Midlakes dominates to win 2nd straight Class BBB wrestling crown

The Midlakes wrestling team’s dominant season continued Saturday at the Section 5 Class BBB Championships. The Screaming Eagles won their second-consecutive team championship and brought home seven individual titles.

Midlakes left no doubt as to who was the top team, amassing 265 points — 85 more than the next closest competitor, Palmyra-Macedon. The Red Raiders held off Newark (147.5 points) for second place. Waterloo (128), Attica (125.5) and North Rose-Wolcott (124) rounded out the top 5 teams.

“We had a great weekend of wrestling,” coach Steve Howcroft said. “The guys really wrestled well. It was nice to come out on top.”

Midlakes’ Hammond Raes won the Class BBB championship at 99 pounds. Teammate Jason Charlette won at 106, Ralph Mateo won at 113, Sean Peacock won at 120, Derian Woodard won at 132, Collin Fox won at 170 and Tyler Smith won at 195. Mateo, Peacock, Fox and Smith repeated as champions. Smith, Charlette and Fox are seniors.

Mateo was named the event’s most outstanding wrestler for the lightweights. He defeated Batavia’s Matt Boyle, a state representative in 2012, in the finals, with a 16-3 major decision.

A total of 11 Screaming Eagles move on to Super Sectionals at SUNY Brockport next weekend having placed in the top six.

Midlakes went 26-0 in dual meets this season and won the Wayne/Finger Lakes East League title.

Pal-Mac had a pair of individual champions in Taylor Jones (138 pounds) and Max Lloyd (152). Jones won his title with a 14-3 major decision over Waterloo’s D.J. Deal. Lloyd earned an 11-3 MD over Ryan Hurlburt of Dansville.

Other individual champions were Jake Nicholson (Waterloo, 126 pounds), Mitchell Buckley (Bath-Haverling, 145), Charlie Eshenour (Waterloo, 160), Joe Gorsuch (Newark, 182), Zack Bacon (Hornell, 220), and Greg Lavalley (North Rose-Wolcott, 285).

The most exciting championship bout came in the heavyweight division. Geneva’s Christian Shepard battled Lavalley into overtime. Lavalley eventually earned the win at 6:56.

Midlakes also had strong performances from Will Raes and Cody Maher. Raes came in second at 99 pounds to his teammate and brother Hammond, in a tough  2-1 decision. Hammond, an eighth-grader, got the better of Will, who is a freshman for the Screaming Eagles. Maher fell to Eshenour in the 160-pound final.

Pal-Mac’s Todd Brockhuizen earned a second-place finish at 195 pounds for the Red Raiders.

Local third-place finishers were: Adam West (Pal-Mac, 106 pounds), Justin Rifenburg (Pal-Mac, 145), Josh Figueroa (Newark, 152), Tyler Keear (Geneva, 160), Cody Bourgeois (Pal-Mac, 170), Sean Johnson (Geneva, 182), Nestor Naranjo (Midlakes, 285).

RESULTS via armdrag.com

Team Final

Midlakes [NY] 265, Palmyra-Macedon [NY] 180, Newark [NY] 147.5, Waterloo [NY] 128, Attica [NY] 125.5, North Rose-Wolcott [NY] 124, Wayland-Cohocton [NY] 114, Bath Haverling [NY] 108, Williamson [NY] 99.5, Geneva [NY] 96, Penn Yan [NY] 86, Batavia [NY] 72, Hornell [NY] 68, Dansville [NY] 62.5, Honeoye Falls-Lima [NY] 58, Marcus Whitman [NY] 52.5, Livonia [NY] 41

Outstanding Wrestler Award (Lower Weights) - Ralph Mateo (Midlakes)
Outstanding Wrestler Award (Upper Weights) - Charlie Eshenour (Waterloo)

Championship Final (1st)
 

Consolation Final (3rd)

Consolation Final (5th)