Wrestling: Tioga repeats as dual meet state champion; Central Valley Academy second

Jon Rathbun, Times Telegram
·5 min read

SYRACUSE - The Central Valley Academy Thunder showed up ready to wrestle at SRC Arena and put on quite a show with a trip to the Division II finals at the New York State Public High School Athletic Association's dual meet championship tournament.

Tioga, the defending champion and top seed from Section IV, showed up just as ready and defeated the Thunder 49-18 in the championship round. The Tigers have not lost a dual since the 2020 state tournament.

Central Valley Academy's Sal Fresco applies a headlock against Tioga's Trent Browne at the state dual meet championship tournament Saturday in Syracuse.
Central Valley Academy's Sal Fresco applies a headlock against Tioga's Trent Browne at the state dual meet championship tournament Saturday in Syracuse.

More:Central Valley Academy aims for a state title: What to know about dual meet championships

More:High school wrestling: CVA repeats as Section III Division II dual meet champion

Each team won three duals to set up their showdown in the finals. Starting at 152 pounds, Central Valley Academy held an 18-12 lead when the lineups turned over to the lightweights but the Thunder went without a win after sophomore Jeremy McRedmond's pin at 285 pounds.

"The kids battled," Central Valley Academy coach Bob Bush said. "Sometimes you're just not the better team. It wasn't for lack of effort; we were wrestling against state champions and finalists up and down that lineup."

John Woodcock, the 152-pounder Sixx Cook pinned 26 seconds into the opening bout, was the only senior in a Tioga lineup that returned seven wrestlers from the Tigers's lineup for last year's dual meet championship round. The Tioga lineup includes two-time state champion Gianni Silvestri, 2022 state champion Ousmane Duncason, and 2022 state finalist Caden Bellis, a two-time state semifinalist; all three are juniors this year.

Duncanson recorded a pin at 172 pounds and contributed one of three Tioga victories as the teams split the first six bouts. Senior Ethan Randall added a third pin to those by Cook and McRedmond that gave the Thunder the lead with the heavier weights.

Central Valley Academy has four wrestlers ranked among the top five in their class in Section III in the seven lightest weights but Tioga swept through them with Deakon Bailey scoring a technical fall at 126 pounds, Silvestri and Logan Bellis earning major decisions at 132 and 102, and Braydon MacWhinnie and returnees Jayden Duncanson, Tyler Roe and Caden Bellis each pinning his opponent.

"There's an expectation in our program," Tioga coach Kris Harrington said. "This is on our big board every year and we have been to all five of these (tournaments) as a team."

Central Valley Academy wrestler Cooper Reed flips Tioga Tiger Gianni Silvestri during the 132-pound bout in the Division II finals at New York's state dual meet championship tournament Saturday.
Central Valley Academy wrestler Cooper Reed flips Tioga Tiger Gianni Silvestri during the 132-pound bout in the Division II finals at New York's state dual meet championship tournament Saturday.

Ten of the 13 wrestlers in Tioga's lineup against Central Valley Academy play on the Tigers' football team that has also won back-to-back state championships. Ousmane Duncanson and Drew Macumber were all-state selections in the fall and Caden Bellis was Class D's co-player of the year.

Tioga and Central Valley Academy, the top two seeds this year, have been state tournament entries each season since its debut in 2018 and each had reached one previous final; Tioga defeated Canisteo-Greenwood 50-7 to win last year's title while Central Valley Academy was the runner-up to Mount Sinai in 2019. Mount Sinai defeated the Thunder 37-34.

Central Valley Academy was a 37-36 winner against Tioga when the teams met previously at the inaugural tournament.

In Division I, Section VI Starpoint defeated Section IX's top-ranked Minisink Valley 35-27 in the championship bout.

Central Valley Academy's Jeremy McRedmond applies pressure and goes for a pin against Tioga Tiger Bradley Guiles at the state dual meet championship tournament.
Central Valley Academy's Jeremy McRedmond applies pressure and goes for a pin against Tioga Tiger Bradley Guiles at the state dual meet championship tournament.

Early Rounds

Central Valley Academy defeated Section I Pearl River 45-19 and Section XI Port Jefferson 39-21 to advance from its pool for the second time.

Tioga, Section X Gouverneur and Section V Canisteo-Greenwood advanced to the semifinals from the three other pools. Canisteo-Greenwood, the Thunder's semifinal opponent, was one of three tournament entries Central Valley Academy had beaten previously this season.

Canisteo-Greenwood had beaten Central Valley Academy 47-23 at last year's state tournament but Central Valley Academy was a 36-34 winner when the teams met at Corning's Greg Partridge Memorial Duals in December. The semifinal started at 145 pounds with the Tunder's Santino Curley meeting Lucas Mason who had pinned him in the first period at last year's state duals. Curley earned a 3-2 victory Saturday and set the Thunder on a course for the finals.

"That was big for us," Bush said. "It gave us momentum and we just rolled from there."

Central Valley Academy won the first three bouts and built a 33-3 lead on its was to a 45-23 victory over Canisteo-Greenwood.

Tioga defeated Gouverneur 55-15 in the other semifinal.

Central Valley Academy's Gene Edwards (foreground) arches his back to keep his shoulders off the mat against Jayden Duncanson of Tioga at New York's state dual meet championship tournament.
Central Valley Academy's Gene Edwards (foreground) arches his back to keep his shoulders off the mat against Jayden Duncanson of Tioga at New York's state dual meet championship tournament.

NYSPHSAA Division II Dual Meet Championship Tournament

POOL MATCHES

Pool A: Round 1 - Tioga 47, Cobleskill-Richmondville 16; Round 2 - Chautauqua Lake 49, Cobleskill-Richmondville 18; Round 3 - Tioga 33, Chautauqua Lake 24.

Pool B: Round 1 - Seaford 36, Saugerties 28; Round 2 - Gouverneur 45, Saugerties 27; Round 3 - Gouverneur 43, Seaford 26.

Pool C: Round 1 - Canisteo-Greenwood 45, Saranac 24; Round 2 - John Glenn 57, Saranac 14; Round 3 - Canisteo-Greenwood 36, John Glenn 32.

Pool D: Round 1 - Central Valley Academy 45, Pearl River 19; Round 2 - Port Jefferson 42, Pearl River 25; Round 3 - Central Valley Academy 39, Port Jefferson 21.

SEMIFINALS

Central Valley Academy 45, Canisteo-Greenwood 23

Tioga 55, Gouverneur 15

FINAL

Tioga 49, Central Valley Academy 18

Tioga 49, Central Valley Academy 18

NYSPHSAA Division II Dual Meet Championship Tournament final

152 pounds: Sixx Cook (CVA) pinned John Woodcock (Tioga), :26.

160 pounds: Drew Macumber (Tioga) decisoned Cole Wheet (CVA), 8-2.

172 pounds: Ousmane Duncanson (Tioga) pinned Nikolai Penree (CVA), :50

189 pounds: Ethan Randall (CVA) pinned Max Dydynski (Tioga), :22.

215 pounds: Trent Browne (Tioga) decisioned Sal Fresco (CVA), 9-3.

285 pounds: Jeremy McRedmond (CVA) pinned Bradley (Tioga), 1:05.

102 pounds: Logan Bellis (Tioga) defeated Jacob Hurd (CVA) by major decision, 11-1.

110 pounds: Brayden MacWhinnie (Tioga) pinned Matt Osley (CVA), 1:39.

118 pounds: Jayden Duncanson (Tioga) pinned Gene Edwards (CVA), 2:48.

126 pounds: Deakon Bailey (Tioga) defeated Maddox Walz (CVA) by technical fall, 17-2.

132 pounds: Gianni Silvestri (Tioga) defeated Cooper Reed (CVA) by major decision, 10-2.

138 pounds: Tyler Roe (Tioga) pinned Aden Mead (CVA), :53.

145 pounds: Caden Bellis (Tioga) pinned Santino Culey (CVA), 1:28.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Wrestling: Tioga beats Central Valley to repeat as dual meet champion