IAC WRESTLING: NEW HEAD COACH, SOLID LINEUP HIGHLIGHT NEWARK VALLEY BID FOR IAC REPEAT (December 3, 2025)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — New head coach Larry Kasmarcik will look to combine his past experience on the wrestling mat with Newark Valley’s recent success in hopes of making the Cardinals a challenger in the IAC and Section IV Division II this season.
“Last year was a good year for our team, going 8-1 and 2-0 in our division,” he said. “Along with this we won the IAC league championship.”
Kasmarcik, who takes the reigns from longtime coach Eric D’Arcy, was a state qualifier in 2014 after winning the Section IV Division I title at 152 pounds. A member of the NV team for five seasons, he was a two-time IAC place-winner, including an IAC title at 170 in 2013.
“Our goals as a team this year are to chase good matches,” Kasmarcik said. ”Our goal is to get dual meet wins, but as important as those wins are as a program we as a staff also want our guys getting good tough matches in any chance we can.
“We have a full lineup of kids who want to compete and we couldn’t ask for anything else. As for individual results and tournaments, we have high expectations for our athletes. Our goal is and always will be getting to Albany and we have high hopes for many of our kids to get there.”
The Cardinals will be spearheaded by a quartet of seniors — Marcos Escalante, who is listed at 157 pounds this season and had a 30-12 record last season, Logan Woodin (157, 26-14), Cadin Creeley (165, 25-8) and Titus Callahan (215, 28-11).
Creeley qualified for states at 152 as a sophomore, going 2-2 in Albany. He won Section IV Qualifier A and was fourth at the Section IV Division II championships last season.
Callahan was a state qualifier at 190 his sophomore season as well. He was the IAC runner-up, won the sectional qualifier and was fifth in the section last season.
New York Wrestling News ranks Creeley No. 8 and Callahan 13th (at 190).
Escalante won an IAC title at 152 last season and tied for fifth at 145 at the sectional qualifier (some fifth-place bouts were not contested due to the match limit rule)
Competing at 160 last season, Woodin was an IAC runner-up and fourth-place finisher at the sectional qualifier.
Other returning wrestlers looking to contribute are senior Logan Rhodes (144, 25-11), junior Jack Blomberg (215 last season, 16-15), sophomore Leland Houston (144, 20-17), sophomore Jacob Shipman (126, 16-16) and sophomore Kenny Slater (126, 17-19).
“We have a good group of young guys coming in and stepping up at weights we need them at, and have already been very hard at work,” Kasmarcik said. “We also have some younger guys who have a good amount of varsity experience and we are excited to see how they do this year.”
State bronze medalist Trevor Middendorf and qualifier Austin Debolt have graduated and are wrestling for SUNY Brockport and Alfred State, respectively.
They both scored us a lot of points in duals and tournaments and they will truly be missed,” Kasmarcik said.
Gabe Merrill also graduated. He, Middendorf and Debolt accounted for 80 wins last season.
NV opens today with a dual meet at Moravia. The Cardinals host the Larry Goodrich Memorial Invitational on Saturday.
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IN PHOTO 1: Coach Larry Kasmarcik. IN TOP PHOTO: Cadin Creeley (R). … TCSR STOCK PHOTOS.
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