ALBANY — Standout Saranac senior wrestler Landen Gadway closed out his highly-successful high school career over the weekend with a third-place finish at the NYSPHSAA Wrestling Championships at MVP Arena.
Gadway, wrestling at 175 pounds for Section VII, recorded a 4-1 record over the two days in the Division II bracket.
Following a first-round bye, Gadway pinned Cold Spring Harbor’s Sebastian Mayer in 23 seconds and followed that up by pinning Jordan-Elbridge’s Glen Sanchez in 3:14.
That put Gadway in the semifinals where he ran up against Berne-Knox-Westerlo-Middleburgh standout Gabe English, who ended up taking first place in the weight class. English won by technical fall, 15-0, in 4:03.
But Gadway battled back to take third when he pinned Portville’s Jake Zeigler in 47 seconds and then Wellsville’s Xander Outman in 2:29.
“Landen did a great job for us,” Saranac coach Heath Smith said. “All four of his wins were by pin, and that doesn’t usually happen. Landen is tough on top.
“English is very good on his feet and been to the states three or four times. He’s definitely impressive and is the real deal.
“Landen was a little upset after the loss, and I told him he had two more matches left, and he could go either 2-0 or 0-2. He said he wanted to go 2-0, and he did so.”
Two other Section VII wrestlers came within a win from placing — Northern Adirondack’s Jackson Labarge at 118 and AuSable Valley’s Nate Rondeau at 285, who both went 2-2 in the event.
Labarge had a 6-5 decision over Petrides’ Rocky Molinare and a 17-3 major decision over Franklin Academy’s Joshua Hernandez for his two wins. Rondeau’s two victories came when he pinned Nanuet’s Brian Lennon in 2:54 and edged out a 7-6 decision over Royalton-Hartland’s R.J. Townsend.
Peru’s Mason Starke (138), Saranac’s Teegan Smith (144), Saranac’s Branigan Boulds (165), Peru’s Brody Blaise-Smith (190) and AuSable Valley’s Warren Pray (215) each won one match while going 1-2.
Starke’s win was a 10-9 decision over Chester’s Trent Edwards; Smith a victory by pin in 1:43 over Gowanda’s Nathan Warrior; Boulds a win by technical fall, 19-3, 4:47, over Oyster Bay’s Christopher Barbera; Blaise-Smith a close 3-2 decision over North Shore’s Alex Ickowitz; and Pray a pin in 4:26 over Locust Valley’s Liam Roberts.
Peru’s Alyn Capen (103), Peru’s Zachary Goddeau (110), Saranac’s Colby Roesler (126), Beekmantown’s Chase Devins (132), Peru’s Nathan Beattie (150) and NAC’s Hayden Bartlemus (157) all went 0-2.
MCDONALD LEADS GIRLS
The NYSPHSAA Girls’ Wrestling Championships were held a day earlier, and NAC/Beekmantown’s Paisley McDonald, wrestling at 94 pounds, compiled a 2-2 record to lead the way for Section VII.
McDonald had a win by technical fall over Franklin Academy’s Zoee Cook in 1:27 and a technical fall in 4:35 over Mechanicville/Stillwater’s Brooke Connors for her two victories.
Each winning one match for the Section VII contingent were Peru’s Marlee Cummings at 100, NAC/Beekmantown’s Lily Blazina at 120 and NAC/Beekmantown’s Haley LeClair at 138.
Cummings recorded a 4-2 decision over Waverly’s Gianna Rylott, Blazina a pin in 57 seconds over Dansville’s Hope Ammarelli and LeClair a pin in 55 seconds over Middletown’s Hailey Lichtenstein as the three all finished 1-2.
Going 0-2 in the event were NAC/Beekmantown wrestlers Kelsey Trowbridge (107), Athena Turner (114), Summer McCaffrey (126), Clara Parsons (132), Braelyn Bilow (145) and Mariah Claussen (152), along with AuSable Valley’s Emma Reid (235).
HOGAN HONORED
Mike Hogan, a legendary coach in Section VII wrestling at Saranac then Peru, was honored prior to the boys’ championship finals with a lifetime achievement award from the New York State Wrestling Hall of Fame for decades of success and service to the sport.
Hogan, a Peru graduate and standout wrestler in both high school and college before embarking on a highly-successful coaching career, was previously inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.