Hornell Red Raiders 34, Haverling Rams 28

LCAA Division I Dual Meet
@ Haverling High School, Bath, NY
Wednesday, January 5, 2005

Hornell wrestlers take down Bath; Final match lifts Red Raiders
By Shawn Vargo
The Leader, Corning, NY
January 6, 2005

Bath Haverling's Billy Crowe wraps up Hornell's Joe Sirianni Wednesday in their 103-pound match. (Photo by Eric Wensel, The Leader, 1/6/2005)

BATH | Hornell's Andy Drake broke up a tie score by pinning his foe in the final match to give the Red Raiders a hard-fought 34-28 win over Bath Haverling Wednesday.

"There were a lot of close, tight matches. Just what you want to see," said Hornell head coach Matt Sheldon. "I think the whole team is improving and I'm now seeing the team I thought we'd have."

Hornell (3-2) jumped out to a 21-0 lead after the opening four matches, which began at the 140-pound division. Ryan Dieter (145), Tyler Sick (152) and Ryan Harrison (160) all scored pins for the Red Raiders. Harrison's victory came in 27 seconds.

But Bath returned the favor in the heavier divisions, as Jeremy Wilder (171) pinned his foe, while Tony Viselli (189) and Justin Stewart (215) earned decisions to cut the lead to 21-12.

"Wilder was brought up from the JV squad and he earned a pin. Against my better judgment, I allowed Justin to go up in weight and he really stepped it up," said Bath head coach Jim Fowler.

The Rams carried the momentum into the lightweight matches as Billy Crowe (103) earned a decision and Embry Albers (112) scored a first-period pin as Bath grabbed a 22-21 lead. A Hornell forfeit to Bath's Cody Hutcheson gave the Rams their largest advantage of the night, 28-21.

In a critical 125-pound match, Hornell's Josiah Gardner earned a point for an escape in the third period to defeat Brent Nadjadi, 5-4. Nadjadi nearly earned an escape in the second period, but Gardner wouldn't release his foot and hung on to a 4-4 tie.

At 130, Scott Ray pulled the Red Raiders even with the Rams with a four-point decision to set up the deciding final match.

"I felt pretty good after 119 pounds," Sheldon said. "Our 125-160 is a really strong group."

In the finale, Parks earned a takedown and near fall midway into the first period, but Bath's Ryan McDonald kept his shoulder off the mat for a full minute. McDonald found himself in the same predicament in the second period, but succumbed to the pinfall with four seconds remaining.

"I figured it would be close and it would come down to which team wanted it most," Fowler said. "They wrestled better and physically, they beat us up."

Bath will travel to Corning Saturday for the Crystal City Classic, while Hornell will travel to the Canandaigua Tournament.