WILLIAMSVILLE — In previous years, Niagara Falls came in with high expectations and did not leave with any patches.
This year they came into the 2026 Section VI Division I dual championships seeded seventh and they listened to their coach Josh Eagan’s pre-match message of competing and putting forth a tough match. They took down their first two opponents to book their spot in the championship round.
However, the Wolverines run came to an end in the final round, losing 55-21 to top-seeded Chautauqua Lake.
But the loss did mean they were finally leaving with a patch, even if it wasn’t the color they wanted it to be heading into the final.
“I was more happy with the way they wrestled,” Niagara Falls head coach Josh Eagan said. “… We did a really good job the first couple of rounds. But the way they battled back in matches and had tenacity and overcame adversity. That’s what you want to see as a coach. The team score matters, yes, obviously it matters; we’re here at a dual meet tournament. But I like the individual part of it more.”
Niagara Falls started their day with a win over Clarence, 55-20 in the first round. The Wolverines trailed 12-0 through two matches against the hosts in the semifinals before flying back into it with seven consecutive wins to take a 41-12 lead. That gave them the breathing room they needed to get a 56-23 win over Williamsville North. In the first two rounds, the Wolverines got 17 wins via the fall or tech fall.
In the championship match, Niagara Falls had to show off their toughness trailing 11-0 early. But then Kayden Feagin stepped onto the mat and gutted out a 12-5 decision win to bring their deficit closer at 11-3.
“We didn’t have much pressure. We just came out here very confident,” Feagin said. “We were ranked seventh, knocked out the two seed, that built our confidence up a lot. So then we went on to face … the third seed we beat them too. So we were just hyped up, just having each other’s back.”
The Falls continued to fight their way back into it and made it 11-9 but that was as close as they got the remainder of the way. In total, Falls finished its day with 20 fall or technical-fall wins.
Heading into the day’s competition Feagin had to be convinced of his team’s ability to compete against some of the best teams in the section. But by the end of the day his team’s run did its job to convince him they were for real.
“I’m not going to lie. I didn’t expect us to do this good,” Feagin said. “But we did amazing as a whole team and I’m proud of this team.”
The Wolverines were not the only Niagara County teams to compete as Grand Island and North Tonawanda were also taking part. After both Grand Island and North Tonawanda lost in the first round they faced off in the consolation quarterfinals. The North Tonawanda Lumberjacks cut down their opponent with seven wins by fall or tech fall to get a 47-32 win.
The Lumberjacks continued on from there getting a 45-34 win over Williamsville North to advance to the consolation championship match against Lancaster. North Tonawanda’s run of success came to an end there with a 41-35 loss.