BY TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
ELMIRA HEIGHTS — Newark Valley opened its season with an IAC tri-meet sweep here Saturday, defeating host Edison, 51-18, and an undermanned SVEC team, 54-18.
The Cardinals picked up 18 bonus point wins in 23 bouts and added to more falls in exhibition.
Caden Padd, Jonah Williams, Peter Basti, Nate Demmer and Josh Duke each went 2-0 on the day and Cadin Creeley was 2-1, his only loss coming in an exhibition match.
Cam Carrier and Joey Woodmansee won their only contests, Noah Waterman, Connor VanZile and Mark Vosburg added a win apiece, and Seth Northrup won in exhibition.
"Just happy to be on the mats," NV coach Mike Daly said after his team's victorious start to the season. "We're young and it's early, but it's also late. In two weeks we'll be done.
"It's obvious that we're pretty young. Our upper weights aren't, but other than that we're pretty young, but we battled.
Carrier, Woodmansee and Duke were legitimate state contenders this season and showed why in the triangular, but some of the younger grapplers fared well, including 7th-grader Creeley.
"The little Creeley kid, it's his first day out there. He loses one because he's a little nervous and then has a second one and wins that. He's starting to catch up," Daly said.
"Some of our other kids, they frustrate the heck out of you being young ... but there wasn't a lot of stop and there wasn't a lot of not wanting to be there near the end and they weren't slowing down," he added. "They're trying this stuff so we always tell them, 'show us something to fix. If you do nothing, I can't fix it.' They're showing us a lot to fix."
SVEC, which is without senior standout Parker Sexton and heavyweight John Hammond, as well as two other key performers who moved away, won five of its eight contested bouts. The Eagles were 3-1 in a 42-24 loss to Edison.
"Of course, we didn't have many kids coming here today, but the kids who came, they competed really, really well," SVEC coach Jesse Buck said. "We had a number of kids get some really tough matches, so I'm glad they got that experience. That's what this year is all about, getting that experience against the best kids we can.
"I think it was a really good first real test for us for they year. We've got some things to work on and some things to congratulate them on too."
Highlighting the team's effort was freshman standout Ousmane Duncanson, whose quickness on the mat allowed him to spend less than 80 seconds on the mat.
"He's quick and it's just a testament to just how hard he works all year round," Buck said. "All year round he's putting in the time he needs and I think you can see it in every match."
Caleb Smith won his only match, Devin Beach and Kamren Buchanen added a win apiece, and Kadin Ruben won his exhibition bout.
NV 51, Edison 18
The Spartans grabbed an early 12-0 lead on a forfeit and fall, but NV rallied back. Noah Waterman hit a 5-point move in the third period to secure a 9-7 decision over Jordan Taylor at 138 pounds, then Vosburg and Padd registered pin in 51 and 26 seconds, respectively, to give the Cardinals the lead for good, 15-12.
Jonah Williams (160) followed with a fall in the second period, Peter Basti (172) scored a quick pin, Nate Demmerer (189) added a forfeit, Joey Woodmansee (215) and Josh Duke (285) contributed first-period falls to boost the NV advantage to 45-12.
There was no match at 102, but Edison would get back on the scoreboard with Lucas Mosher's 11-second pin against James Hackett. Creeley (118) ended the match with a pin in 3:57.
NV 54, SVEC 18
Waterman and VanZile opened the match with forfeit wins.
After Ousmane Duncanson (145) pinned Vosburgh in 31 seconds, the Cardinals collected four straight forfeits from Padd, Williams, Basti and Demmerer to build a 36-6 cushion.
At 215, Carrier and Beach squared of in a battle of returning Section IV Division II place-winners. Carrier took a 2-0 edge into the second period and added a 3-point near fall before recording the pin at 3:28.
Duke dispatched Buchanen in 1:36 to make it 48-6, then SVEC grabbed two wins with a forfeit to Jayden Duncanson and Smith's pin over Hackett in 1:23.
Creeley received a forfeit at 118 for the final points of the dual.
"It's good to be back on the mat," Daly said. "Like I said, a young group that we're excited about, but we've got a lot of work to do."
Edison 42, SVEC 24
Ousmane Duncanson started the final dual of the day off with a trio of quick takedowns before decking Ethan Smith in 45 seconds.
The Spartans received three straight forfeits to go ahead for good, 18-6.
There were no bouts at 172 and 189, then Beach took the mat to score a fall at 1:18 and Buchanen followed with a pin in 1:54. Caleb Smith accepted a forfeit at 102 to give the Eagles a 24-18 lead.
Jayden Duncanson took the mat to face Mosher in the final contested bout of the day. Mosher scored a first-period takedown and second-period escape to grab a 3-0 advantage, but Duncanson came back with a penalty point and reversal to knot the score. Mosher earned an escape, but Duncanson took him to the mat with 53 seconds to go in the period, carrying a 5-4 edge into the final two minutes. With 45 seconds left, Mosher escaped, then locked up Duncanson's arms for a throw and pin at 5:37.
Newark Valley (2-0) hosts Odessa-Montour (1-1) Tuesday and SVEC (0-3) hosts Owego (1-0) Wednesday.
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IN PHOTO 1: NV's Joey Woodmansee (top). ... PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.
