WAVERLY FINISHES THIRD AT INAGURAL JIM McCLOE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT

By: Tim Birney | Waverly Athletics | January 15, 2022 | Photo courtesy David Alliger

WAVERLY — Waverly went 3-2, topping Vestal 36-28 in the third-place match at the inaugural Jim McCloe Memorial Tournament here Saturday.

The Wolverines went 2-1 in pool play, edging Maine-Endwell (34-33) and Union-Endicott (36-33), before dropping a 42-33 decision to Oxford-Greene.

In the semifinals, Waverly dropped a 52-20 decision to eventual champion Middletown.

Juniors Gage Tedesco and Connor Stotler, who had four pins and a forfeit, both went 5-0 on the day for the Wolverines, while freshman Kam Hills, who registered four falls, and junior Ty Beeman (three falls and a forfeit) were both 4-1 on the day, and junior Braeden Nichols was 3-2, with all three wins by fall.

Pool Play
Waverly 34, Maine-Endwell 33
Kam Hills came through with a fall in the last bout to lift Waverly to a 34-33 win over Maine-Endwell in the opening match of pool play.

Waverly took the lead early when 7th-grader Nico Rae received a forfeit at 102 pounds.

At 118 pounds (there was no match at 110), M-E got on the board with a 5-3 decision over freshman Jake Besecker.

Junior Landon McCarty gave Waverly a 12-3 lead with a pin of Albert Smith in 1:41 at 125 pounds, but the Spartans answered with a fall at 132 to close the gap to 12-9.

Stotler flattened M-E’s Mason Williams in 71 seconds to put the Wolverines up 18-9, but the Spartans answered with pins at 145 and 152 to take a 21-18 lead.

Braeden Hills pinned Logan McGuire in 78 seconds and 160 pounds to put Waverly back in the lead at 24-21..

Tedesco gave the Wolverines a huge bonus point with an 8-0 major decision over Kazio Jellick to up the lead to 28-21.

Maine-Endwell won by fall at 189 and 215 to take a 33-28 lead, but Hills came through with a second-period pin to lift Waverly to the win.

Waverly 36, Union-Endicott 33
Ty Beeman and Kam Hills registered first-period falls to lock up the win in a 36-33 victory over Union-Endicott, securing Waverly’s spot in the semifinals.

The match began at 110, but neither team fielded grappler.

Besecker received a forfeit at 118, and McCarty scored a first-period pin to give the Wolverines a 12-0 lead.

Josh Volpe put U-E on the board at 132 pounds with a 2-0 overtime win over Waverly senior Austin Ingham, but Stotler answered with a pin of Josh Bronabend in 2:34 at 138 pounds to give the Wolverines an 18-3 lead.

The Tigers rallied with three straight pins to take a 21-18 lead,

At 172 pounds, Tedesco pinned Mike Moody in 3:16, but U-E answered with a fall at 189 to regain the lead at 27-24.

Ty Beeman gave Waverly the lead at 215 pounds with a pin of Carlos Morales Gonzalez in 1:28, then Hills locked up the victory at 285 pounds with a 54-second fall of Quamani Viera-Powell to make it 36-27 with one weight class remaining.

Oxford-Greene 42, Waverly 33
Oxford-Greene won the final two weight classes to pull out a 42-33 win over Waverly, and earn the top seeds in the semifinals.

Brothers Owen and Aiden Marcin gave O-G a 12-0 lead with sub-minute pins at 118 and 126, but Ingham and Stotler received forfeits at 132 and 138 to tie the match.

O-G scored a fall at 145, but Braeden Hills answered at 145 with a pin of Mike Wright in 1:18 to tie it at 18-18

After O-G received a forfeit at 160 pounds, Tedesco edged Hunter Page, 6-4, to pull Waverly within three points, at 24-21.

O-G scored a fall at 189, but Waverly’s Ty Beeman received a forfeit at 215, and Kam Hills flattened Jared Milk in 40 seconds to give the Wolverines a short-lived 33-30 lead.

O-G rallied with a pin at 102 pounds, and received a forfeit at 110.

Semifinals
Middletown 52, Waverly 20
Middletown won five of the final six weight classes to pull away for a 52-20 win over Waverly in the semifinals.

A major decision and a fall at 126 and and 132, respectively, gave Middletown an early 10-0 lead.

Stotler earned a pin of Pedro Godines in 1:54 at 138 pounds to close the gap to 10-6, but the Middie Bears picked up falls at 145 and 152 to stretch the lead to 22-6.

Braeden Hills decked Zion Joseph in 70 seconds at 160 pounds, and Tedesco won a 6-2 decision over Jalen Charles at 172 to close the gap to 22-15, but Middletown answered with a pin at 189 to make it 28-15.

Ty Beeman scored a second-period fall for the Wolverines at 215, but three falls and a forfeit sewed up the win for Middletown.

Third-place Match
Waverly 36, Vestal 28
The Wolverines won five straight weight classes by fall, including four in 60 seconds or less, to sew up a 36-28 win over Vestal in the third-place match at the Jim McCloe Memorial Tournament.

Stotler opened the match with a pin of Donny Winslow in 3:41 at 132 pounds, but the Golden Bears won the next four weight classes — two by fall and two by decision — to take an 18-6 lead.

Tedesco triggered the Wolverines’ decisive run with a 60-second fall of Noah Kintner at 172 pounds, and 8th-grader Troy Beeman followed with a 48-second pin of Ian Aronis at 189 to tie the match at 18-18.

Ty Beeman gave Waverly the lead for good with a pin of Ean Conti in 3:55 at 215 pounds, and Kam Hills notched his fourth pin of the day, decking Donovan Donlin in 25 seconds at 285 pounds to give the Wolverines a 30-18 lead.

With no match at 110, Rae locked up the win for Waverly at 102 pounds, pinning Kellen Mole in 42 seconds to make it 36-18 with two bouts remaining.