ATHENS' BRADLEY NAMED NTL 'WRESTLER OF THE YEAR;' FIVE TEAMMATES EARN SECOND-TEAM ALL-STAR HONORS
By: Tim Birney / March 24, 2021 / Photo: Chris Manning
Athens junior Gavin Bradley racked up a 40-2 record, was a PIAA runner-up at 113 pounds this season, and has earned the distinction of NTL “Wrestler of the Year” in recent voting by the league’s coaches.
Bradley
was the lone Wildcat named to the first team, but five of his teammates
— freshman Mason Vanderpool, sophomore Jake Courtney, juniors Kaden
Setzer and Karter Rude, and senior Zach Stafursky — were named to the
second team.
On his way to a state silver medal, Bradley won the
North Section, District 4, and Northeast Regional titles. He was
runner-up at the PIAA East Super Regional.
Vanderpool had a 14-6
record in his first varsity season. He finished second at the North
Section Championships to qualify for the District 4 Championships.
Courtney was 16-11 this season. He finished third at North Sections, and was sixth at Districts.
Setzer
was 26-9 on the season. He finished second at North Sections, and fifth
at Districts to qualify for the Northeast Regionals.
Rude was 24-9 on the season. He finished third at the North Sections to qualify for Districts.
Stafursky capped his career with a 21-12 season. He finished second at North Sections to qualify for Districts.
About the Author
Tim Birney
Tim Birney is the founder / owner of River Road Media Group. He was born and raised in the Valley, graduating from Waverly High School in 1984.
Birney earned an Associate's Degree in Journalism from SUNY Morrisville in 1986 and a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism / Public Relations from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1988. He began his newspaper career at The Daily Review in Towanda in 1989, before moving on to The Evening Times in 1995. He spent more than 10 years at the Times, the last four as Managing Editor.
River Road Media Group includes five sites in "The Sports Reports" family that cover 24 school districts in five counties: Valley Sports Report (launched Aug. 10, 2009), Tioga County (NY) Sports Report (Aug. 13, 2018), and Northern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 31, 2020); Northern Tier West Sports Report (March 15, 2021) Southern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 16, 2021).
