Four CVA wrestlers among 10 from area in state tournament semifinals

ALBANY – Eight Center State Conference and Tri-Valley League wrestlers will continue along their paths to state championship glory in Saturday morning’s semifinals at the NYSPHSAA championships after advancing through the quarterfinals Friday.

Four Central Valley Academy wrestlers advanced Friday, including Ethan Randall who is joined in the semifinals by Dolgeville Blue Devil Jared Bilinski on the other side of the bracket.

Joining Randall from Central Valley Academy are eighth-grader Gene Edwards and brothers Kace and Sixx Cook. Section III’s Tri-Valley League also has Camden’s Trey Kimball in Division II and unbeaten Charles Tibbitts from New Hartford/Sauquoit Valley in Division I

From the Center State Conference, Bilinski is joined by Mt. Markham Mustangs.

Crossing the line into Section II, Reed Douglass from Canajoharie/Fort Plain and Owen Hicks from Fonda-Fultonville/Johnstown advanced to the second day of competition.

Wrestlers who lost in the early rounds are in wrestlebacks to compete for spots on awards stand. The semifinal group finished its day earlier and returned to the mats during the Saturday morning session Championships for both divisions were decided during Saturday’s second session with doors opening at 5 p.m.

•Edwards, seeded third at 102 pounds in his first varsity season, pinned his first opponent in the first period and scored a 5-2 decision against Anthony Valls from Section IV Chenango Valley in his quarterfinal. Next up for Edwards (41-2) is Gabe English, the No. 10 seed from Section II Berne-Knox-Westerlo/Middleburgh and winner against the tournament’s seventh and second seeds Friday

On the other side of the bracket, the second semifinal features No. 1 Darren Florance from Section IV Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton and No. 4 Christopher Noto from Section Honeoye Falls-Lima.

•Kace Cook, a first-time state tournament as a senior, held seed as No. 3 at 138 pounds, pinning his first opponent before beating General Brown’s David O’Neil 2-0 in a rematch of Section III’s Division II final. In the semifinals, Cook (37-2) faces Jordan Soriano, the No. 2 seed from WT Clarke in Westbury and Section VIII. Soriano pinned both of his opponents Friday.

On the other side of the bracket, Caleb Sweet, the No. 9 seed from Section V South Seneca decisioned No. 1 Ryan Sweeney from Section VI Iroquois in the quarterfinals and advanced to meet Kyle Barber, the No. 4 seed from Section XI Bayport-Blue Point.

•Sixx Cook, a junior who previously competed in the 2019 state tournament, joins Kace in the hunt to join older brother Tanner as a state champion. Sixx Cook (40-3), seeded third, won an 11-3 decision in his first match and scored a 15-3 major decision against Sander Miller from Section I Edgemont in his quarterfinal to earn a spot opposite Section IV Tioga’s Donavan Smith in the semifinals.

Hicks, seeded fourth, is on the other side of Sixx Cook’s bracket and meets Jackson Polo, the No. 1 seed from Cold Spring Harbor in his semifinal. Hicks (34-1) pinned both of his Friday opponents, one with the third period winding down and the other in the second. The unbeaten Polo advanced with a technical fall and a pin.

Smith, competing at 152 pounds, and Hicks at 145 are the two wrestlers that have beaten Kace Cook this season.

More: Canastota wins CSC wresting tournament; Tioga wins state dual meet title

More: Four CVA wrestlers, one Little Falls Mountie win Section III championships

•Randall (35-1) avenged his only loss this season when he beat Bilinski (32-5) in the Division II sectional final and the two juniors could meet again.

Randall, seeded third, pinned both of his opponents Friday and gets Simon Lingle, the No. 2 seed from Section VI Newfane in his semifinal.

Bilinski, seeded fifth, advanced with 4-2 and 4-3 decisions, beating Chittenango’s Andrew Bailey in his quarterfinal after the No. 20 seed had beaten No. 4 Jarrett Thayer from Section IV Unatego/Unadilla Valley. Bilinski faces the top seed, Gabriel Monroe from Section IV Windsor, in his semifinal.

•Mt. Markham senior Aydin DeForest avenged losses in the Class C and Division II sectional finals when decisioned Evan Austerman, the No. 4 seed from Canastota, in his second match. DeForest (41-3) had pinned his first opponent as the No. 13 seed and followed the Austerman match with a 10-5 decision against No. 5 Mason McCombs from Section IV Windsor. Next up for DeForest is unbeaten Carter Baer, the No. 1 seed from Section X Gouverneur.

Then other 160-pound semifinal match is No. 3 Brady Buttice from Section IV Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton and Nick Brown, the No. 7 seed from Section VI Springville-Griffith who pinned No. 2 Emmett Wood from Section IV Tioga.

•Seeded fifth, Canajoharie/Fort Plain’s Reed Douglass is the top remaining seed in an upset-happy 172-pound bracket. Douglass pinned both of his opponents, including No. 4 Carlos Guzman from Riverdale/Kingsbridge in 34 seconds in his quarterfinal. Seeded opposite the No. 1 seed, Adam Ortega from Section III Copenhagen, Douglass will instead meet Luke Dendis, seeded ninth from Section V South Seneca in his semifinal. Dendis decisioned 17th-seeded James Donnelly from Section I Ardsley who had pinned Ortega in 63 seconds in his previous match.

The other 172-pound semifinal includes No. 6 seed Dominick Weaver from Section IV Windsor and No. 7 Ray Hutton from La Salle Institute in Troy and Section II.

•Camden’s Kimball, a junior seeded fourth at 126 pounds, is back for a second state tournament after being unable to compete as a freshman. Kimball won 6-0 and 8-0 to advance to Saturday and a semifinal match against Max Gallagher, the unbeaten No. 1 seed from Section XI Bayport-Blue Point.

Tyler Roe, the fourth seed from Section IV Tioga, and Jonny Vicario, the No. 7 seed from Section VI Eden, meet in the other semifinal. Vicario decisioned Mason Welch, the No. 2 seed from Section IV Tioga, in the quarterfinals.

•Tibbitts ran his record to 33-0 with two wins Friday as the No. 2 seed at 285 pounds in Division I. He scored a 6-2 decision in his first match and pinned his quarterfinal opponent with time running out in the second period. His next opponent will be Stephan Monchery, seeded third from Section IX Middletown.

The other semifinal is No. 1 Konrad Krzyston from Section VI Frontier versus No. 13 Sebastian Regis from Section XI East Islip.

Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Four CVA wrestlers among 10 from area in state tournament semifinals