SECTION IV WRESTLING: OWEGO’S STRUBLE GOING BACK TO STATES; WILL BE JOINED BY BRACE (2025-02-16)
By TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
BINGHAMTON — Owego’s Bobby Struble is going back to the state tournament following a runner-up showing at the Section IV Division II Wrestling Championships held at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena Sunday.
Joining him will be teammate Dylan Brace, who placed third .
Struble recorded a pair of impressive victories to reach the championship match at 160 pounds. He dominated Maine-Endwell Albert Smith with a 15-0 technical fall then rolled to a 17-4 major decision against Greg Golden.
In the finals he faced Wyatt Meade from Unatego/Unadilla Valley/Franklin. Meade, who won by fall when the two met last week, survived a scare with a 2-1 victory this time around.
“It's awesome,” Struble said of the opportunity to return to the state tournament. “It was a great experience last year and I'm gonna get excited to do it again now with another wrestler.”
Struble said he needs to make a few minor adjustments to prepare for states.
“My finals match, I did some things wrong, so I just need to go over some things and do my best.”
Brace avenged a quarterfinal setback to punch his ticket to states at 138. After dropping a 7-2 decision to Walton/Delhi’s Justin Somers in the quarterfinals, the sophomore scored a pin and two tech falls to gain a rematch with Somers in the consolation finals.
“It feels pretty good,” Brace said of his effort. “I've just worked hard all season and it paid off.”
Trailing by a point In the third-place bout, he tied the match with an escape at 1:09 of the third period, then scored a successful double leg takedown on the edge of the mat with 35 seconds remaining for a 7-4 victory.
Brace admitted he was a little worried about meeting Somers a second time, but was confident. His concern was Somers’ slide-by move, which worked well against the Owego grappler in the quarters.
“Besides that, I felt like I could have beat him,” he said.
Having an opportunity to score the double leg takedown against Somers was a bit of a surprise.
“He's really defensive and I thought he was just gonna kick his hands down,” Brace said. “I got his hand and then it was open, so I just took it.”
To gain the rematch, Brace pinned Joey Mack of Waverly in 1:31 and followed up with a 15-0 tech fall over Zane Mumbulo of Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton/Harpursville and a 17-2 tech fall upset against Dryden’s Oscar Brotherton.
Collin Monell finished his high school career with a fifth-place showing at 131.
He came from behind to edge Gavin Nordberg of Unatego/Unadilla Valley/Franklin, 6-5, but lost to top-seeded Landyn Shaffer of Deposit/Hancock by an 18-3 tech fall in the semifinals.
After dropping a 6-5 heartbreaker to Lansing’s Evan Sheils he rebounded by pinning Spencer-Van-Etten/Candor’s Rodney Vaow in 2:16, making him a two-time sectional place-winner.
The River Hawks had a pair of sixth-place finishers in Vitaly Sirotkin at 101 and Lucas Boccasini at 190.
Sirotkin dropped his first match, but decisioned Brody McLennan from Trumansburg, 7-2. Another loss put him in the fifth place match, where he came out on the short end of a 4-3 verdict against Chenango Valley’s Alexander Valls.
Boccasini topped Jack Barnes of Norwich, 7-5, but lost his quarterfinal. He bounced back with an 8-4 triumph over Oneonta's Lucas Weaver and a 7-1 win against Chenango Valley’s Brennen Riquier. In the fifth-place bout, he lost by fall in 2:38 to Newark Valley’s Titus Callahan.
Also competing for Owego were Robert Curley (138), Jonathan Gilliland (145), Trevor Monell (215) and Anthony Neumut (285).
Curley went 2-2 on the day with falls over NV’s Jacob Shipman and Tioga’s Parker Jackson.
Gilliland, Trevor Monell and Neumuth were all 0-2.
“I thought that the kids wrestled well,” coach Mike Daly said. “We had five place finishers, which is the most in a while for Owego.
“Last year we brought three kids and had three placements. This year we brought nine. We had a couple kids, it was their goal to make it here, and unfortunately, maybe they wrestled that way. We’ve really got to get past that and expect to win matches once you get here. B.
“All in all the kids went out there and battled, and I can't say enough about that and how proud we are of the kids and what they were able to accomplish and their effort.”
Owego finished 10th in the 26-team event with 66.5 points. Windsor won the team title with 171.5.
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IN PHOTO 1: Owego’s Dylan Brace. ... IN TOP PHOTO: Owego’s Bobby Struble. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY & TIM TAYLOR.
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