IAC WRESTLING: NEWARK VALLEY CROWNS THREE CHAMPS; WINS LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2017 (24 PHOTOS) (2025-01-25)
Tioga County Sports ReportWATKINS GLEN — Newark Valley crowned three champions, and had three runners-up, and won its first IAC title since 2017 Here Saturday at the league wrestling championships.
The Cardinals claimed the team title with 191.5 points, while Tioga tallied 183 points, Schuyler was third with 144 points, Moravia was fourth with 119.5 points, and SVEC was fifth with 118.5 points.
Seniors Trevor Middendorf and Austin DeBolt, and junior Marcos Escalante won IAC titles, while senior Gabe Merrill and juniors Logan Woodin and Titus Callahan were runners-up.
Sophomore Andrew Lelik earned a third-place medal for the Cardinals, while sophomore Jacob Shipman and freshman Chance Spoonhower each finished fourth, freshman Kenny Slater reached the podium with a fifth-place finish, and freshman Leland Houston was a sixth-place finisher.
Middendorf, the second seed at 124 pounds, scored a 19-4 technical fall over Groton's Braelin Kreider in the quarterfinals, then scored a takedown in sudden-victory for an 11-8 win over third-seeded Lucas Hoffman of Schuyler in the semifinals.
Middendorf picked up a medical forfeit from top-seeded Logan Bellis in the finals.
DeBolt, the top seed, scored a pair of first-period falls to win the 285-pound title. He decked Marathon's Brian DeForest in 42 seconds in the semis, then pinned Tioga freshman Mark McCane in 1:48 in the finals.
Escalante, the top seed at 152 pounds, opened with a 16-0 technical fall win over Moranvia's Brayden Perrault in the quarterfinals, then eded fourth-seeded Balin Ault of Schuyler, 10-9, in the semifinals.
Escalante won the 152-pound title with a 9-3 decision of second-seed Jared Watson of Schuyler.
Merrill, the second seed at 170 pounds, opened with a pin of Marathon's Jon Irwin in 1:47, then scored an 18-1 technical fall of third-seeded Max Stauder of Tioga in the semifinals.
Top-seeded Nicholas Blue of Moravia won the 170-pound title with a 19-2 technical fall of Merrill.
Callahan, the second seed at 190 pounds, opened the day with a 17-1 technical fall of SVEC's Kaden Sims in the quarterfinals, then decked third-seeded Caden Southard of Edison in 3:50 in the semifinals.
In the finals, Callahan lost via first-period fall to top-seeded Dikota Hamilton of Trumansburg.
Woodin, the second seed at 160 pounds, decked Marathon's Ka'ream Truitt in 48 seconds in the quarterfinals, then pinned third-seeded Jace Schiller of Edison in 5:01 in the semifinals.
Woodin dropped a hard-fought, 7-2, decision to top-seeded Greg Golden of Edison in the finals.
Lelik, the fourth seed at 101 pounds, dropped a 6-0 decision to fifth-seeded Brody McLennan in the quarterfinals, but bounced back with three straight wins to claim third place.
Lelik decked Tioga's Harold Corby in 41 seconds in his first wrestleback match.
His toughest match in the consolation bracket was a 12-10 decision over teammate Kenny Slater. In the third-place match, Lelik pinned SVEC's John-Michael Bohling in 3:37.
Slater, the third seed at 101, opened with a pin of Whitney Point's Gabriel Smith in 3:57 in the quarterfinals, but lost via third-period fall to Tioga's Liamm Comstock in the semifinals.
After his loss to Lelik in the consolation semifinals, Slater topped Trumansburg's Brody McLennan, 6-0, in the fifth-place match.
Shipman, the third seed at 108 pounds, started the day with a 17-0 technical fall win over Whitney Point's Joshua Sabin in the quarterfinals, but lost via fall to second-seeded Austin Donahue in the semifinals.
Shipman bounced back with a 33-second fall of Edison's Cameron Southard in the consolation semifinals. He lost via second-period fall to Tioga's Parker Jackson in the third-place match.
Spoonhower, the fourth seed at 116 pounds, pinned Maathon's Simon Donah in 3:37 in the quarterfinals, then lost via technical fall to top-seed Aiden McMillen in the semifinals.
Spoonhower bounced back in the consolation semifinals with a pin of Whitney Point's Joe Card in 4:26. In the third-place match, Spoonhower lost via technical fall to Moravia's Clayton Wells.
Houston went 2-3 to finish sixth in the 124-pound bracket.
After losing via technical fall to SVEC's Brennan Zimmer in the quarterfinals, Houston pinned Groton's Logan Personious in 4:45, then scored an 18-0 technical win over Dryden's William Woodward.
Houston lost via technical fall to Schuyler's Lucas Hoffman in the consolation semifinals, and via third-period fall to Groton's Braelin Kreider in the fifth-place match.
Freshman Logan Davis was 1-2 at 131 pounds. His lone win was a 75-second fall of Trumansburg's Finnegan Carubia in the quarterfinals.
Sophomore Jake Blomberg was 1-2 at 215 pounds. His lone win was a pin of Whitney Point's Travis Leet in 1:35 in the opening round.
Junior Michael Wandell was 0-2 at 131, freshman Brennan Decker was 0-2 at 145, senior Emmit Hendrickson was 0-2 at 170, and sophomore Wyatt Dillow was 0-2 at 190.
Newark Valley returns to action Tuesday in a dual at Ithaca, then at home with duals against Moravia and Corning on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
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IN PHOTO 1: Newark Valley's Trevor Middendorf. IN TOP PHOTO: Newark Valley's Austin DeBolt. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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