IAC WRESTLING: SVEC SOPHOMORE HEAVYWEIGHT WINS IAC TITLE (2020-01-18)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
WAVERLY — When the season began, SVEC knew there might be an opportunity to crown an individual league champion. However, the Eagle grappler who ended up atop the podium at the IAC Wrestling Championships here Saturday may not have been the one they expected.

Sophomore John Hammond Jr. stepped onto the mat with a modest 9-4 record. He walked away a champion. Hammond pinned Logan Jamison of Marathon, Demetry Brooks from Groton and Marathon's Quinton Sengsounthone. The championship final didn't last very long as Hammond scored the title-clinching fall in just 50 seconds.

"It's huge," said SVEC coach Jesse Buck. "He beat No. 5 in the section in the semifinals, and then to go out and do that, it's great, just mentally for him. That's the least of his problems. He brings it every single time. This is huge for him in all aspects in as far as seeding going into the future, and just mentally being confident.

"I'm really proud of him for getting that. Young guy — we're going to have him for years to come and he's just building and building.

"It's great to get the experience in a finals situation," Buck added. "It's different. Pressure time. it's hard and you can't get that experience without getting to the finals."

The Eagles headed into the tournament minus a few of their top wrestlers. Parker Sexton was lost to an injury earlier in the week. Hunter Cleveland fell to injury several weeks ago. A third member who was a senior recently left the team.

Still, SVEC finished seventh overall in the 12-team field with 106.5 points. Tioga, which crowned five individual champs, scored 218 points. Newark Valley, with four champs, had 166.5. Defending champion Waverly was third with 149.5.

Jacob Campolito (195) took second, losing to Newark Valley's Joey Woodmansee, 8-4. He won two other bouts by fall in a combined 85 seconds.

The Eagles' eighth-grade standout, Ousmane Duncanson, placed third at 132. He went 3-1 on the day with a fall and major decision to his credit and scored his 25th win of the season in the consolation final. His loss came to eventual champ Josh Post of Newark Valley, 6-3, in a thrilling, yet heartbreaking semifinal.

Devin Beach placed fourth at 160, going 2-2 on the day. He lost both bouts by fall while invoived in grueling battles with his opponents.

David Knickerbocker (138) and Nick Tubbs (170) both finished fourth.

Knickerbocker lost an overtime tie-breaker in his first-round bout, then pinned three of the next four foes, ending the day with a 3-2 record.

Tubbs went 4-2 on the day receiving a forfeit in the placement round. Rules allow just five matches per day, unless a forfeit is involved.

Anthony Speer (195) placed sixth.

Also competing for the Eagles were Kamren Lehman, Tyler Knickerbocker and Jacob Boda.

Buck feels the Eagles can learn from both the positives and negatives of the day.

"At this point our kids know how to wrestle and it's just putting a full six minutes together," he said. "You've got to take positives away and the positives being that they're situations we can learn from, and just break down those key points in the match, because they'll happen again and when they do we need to be prepared for them." SVEC returns to dual meet action Wednesday when it hosts Waverly in an IAC Division I match.

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TEAM SCORES
1. Tioga, 218
2. Newark Valley, 166.5
3. Waverly, 149.5
4. Marathon, 138
5. Dryden, 125
6. Groton, 108
7. SVEC, 106.5
8. Moravia, 103
9. Lansing, 86
10. OM/WG, 57
11. Whitney Point, 54.5
12. Edison, 10

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
99: Gianni Silvestri (Tioga) pinned Levi Bellis (Tioga), 1:02
106: Caden Bellis (Tioga) pinned Connor Stotler (Waverly), 2:35
113: Andrew Hatch (Moravia) dec. Emily Sindoni (Tioga), 8-6
120: Donavan Smith (Tioga) dec. Mason Welch (Tioga), 1-0
126: Kyle Willard (Groton) dec. Jacob Welch (Tioga), 10-7
132: Josh Post (Newark Valley) dec. David MacWhinnie (Tioga), 7-2
138: Brady Worthing (Tioga) pinned Bobby Brotherton (Dryden), 5:09
145: Matthew McKewin-Bates (Dryden) pinned Ethan Morrison (Marathon), 3:06
152: Emmett Wood (Tioga) maj. dec. Anthony Rotunda (Groton), 11-3
160: Ethan Stotler (Waverly) maj. dec. Connor Jacobson (Newark Valley), 14-1
170: Cameron Carrier (Newark Valley) pinned Vincent Scott (Dryden), 3:31
182: Evan Ticknor (Marathon) dec. Joshua Beckley (OM/WG), 9-5
195: Joey Woodmansee (Newark Valley) dec. Jacob Campolito (SVEC), 8-4
220: Josh Duke (Newark Valley) pinned Dom Wood (Tioga), 1:20
285: John Hammond (SVEC) pinned Quinton Sengsounthone (Marathon), :50

CONSOLATION FINALS
99: Connor Casterline (Dryden) dec. Deakon Bailey (Tioga), 5-2
106: Jacob Hall (Lansing) pinned Morgan Burnham (OM/WG), 2:57
113: Edmond Rapp (Marathon) pinned Mason Ham (Waverly), 1:31
120: Owen Emmick (Lansing) maj. dec. Isaac Allen (Groton), 9-0
126: Rylan LaForest (Waverly) pinned Nate Eberhardt (Moravia), 2:32
132: Ousmane Duncanson (SVEC) dec. Samuel Dow (Dryden), 4-1
138: Jeter Neff (Groton) tech. fall. Dominick Fazzary (OM/WG), 17-2
145: Jordan Canniff (Whitney Point) dec. Kamden McCall (Newark Valley), 16-11
152: Gabe Stevens (Lansing) dec. Austin Kimble (Waverly), 6-4
160: Killian Prentice (Whitney Point) pinned Devin Beach (SVEC), 3:36
170: Trevor Meyers (Waverly) pinned Trevor Hurlburt (Marathon), 2:36
182: Nate Hollenbeck (Dryden) pinned Caleb Georgia (Lansing), 4:04
195: Tryston Morris (Moravia) pinned Aaron Howard (Tioga), 1:42
285: Trent Skeens (Waverly) pinned Demetry Brooks (Groton), :50

FIFTH PLACE FINALS
113: Brandon Davis (OM/WG) pinned Andrew Post (Newark Valley), 1:39
120: Mark Vosburgh (Newark Valley) dec. Angelo Steinhauer (Edison), 2-0
126: RJ Bellanger (Dryden) dec. John Woodcock (Tioga), 6-2
132: Garrett Skeens (Waverly) no contest over Justin Hopkins (Tioga)
138: David Knickerbocker (SVEC) pinned Cole Stanton (Waverly), 2:53
145: Jacob Stockton (Moravia) dec. Ed Sisson (Moravia), 5-0
152: Shane Smith (Groton) pinned Chris Combs (Dryden), 4:31
160: Mike Wales (Marathon) pinned Jermaine Fisher (Lansing), 4:56
182: Nate Warner (Marathon) pinned Ryan Quail (Whitney Point), :26
195: Chris Barned (Marathon) pinned Anthony Speer (SVEC), 3:43
220: Tristian Harrington (OM/WG) pinned Jonathon Shirley (Edison), 4:26
285: Kam Peters (Waverly) pinned Donald Garrow (Moravia), :26

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IN PHOTO 1: SVEC's John Hammond Jr. and coach Jesse Buck. ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.