SYRACUSE — So close, yet so far.
After winning the Section VI title and qualifying for state duals for the third time in as many years, Niagara Wheatfield failed to advance out of pool-play for the third consecutive year at the NYSPHSAA Division I dual championships on Saturday at the SRC Arena.
The Falcons fell 55-7 to the top-ranked team in the state, Minisink Valley, before losing to No. 8 Briarcliff-Byram Hills-Valhalla-Westlake, 35-34, in the second round.
“They wrestled well, we’re happy with them,” head coach Rick Sweney said.”It’s not the end of the world.”
The Falcons struggled mightily against Minisink Valley, who they had to tackle first. Minisink was seeking a fifth consecutive trip to the state final and sixth in seven seasons.
“They’re just solid all the way through,” head coach Rick Sweney said regarding Minisink. “Most teams have holes or have a weak spot here and there, but they’re solid.”
NW, which was unseeded, fell as the Warriors won 11 of 13 matches and collected 41 consecutive points. The Falcons almost pulled off a comeback to have a chance at making it out of round-robin in the second round, but lost by one point in the final bout to B-BH-V-W.
Muntathor Abbas (131) and Oliver Lyon (101) defeated Leo Gangi and Alberto Vicencio Bairan, respectively, to grab the only points for the Falcons in round one. Lyon won by major decision, 18-6, and Abbas won by 7-4 decision.
While part of NW’s plan was to not get pinned even if that match wasn’t going to be won, five Falcons were pinned by the Warriors and two lost by technical fall.
“We just adjust each kid, if we think we can win or not get pinned. It’s a game you play, who weighs in and who they put there,” Sweney said. “If we can get the coin toss, we send out in a certain time and then they send out.”
NW forfeited the 190 weight class against Minisink because they didn’t really have anybody, and the Warriors had a stud there, according to Sweney. Roman Doyle, who wrestled 190 against B-BH-V-W in round two, wrestled in the 215-pound bout against Minisink.
“That was a tough match (Minisink), but we knew that so we were trying to focus on the second match a lot, and how to adjust properly for that. And it came down to the last match,” Sweney said.
The Falcons made adjustments for the second round and nearly came back from a 17-point deficit to split pool play. Eian Peterson and Garret Chase pinned their opponents to get the momentum going before Chase Richards, Mason Meissner and Peter Sheehan forced falls of their own.
The Falcons were down by one heading into the second-to-last bout at 285, and took their first and only lead of the day after Sheehan pinned his opponent, Joe Schiliro, in 1:59.
“I just kind of go out there, and be an athlete and think that I have nothing to lose,” Sheehan said. “My teammates were telling me that if I go in there and do what I need to do and get six, then we have a good chance of coming back and winning.”
Niagara Wheatfield led by five, but Lyon got pinned in the final bout to give B-BH-V-W a one-point win.
Dylan Pringle defeated Peter Hinze 10-1 in the 170-pound bout for four-points for NW, although the Falcons’ believed Pringle had pinned Hinze, which would’ve given them six points instead. Those extra two points would’ve been what won the dual.
Now, Niagara Wheatfield looks to send a handful of wrestlers to individual states after sending six last year. The Falcons have individual sectionals in two weeks, and then states the week after.
“That’s our next goal,” Sweney said. “So we’ll practice hard, try to get healthy and go to the sectional championships.”