taking three to States to represent NHS. We’re going to enjoy this for the next couple of days and then go back to work and get ready to compete in Albany.”

“Our work and mission is not complete until all three (Beckwith, Edwards, and Drapniotis) are standing on the podium.”

Beckwith won the bracket for the 102 weight class where he took down Oxford/Greene’s Jackson Moore in a 1:20 pin before winning the final two matches, including a 6-2 decision over Lansing’s Owen Clark.

Mason Edwards came out on top of the 172 weight class as he was quick on a 29 second pin over Deposit/Hancock’s Nick Caiati to start his day. He also pinned down Groton’s Issac Allen in 1:25 to become a sectional champion. This came after winning the qualifiers.

Norwich’s Yanni Drapaniotis moves on to states after finishing third in the 152 weight class. He won the first match on a 5-3 decision over Tioga’s Levi Bellis before falling in 1:25 to Lansing’s Anthony McMill, who won the finals. Yanni won his final two matches, including another pin on Bellis to win the consolation bracket.

Robert McIntyre won two matches in the 285 weight class, but fell short of qualifying for states as he came in fourth place. His best match of the day was a 2:12 pin on Dryden’s Kaydin Hinckley. Teammate Braden Reid went 2-3 on the day, which was good enough for a sixth place finish in the 189 weight class. In the 132 weight class, Regan Roach struggled for placement as he lost two matches.

UV

Wyatt Meade, who is a UV student, will head to states after finishing third. Meade defeated Spencer-Van Etten/Candor’s Shane Neal in a tough first match that lasted 5:51. Meade lost his second match of the day in a 10-8 decision before winning out the consolation bracket. Meade is a sophomore on the Unatego/UV team and finished the regular season with a 34-6 record and also picked up his 100th career win during sectionals.

BGAH

The Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville Bears brought five wrestlers to sectionals, where two of the five earned their spots to States. Joey Florance and Darren Florence both won their respective weight classes to move on to states while Jose Bivar fell to fourth place, Ryan Blackman and Elliott Briggs missed placement.

Senior Joey Florance, who finished 26-4 in his final season, won the 118 weight class. He started off the day with a 1:29 pin against Sus Valley’s Carl Herold before winning two decisions, including a 5-4 decision in overtime.

Darren Florance, the defending state champion, is returning after winning the 110 weight class. The Junior, who held a 29-1 record this year, pinned down Newark Valley’s Logan Woodin in 2:36 before winning two decisions to become a sectional champion.

Jose Bivar fell in the first match before winning three matches in the 126 weight class consolation, before dropping to Deakon Bailey for the second time in the contest. Bivar just missed the cut in fourth place to miss states. He finished with a record of 29-12 in his final season.

Elliott Briggs defeated Windsor’s Jaycob Mann in a 5:08 pin before losing the next two matches.

OXFORD-GREENE

For the Oxford-Greene Blackhawks, they celebrate their lone wrestler heading to States. Hunter Page, a Greene student, finished third in the 189 weight class and is headed to his second consecutive States competition. He anticipates a better finish after coming in eighth.Oxford/Greene has not had a states champion since 2014 with Christian Dietirich.

Hunter pinned down Dryden’s Hunter Covington in 1:47 in his first match of the day before losing to Waverly’s Mathias Welles in a tough 6-3 decision. He fought back to proudly earn third in two big decisions, including a 5-1 decision over Maine-Endwell’s Anthony Policare.

The Blackhawks also had Christian Paden, Kade Mustin, and Jackson Moore compete but fell from earning any placement. Jackson Moore defeated his teammate Mustin in the 102 class before falling to Maverick Beckwith.

Both Moore and Mustin would lose both of their following matches. Paden defeated Maine-Endwell’s Mason Masi in the first match he saw in the 145 weight class, but dropped the next two matches. In the 152 weight class, David Dunkel lost two matches to conclude his first Varsity season as only an eighth grader.

Good luck to all in the States, make Chenango County proud!