TIOGA – Three Chenango County wrestling teams stood out at the Section IV 'A' qualifier held at Tioga over the weekend.

Tioga won the overall meet with Unatego/UV in second. Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville came in sixth place with Norwich behind them in seventh. All wrestlers faced tough matches throughout the day. Norwich and BGAH had at least one wrestler achieve first place while wrestlers specifically from Unadilla Valley took second.

UV students Caleb Cole, Wyatt Meade, and Caleb Wildenstein did well on the mat. Wildenstein gave it his best efforts but came up short from placement while Cole and Meade both took second place in their respective weight classes. Cole took second in the 124 weight class, where he went 2-2 with a quick 14 second pin against Chenango Valley's Travis White. Meade also went 2-1, but in the 152 weight class. He defeated Sus Valley's Chad Lainhart in a 1:12 while taking the tough loss to Tioga's Caden Bellis in a 5:21 pin in the finals.

BGAH:

Darren Florance came out on top for the BGAH Bears. He went 3-0 in the 116 weight class, where he took down Norwich's Jaxson Shaver in 42 seconds. Shaver finished 2-2, but didn't place. Aside from Florance, Elliott Briggs did well in the 285 weight class, finishing second to Norwich's Pat White. Briggs lost to White in the finals as he was pinned in 5:08. Teammate Ryan Blackman came in third place in the 152 weight class, where his quickest pin was against Newark Valley's Cadin Creeley in 38 seconds for his final match.

Blake Prisco earned fifth place in the 145 weight class as he went 2-1. The junior won in a 3-0 decision against Thomas A. Edison's Jace Shiller before picking up a win by his opponent being disqualified. Zane Mumbalo was the final wrestler to place for BGAH as he finished sixth in the 108 weight class. Mumbalo won one match, where he defeated Marathon's Simon Donah in a 5:37 pin.

Great efforts from Silas Greenman, Blaise Loya, Glen Miller, Frank Parsons, and Devon Rowe.

Norwich:

The Norwich Purple Tornado wrestlers celebrated senior Patrick White and Freshman Maverick Beckwith, who both advanced to sectionals for their first place finishes. Braden Reid (second) and Regan Roach (fourth) also qualified for sectionals after a solid day on the mat.

White went 3-0 in the 285 weight class with a win against BGAH's Briggs and two quick pins, including a 30 second pin against Tioga's Tate McCauley. Beckwith, who is having a great season with a 27-3 record, won all three matches with a quick 23 second pin against Newark Valley's Leland Houston and picked up two wins by decision, including a tight 1-0 decision in the finals against Chenango Valley's Anthony Valls.

Reid is having a great senior season as he heads to sectionals from finishing second in the 215 weight class. Reid went 2-1, which includes a quick 45 second pin against Owego's Jaydin Brainard and also a win by decision. He came up short in the finals in a 6-2 decision against Moravia's Seth Parker. Roach had a rather challenging day in the 138 weight class, but he's proud to be representing Norwich again at sectionals for his final season. He finished fourth with just one win during the qualifiers, which came against Chenango Valley's Ethan Randis in a 4-2 sudden victory.

Jack Barnes finished sixth in the 190 weight class, going 1-2. He won in a close 6-5 decision against UV's Caleb Wildenstein. Evan Meek wrapped up his final season as he went 1-2 at the meet. He pinned Chenango Valley's Cameron Pinney in 54 seconds. Meek finished his final season with a 14-14 record and his overall career at 38-31.

Great job to all wrestlers and good luck at Sectionals. Sectionals will be held on February 10 at 10 a.m. from the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton.