Tioga County Sports ReportCANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — A trio of Owego wrestlers collected top-five finishes at the 50th annual Robert Bradshaw Invitational here Saturday.
Senior Bobby Struble placed third at 170 pounds, sophomore Dylan Brace took fourth at 138 and senior Collin Monell was fifth at 131. All three suffered their first losses of the tournament in the semifinals.
Struble dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker to Hilton standout James Hargather in the semis. Hargather, a 25-match winner and ranked No. 3 overall in Section V, went on to win the weight class.
Meanwhile, Struble racked up the points in his next two bouts to grab the bronze. He decisioned Victor’s Eli Ricci, 11-4, then rolled to an 11-1major decision over Motavia’s Nick Plue in the consolations finals. The win over Plue could be a factor in Section IV Division II tournament seeding later on. The pair are ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively.
Brace lost his semi by fall to Virgil Joseph from Webster Schroeder in 3:38. He would regroup to pin another Webster Schroeder opponent, Dominic Ianniello, in 1:31.
In the consolation finals, Brace ran into returning state qualifier Owen Clark of Lansing and dropped a 12-5 decision. That match, like the Struble-Plue bout, could have sectional seeding ramifications. Clark is ranked second in Division II and Brace is No. 4.
Section IV seeding could also factor in as a result of the semi between Monell and Moravia’s Hunter Boynton. Boynton, ranked third in the section at 131, won by fall in 5:41.
Monell, ranked fifth in the section at 138, dropped an 11-5 decision to Daniel O`Dea of Greece Schools, but closed out his day by blanking Pittsford’s Josh Jonason, 7-0.
Owego took 14th in the 28-team tournament with 49 points. Webster Schroeder went on to claim the team title with 175 points, besting runner-up Pittsford by 29.5.
The River Hawks return to dual meet action Wednesday when they host Dryden in a non-league clash.
