Photos by Teresa Dennis, stories by Chris Brooks
NUNDA — Four straight victories at the start, and five straight wins down the homestretch for the Chargers of Canisteo-Greenwood gave them the boost they needed to ascend towards victory over the road, as they took down host Fillmore/Keshequa with their nine total victories to assemble a gigantic 54-15 win in Nunda.
Beginning at the 190 weight class, the Chargers scored four straight victories to open the battle with Fillmore/Keshequa, two of them featuring pinfall wins by Carson Turner and Dominic Dennis at 215 pounds, with Turner scoring the night’s first win with 22 seconds left in the first period over Gage Hartman, while Dennis needed just over a minute into the second period to claim his win over Caleb Green.
Garrett Hall continued Canisteo-Greenwood’s early shift of momentum at the start of the lightweight battles, as he came in through the clutch with five seconds remaining the opening period to claim the team’s third pinfall win over Connor McCumiskey at 101 pounds. But it would be the last victory the Chargers would claim outright for the next four matches, with the hosts claiming wins in three of the next four matches.
Leading off with a forfeit win for Jules Cotton at 108 pounds, Alivia Cartwright garnered Fillmore/Keshequa their first victory in competition at 124 pounds in a battle with Canisteo-Greenwood’s Ziah Sharp that resulted in a pinfall win nearly a minute into the second period. In the very next match, Ryan Vedder grabbed what would be the final win for the hosts at 131 pounds, battling tooth and nail with Triston Williamson for a huge 4-0 decision win to keep closing the gap behind the Chargers.
But in the remaining five matches, the visitors would remain on top, scoring wins in each of them to pull away. Three of those wins by forfeit, and two in back-to-back pinfall fashion from Mathias Sharp (138 pounds) and Colton Havens (145 pounds), as they defeated Graham Howe and Kalen Beardsley respectively in the first period.
Fillmore/Keshequa will hit the road for a visit to the Wolverines of Bolivar-Richburg on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
Results (* indicates starting weight)
101 – Garrett Hall (C-G) def. Connor McCumiskey (F/K) by pin, 1:55.
108 – Jules Cotton (F/K) by for.
116 – Double for.
124 – Alivia Cartwright (F/K) def. Ziah Sharp (C-G) by pin, 2:58.
131 – Ryan Vedder (F/K) def. Triston Williamson (C-G) by dec, 4-0.
138 – Mathias Sharp (C-G) def. Graham Howe (F/K) by pin, 1:31.
145 – Colton Havens (C-G) def. Kalen Beardsley (F/K) by pin, 1:55.
152 – Lucas Mason (C-G) by for.
160 – Carter Woodworth (C-G) by for.
170 – Bryan Deebs (C-G) by for.
*190 – Carson Turner (C-G) def. Gage Hartman (F/K) by pin, 1:38.
215 – Dominic Dennis (C-G) def. Caleb Green (F/K) by pin, 3:12.
285 – Skyler Miles (C-G) by for.
BOYS SWIMMING
Addison 150, Wellsville 120
ADDISON — There have been many shining moments for the Wellsville Lions in the water this winter. With a fine season in the works, the team has continued to get better and better, inching ever closer towards maximizing their fullest potential in time for Sectionals. In their latest trip to Addison on Thursday, they were tested.
But despite a 150-120 loss to the host Knights, there was something reminiscent of that continuous hard work each night out in the water. For Ben Jordan, it was history.
In the penultimate event of the evening, Jordan took out a pen and rewrote the Wellsville Boys Swimming record books himself, as he became the newest leader in the 100 breaststroke, smashing a record that was held for over 30 years by the great Erik Stein back during the 1990 season — a time when Stein shared the pool with current head coach Steve Hand.
To see the history unravel back then as teammates with Stein, leading up to now as Jordan’s coach, Hand said it was a moment that was purely breathtaking.
“The swim of the night goes to Ben, he broke a record that’s been up on our board since 1990. Erik and I were teammates back then. To see him get the record was awesome, and to see Ben break it tonight as his coach, it was even more awesome,” Hand said. “Addison got us in the rematch, and being in an eight-lane pool gives the advantage to the larger team. They swam well and got the win. The boys put up a good fight and turned in a lot of personal records. Being down a swimmer and half the size of the opponent, the boys knew they would have to swim fast and they did.”
Jordan’s record-breaking performance was one of two wins he would aid Wellsville (6-3) with, as he posted a time of 1:04.22 to become the new leader in the 100 breaststroke. Before his final victory, Jordan claimed his first win back in the 50 freestyle right before halftime, as he scored a winning 24.07 time to earn gold.
Four more Lions swimmers all had a first place finish to chip in along the way with Ethan Crandell (200 freestyle, 2:08.84), Sean Driscoll (100 freestyle, 59.35), Tyler Rahr (100 backstroke, 1:14.62) and Eli Brophy (100 butterfly, 1:07.00) all turning in winning performances. In the relay department, the team of Rahr, Jordan, Brophy and Brayden Ketcher collaborated to help start the meet strong with a winning 2:01.61 time in the 200 medley relay.
Wellsville is back in the water Tuesday night back over the road, visiting the Canisteo-Greenwood Chargers in a 5:30 p.m. first swim.