STAC WRESTLING: OWEGO’S LOVELL CLAIMS TITLE; CURLEY, CORNWELL BREAK SEED AT CONFERENCE TOURNEY (January 24, 2026)

By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
BINGHAMTON — Fourth-seeded 7th-grader Gavin Lovell upset two higher seeds to claim the 103-pound title at the STAC Wrestling Championships held at Binghamton High School on Saturday.

Also breaking seed and reaching the podium were Robbie Curley, who placed third at 118, and John Cornwell, who took sixth at 132.

Lovell was poised to win right off the bat, rolling to a 15-3 major decision over Chenango Valley’s Andrew Valls. In the semifinals, he stunned Vestal’s Raf Haque, pinning the No. 1 seed in 2:26 while holding a 6-2 advantage.

The championship round brought second-seeded Brody OHern of Chenango Forks, who defeated Lovell, 6-1, in a dual meet on Jan. 8. This time, Lovell put OHern on the defensive and won a 4-1 sudden victory, scoring a takedown with two seconds left in their overtime battle.

“It was a really hard match,” Lovell said. “I could have had a takedown at the end of the first, but didn't get it, fought back, finished that match. Brody OHern, he's a good wrestler, very technical.”

Lovell had his sights set on a STAC title when the season began.

“It means a lot," he said. "I set a goal sheet before the season started. Long-term goals, one of them was to win STAC.”

Seeded 10th, Curley pinned Windsor’s Dylan Rogers in 3:39 to start the day, but lost by fall to top-seeded Clayton Ritter of Oneonta at the first quarter buzzer. Curley would rebound with a 51-second fall over Chenango Valley’s Lewis Wolcott, then received a medical forfeit from Corning’s Jesse Clark.

Up next was second-seeded Caleb Bergman of Ithaca and Curley dominated for an 8-0 decision. That win advanced him to the third-place bout against fourth-seeded Larry Tull from Maine-Endwell. Curley would break a scoreless tie with a second-period takedown and go on to record a 7-3 decision.

Cornwell decked Union-Endicott’s Ahmed Al-Aubaidy in 1:21in his first match, then scored a 14-0 major decision against Elmira’s Hunter Parker. His next bout would be against top-seeded Gavin Hornsby of Horseheads with Hornsby posting a 17-0 tech. Fall in four minutes.

In the next round, Cornwell scored a fall over M-E’s Reid Richardson, the No. 4 seed, in 2:53. In the third-place bout, Cornwell fell to Chenango Valley’s third-seeded Travis White by fall in 29 seconds.

Vitaly Sirotkin, seeded fourth at 110, suffered a knee injury in his first match and was unable to continue competing.

Trevor Monell (215) went 2-2, edging Binghamton/Seton Catholic’s Antonio Gardner, 2-1 and pinning Elmira’s Colin Baer in 2:02.

Joe Monell (103) was 1-2 on the day with a 59-second fall over Norwich’s Koltyn Collins to his credit.

Also competing for the River Hawks were Jaydin Brainard at 175 and Anthony Neumuth at 285.

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IN PHOTO 1: Gavin Lovell. IN TOP PHOTO: Robbie Curley. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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