NY STATE WRESTLING: OWEGO’S LOVELL LOOKING FOR STRONG SHOWING AT CHAMPIONSHIPS (February 26, 2026)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
ALBANY — As a No. 10 seed, Owego’s Gavin Lovell will face a solid challenge if he hopes to reach the podium at the 2026 NYSPHSAA Division II Wrestling Championships being held Friday and Saturday at MVP Arena here.
Getting there wouldn’t be a total surprise as the 7th-grader has produced some impressive performances this season. Competing at 103 pounds, he has compiled a 28-8 record and has reached the championship finals in five of seven tournaments.
He won the STAC championship, avenging a loss to a Division I opponent in the process, and the Stan Elinsky Memorial Tournament. He was the runner-up at the Larry Goodrich Memorial and the River Hawk Round Robin, falling to Division I foes.
Lovell was also second at the North Country Invitational, losing to Lowville’s Max Hanselman, the No. 2 seed at 103 this weekend.
He took second at the Section IV qualifier and third at the state qualifier, both losses coming against Sava Gonopolskiy from Unatego/Unadilla Valley/Franklin, the No. 9seed this weekend.
The only tournament he didn’t place at was the Robert Bradshaw Invitational, where he went 3-2 with both losses by decision to Division I foes.
Who knew Lovell would have to travel 160 miles to face an opponent from neighboring Tioga? Following a first round bye, he will take on the Tigers’ 7th-seeded Drayke Ulrich (36-11) in the round of 16.
The winner will most likely meet Hanselman (29-1) out of Section III in the quarterfinals. Third-seeded Connor Duryea from Avon/Geneseo in Section V is a likely semifinal foe if Lovell reaches that point.
The top seed is Andrew Dolson (42-1) from Shoreham Wading River in Section XI.
Friday’s opening ceremonies start at 9:30 a.m. with the first round of wrestling beginning at 10 a.m. On Saturday, wrestling starts at 9:30 a.m. The consolation finals will begin at 2:15 p.m. The championship finals opening ceremony starts at 5:50 p.m., followed by the championship finals at 6:05 p.m.
The tournament will be streamed live on www.nfhsnetwork.com/associations/nysphsaa/wrestling. Subscriptions are offered for $13.99 per month or you can purchase an annual pass for $79.99. Both subscriptions renew automatically until you cancel them.
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