NEW YORK STATE WRESTLING: OWEGO'S STRUBLE ONE WIN AWAY FROM MEDAL AT DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIPS; BRACE BOWS OUT (20 PHOTOS) (2025-02-28)
By TIM BIRNEYTioga County Sports ReportALBANY — Owego senior Bobby Struble advanced to Saturday and is one win away from a trip to medal stand, while sophomore Dylan Brace bowed out late Friday here at the New York State Division 2 Wrestling Championships at the MVP Arena.
"We don't have two guys going forward, and that was the goal," said Owego coach Mike Daly.
Struble began his day with a 7-1 win over Danville's Peter Thompson in the opening round, cementing the win with an escape and takedown in the first 50 seconds of the third period.
In the quarterfinals, Struble ran into an old foe in Section IV champ Wyatt Meade of Unadilla Valley-Unatego-Franklin, who beat the Owego standout in the finals of the Section IV Qualifier B and the Section IV Division 2 championships.
After a scoreless first period, Meade notched a quick escape in the second period, then hit a seven-point move in the final 10 seconds to take an 8-0 lead on his way to a 10-0 major decision.
"That was tough one for Bobby (Struble)," said Daly. "He was in great position to take the kid down, and we just didn't finish with little details, so it ended up with us on our back — head up and hips down and (Meade) is on his back.
"He was there ready to take him down, and (Meade) was going big ... if we had done a couple little details differently it would have been big for us, but that's why you wrestle the matches.
"Hopefully, we can make a couple of adjustments before tomorrow and get him as high on the podium as we can," added Daly.
Struble will face Ardsley's Ethan Mitev in the second round of wrestlebacks Saturday morning.
Brace kicked off his day with a wild 13-12 loss to Perry's Holden Kelly in the opening round.
Kelly built an early 7-0 lead, but Brace scored a reversal late in the second period to close the gap to 7-2.
Brace registered three takedowns in 58 seconds to take an 11-10 lead, but Kelly scored a takedown with 27 seconds remaining to take a 13-11 lead, and cut Brace at the final horn.
"The first match was the big one for Dylan (Brace)," said Daly. "If he had won, he would have had the 1-seed in his next match, but on his way back through, we really liked what we saw.
"I think the nerves got to him, and I have not seen that out of that kid.
"It was a great match, 13-12 — points all over the place, and he comes back from a 7-2 deficit," added Daly. "Again, just a little out of position and gave up the single(-leg) right at the end."
Brace dropped a 7-3 decision to Nanuet's John Parisi in the first round of wrestlebacks.
"This was good experience for him, but a lot of times as a sophomore you can always talk about what is gonna happen, but it's really about making things happen in the future," said Daly.
"There are a lot of kids who come here, then the next year don't make it back, or don't quite win that one match.
"So yeah, for Dylan it's about making things happen between now and next year, not hoping things happen," he added.
Brace finishes his season with a 28-9 record.
Action begins Saturday at 10 a.m.
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IN PHOTO 1 and TOP PHOTO: Owego's Bobby Struble. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY and DWAYNE LOBDELL.
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