SHORT-HANDED WILDCATS FINSH THIRD AT WILDCAT DUALS
By: Tim Birney / December 22, 2021 / Photo: Matt Patton
ATHENS — Despite the absence of three starters, Athens finished third at the Wildcat Duals here Wednesday afternoon.
"It
is what it is," said Athens coach Shawn Bradley. "Jake (Courtney) is
still banged up, and Mason (Vanderpool) is sick ... the kids wrestled
well.
"We had some kids step up, kids maybe we weren't expecting
to," he noted. "(Freshman) Keaton (Sinsabaugh) in the Williamson match -
that's a big win, (Chelsea Hungerford) is pretty good. He wrestled his
butt off, hit some nice techniques, and did a nice job.
"And
another freshman, Caleb Nason, is wrestling a kid (Mikey Sipps), who is
probably Top 10 in the state," continued Bradley. "It was a 2-point
match after the first period ... he did great.
"It always stinks
to lose, but we wrestled better today than we did yesterday," added
Bradley. "It's a good way to end the first half of the season. Now, we
take a little break, and come back for a really difficult second half."
Athens was also without its 132-pounder, who recently left the team.
The
Wildcats opened the day with a 58-6 win over Wellsboro, which doubled
as the NTL dual for the two league rivals, then dropped a 39-36 decision
to Scranton in the semifinals.
Athens topped Williamson, 35-31,
in the third-place match, while Scranton dropped a 39-30 decision to
Western Wayne in the championship match.
ATHENS 60, Wellsboro 6
The
Wildcats registered 10 falls, including six first-period pins, in a
60-6 win over Wellsboro in the opening round of the Wildcat duals.
Senior
Kaden Setzer had the quickest fall of the day, just 13 seconds at 138
pounds, while senior Karter Rude needed just 23 seconds in his 160-pound
bout..
Senior Gavin Bradley (43 seconds at 126), sophomore Josh
Nittinger (49 seconds at 285), and senior Lucas Forbes (53 seconds at
152) all needed less than one minute to put six points on the board.
Senior Gavin McGrath had the sixth first-period pin, scoring the fall in
1:21 at 145 pounds.
Freshman Keaton Sinsabaugh decked Alex Magil
in 2:53 at 113 pounds for his first varsity victory, while seniors
Cameron Whitmarsh (172), and Collin Rosh (189), and freshman Caleb Nason
(215) also recorded pins.
Semifinals
SCRANTON 39, ATHENS 36
Athens
won five of the nine contested weight classes, but Scranton capitalized
on a 12-point advantage in forfeits to pull out a 39-36 decision over
Athens in the semifinals.
Following an Athens forfeit at 132, Setzer decked Scranton's Yovan Aroche in 1:45 at 138 pounds to tie the match at 6-6.
Following a Scranton fall at 145, Forbes and Rude scored first-period pins to give the Wildcats an 18-12 lead.
A
Scranton pin at 172 tied the match, but a forfeit to Rosh at 189, and a
pin by Nason at 215 put the Wildcats up 30-18, but Scranton heavyweight
Jason James forged a 12-6 decision at 285 pounds to stop the Athens
run.
An Athens forfeit at 106, and a pin at 113 gave the Knights a
brief 33-30 lead, that Bradley quickly erased with a 23-second pin to
put the Wildcats on top 36-33.
However, Scranton picked up a forfeit at 126 to close out thematic and earn the win.
Third-Place Match
Athens 35, Williamson 31
Sinsabaugh scored a third-period fall to effectively clinch a 35-31 win over Williamson in the third-place match.
With
Athens trailing 25-23, Sinsabaugh built a lead against Chelsea
Hungerford in their 113-pound bout, then turned her to her back with
just 48 seconds remaining in the third period for the fall to put the
Wildcats ahead, 29-25.
Bradley received a forfeit at 120, and Athens issued six free points at 126 to provide the final matching.
Setzer
opened the match with a 16-1 technical fall of Ayden Sprague, scoring
the bout-ending takedown with just 1 second remaining in the third
period.
Williamson answered with a fall at 145 to take a 6-5
lead, but Forbes decked Skyler Hughes in 3:00 at 152, and Rude received a
forfeit at 160 to five Athens a 17-6 lead.
Joe Hultz put the Warriors on the board again with a hard-fought, 7-4, decision over Whitmarsh to trim the deficit to 17-9.
Rosh
won a physical battle with Tim Freeman at 189 pounds, turning the
Williamson freshman to his back at 5:47 for the fall, and a 23-9 Athens
lead.
Williamson's big boys Mikey Sipps and Kade Sottolano put 10 points on the board for the Warriors.
Sipps forged a 16-2 manor decision over Nason, but Bradley was impressed with his freshman's efforts.
Sottolano
followed with a 69-second pin of Nittinger to trim the deficit to
23-19, and Williamson took a forfeit at 106 to take a 25-23 lead, and
set up Sinsabaugh's heroics.
——————
Athens 60, Wellsboro 6
106: No Match;
113: Keaton Sinsabaugh (A) by fall over Alec Magil (W), 2:53;
138: Kaden Setzer (A) by fall over Wl Gastrock (W), 0:13;
145: Gavin McGrath (A) by fall over Jacob Dean (W), 1:21;
152: Lucas Forbes (A) by fall over Aden Tom (W), 0:53;
160: Karter Rude (A) by fall over Evan Ingerick (W); 0:23;
172: Cameron Whitmarsh (A) by fall over Ryder Bowen (W), 4:30;
189: Colin Rosh (A) by fall over Isaac Keane (W), 3:53;
215: Caleb Nason (A) by fall over Joseph Brown (W), 5:21;
285: Josh Nittinger (A) by fall over Justice Harlan (W), 0:49.
Scranton 39, Athens 36
106: Nick Johnson (S) by forfeit;
113: Jacob Cottle (S) by fall over Keaton Sinsabaugh (A), 0:30;
120: Gavin Bradley (A) by fall over Camden Labukas (S), 0:23;
126: Shoaib Nadir (S) by forfeit;
132: Jacob Leonori (S) by forfeit;
138: Kaden Setzer (A) by fall over Yovan Aroche (S), 1:45;
145: Mohammad Nadir (S) by fall over Gavin McGrath (A, 1:45;
152: Lucas Forbes (A) by fall over Nick Garcia (S), 1:24;
160: Karter Rude (A) by fall over Ryan Carvalho (S), 1:32;
172: Mariano Monacelli (S) by fall over Cameron Whitmarsh (A), 1:53;
189: Colin Rosh (A) by forfeit;
215: Caleb Nason (A) by fall over JanCarlos Marin (S), 2:36;
285: Jason James (S) dec, Josh Nittinger (A), 12-6.
Athens 35, Williamson 31
106: Wyatt Dacheux (W) by forfeit;
132: Darren Clark (W) by forfeit;
138: Kaden Setzer (A) tech. fall over Ayden Sprague (W), 16:1 @ 5:59;
145: Owen Cummings (W) by fall over Gavin McGrath (A), 1:57;
152: Lucas Forbes (A) by fall over Skyler Hughes (W), 3:00;
160: Karter Rude (A) by forfeit;
172: Joel Hultz (W) dec. Cameron Whitmarsh (A), 7-4;
189: Colin Rosh (A) by fall over Timothy Freeman (W), 5:47;
215: Michael Sipps (W) major dec. Caleb Nason (A) 16-2.
285: Kade Sottolano (W) by fall over Josh Nittinger (A), 1:09.
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).
