SOURCE: www.observertoday.com

December 10, 2006

Fredonia enjoys impressive day in Cheektowaga
The Observer (Dunkirk, NY)
Sunday, December 10, 2006

CHEEKTOWAGA - Fredonia traveled to the Cheektowaga Duals on Saturday and came away with a 3-1 record, including a loss in the finals to Spencerport, a Section V wrestling powerhouse.

The Hillbillies (1-0, 5-1) won their pool by beat Frewsburg, 54-21; St. Joe's, 54-20; and East Aurora, last season's No. 1-ranked team in Western New York, 48-28.

"I'm very pleased with second place," Fredonia coach Alex Conti said. "We won our pool and had three matches that were 2-1 against Spencerport."

Spencerport won their pool with wins of 86-0, 64-9 and 64-12.

Kenny Betts and Brandon Strandburg had the best days for the Hillbillies, picking up four pins each. Betts' pins were in 2:34, 2:33, 4:27 and 3:46, while Strandburg earned a pin with just three seconds left in his match with Paul Morabito of Spencerport.

"I believe Brandon is back on track," Conti said. "He looks tougher than nails. I'm very proud of he and Kenny both."

Christopher Conti was 3-1 for the day including a 4-0 decision over Matt Piedimonte in the match against Spencerport. Floripe Rivas-Padua was also 3-1 with a pin.

Riley Gee was 3-1, but lost via injury default because he got sick against Spencerport. Gee was trailing, 5-2, at the time of the injury default. Rob Dahn was 3-1 with a loss against Spencerport while Chris Doane was 2-1. Carlene Sluberski also had a pair of wins at 96 pounds.

Doug Mann was 2-2 on the day, but earned a huge pin against East Aurora to put Fredonia up by 15 points at the time. Brad Eichelberger won his only match of the day while Michelle Quiles, George Lunney and Alex Lacen each had a win.

"We could've had six or seven wins against Spencerport, which is what I was shooting for," Alex Conti said. "The scored didn't bother me, I just wanted matchups. I was very proud of our effort."