SECTION IV GIRLS WRESTLING: SVEC FALLS TO UNITED, 17-5 (January 5, 2026)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
SPENCER — Taylor Zufall won the only bout for Spencer-Van Etten/ Candor that counted in the team scoring as the Eagles fell to United, 17-5, in Section IV girls wrestling action here Monday.

United, a merger of Bainbridge-Guilford, Afton, Harpursville and Chenango Valley, won the other four matches.

Coach Robbie Swartout was pleased with the effort of the youthful SVEC squad.

“I thought the performance was pretty good tonight,” he said. “A lot of girls, we’ve got a lot of first year wrestlers, so they got some good matches in there against pretty tough competition.

“They're building quite the program over there at United, so it's great to get to wrestle them and hit the competition, and I think the performance overall was pretty good, minus a few little mistakes, but overall good.”

With six seconds remaining in the opening period of her 120-pound match, Zufall (now 8-3) scored her second takedown of the bout for a 4-0 lead, then turned Alana Blanchard for the fall at 2:59.

That put SVEC ahead, 5-4, but United would win the remaining three matches.

At 126, Gracie Bagg pinned Maddy Jayne in 1:02 to put United ahead, 9-5.

Bea Genovesi decisioned Abby Russell, 13-9, in a thriller at 145 to push the lead to 12-5. Russell took advantage of three takedowns and a push-out to take a 7-6 edge into the second period.

Genovesi, a foreign exchange student from Italy, tied the match with a push-out early in the second period, then added a pair of takedowns and an exposure to build a 13-7 advantage. Russell managed a late takedown.

Russell stepped up in an effort to help the team.

“Abby Russell bumped up a weight class,” said Swartout. “A really, really tough girl, and I thought she was going to get the win there for a second, but she surprised me with how much she fought and how much she's improved over the last couple weeks, let alone the season.”

The 235-pound bout saw United’s Leila Whitman surprise onlookers with a fall over Katelyn VanEtten after falling behind, 10-2.

VanEtten rode two takedowns and an exposure to a 6-0 lead after one period. She extended her lead to eight points with a takedown and exposure in the second period, but as the match neared its final minute, Whitman caught VanEtten slightly out of position and reversed her to her back for the fall at 5:08.

United scored its initial points of the night when Lily Shaver recorded a 14-2 tech fall in 4:55 over Liz Kunte at 107 pounds.

EXHIBITION
There were three exhibition matches, two involving SVEC standout Tayah Beach.

In her first match, the senior displayed her skills with a quick 4-point fireman’s carry against Tyler, then wrapped two more exposures around a takedown for the 10-0 tech fall in 34 seconds.

Beach’s second bout brought another takedown and exposure against Bagg, then she tacked on five more points for a 9-2 lead before recording a fall at 1:32.

Kunte had the other match, falling to Aubrey Frank by a 12-2 tech fall in 1:49.

SVEC will compete in the Southern Tier Memorial at the LECOM Events Center in Elmira on Friday and Saturday.

——————

IN PHOTO 1: Tayah Beach. IN TOP PHOTO: Liz Kunte. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

Print Friendly Version