BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
WELLSBORO — It was another exciting North Section Tournament with no one team dominating things - the team title wasn’t decided until the 215 pound finals, and eight different teams crowned champions - which added to the thrill of the day.
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NP-Liberty Bodhi Nickerson overcame an early deficit to pull away from Canton’s Lyle Vermilya, 15-6.
“Its my first time winning a tournament so it feels good to stand up there with nobody above you,” Nickerson remarked.
Vermilya got a takedown plus two back points right off the bat for a 5-0 lead, with Nickerson scoring a reversal to cut it to 5-2.
“It was definitely scary, but I knew that all I had to do is work out,” Nickerson said about the early deficit. “The first goal is to get up, get on my feet, and then we’ll go from there.”
Nickerson would take control in the second period with a takedown to make it 5-5. He would get two sets of back points to take a 12-6 lead going into the third period.
“When I got my first takedown, and I fell into my finishes,” Nickerson said about when he felt he had control. “I could feel that my awareness in those situations was better.”
In the third he got a takedown with 30 seconds left to finish on top.
Nickerson is the second seed heading into districts.
“Number one, I’m going to focus on cutting my weight correctly,” he explained. “We’ve been working really hard at that, and staying away from dumps. I need to watch that, and figure out what I did wrong.”
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Williamson’s Zander Wilson pulled out a 10-5 win over Wyalusing’s Isaiah Harvey to win this title.
The returning state returner was facing a Ram senior who dropped down from 121 for the postseason.
“It’s amazing,” Wilson said about taking gold. “I’m glad to be back.”
Wilson scored first with a shot, but Harvey cut it to 3-1 before the end of the first period.
Harvey got an escape to start the second, but Wilson came back with another takedown for a 6-2 lead.
Harvey did get a reversal off a roll to make it 6-4 going into the third.
Wilson would take a 7-4 lead off an escape, then scored on a single leg attack for a 10-4 lead.
Harvey did get the escape for a 10-5 final.
“He’s a really tough kid,” remarked Wilson. “He’s really strong, I’m surprised at how good he wrestled.”
Wilson is the third seed going into districts, while Harvey takes the fourth spot.
“I’m going to focus on my mental, like my breathing,” remarked Wilson.
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NP-Liberty got their second champion at Bryce Pequignot made quick work of Towanda’s Braydon Fessenden, scoring a 17-2 tech fall in 1:27 for the title.
“It feels pretty good,” Pequignot said about being sectional champ. “I wasn’t really focused on anything, just being myself. I haven’t wrestled for two weeks, so I just wanted to feel good.”
The returning state qualifier blew through the bracket and is the second seed in a stacked district bracket.
“I’m just going to keep doing the same thing,” he said about districts. “Nothing too special, just keep it going.”
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This was another quick match as Williamson’s Hunter Simonds pinned Troy’s Keagan Kerr in 36 seconds to claim the title.
“This is something that I’ve kind of wanted to work towards since my sophomore year, so it feels nice to finally do it,” remarked Simonds. “I felt pretty confident. I knew I was going to have tough matches, but I just told myself, as long as I stay in good position I’ll get through it.”
Kerr got to his leg off a shot early, but Simonds was able to cradle him up for the fall.
“I just really focused on trying to keep my hips in good position, and saw the opportunity there for a cradle, and went for it,” remarked Simonds.
Simonds will be the third seed coming into districts.
“I’m going to focus on making sure that I can really stay in good position because that’s one big thing that I really like focusing on throughout my matches,” said Simonds.
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Sullivan County senior Andrew Kapec had two North Section silver medals coming into Saturday, and wasn’t going to be denied a gold.
“I’m not in Bryce’s weight anymore, that’s definitely a big part of it,” Kapec said after.
He pinned Wyalusing’s Cole Patrick in 1:24 to get the win.
After getting the takedown he was able to cradle up Patrick for the pin.
“He likes going low single, so I was just trying to post on his head, and go for the wrist, and go for low singles because every time I get on the leg I usually score,” explained Kapec. “I usually go for cradles.”
Kapec will come into the district bracket as the third seed.
“It gives me a lot of momentum,” Kapec said about claiming the elusive title. “I’m going to have a much better seed than I’ve had the last two years, so that’ll definitely be good for me.”
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Bradford County got their first champion in Towanda’s Hagen Jones, who did his signature move - running the bar - to great effect in the 17-2 win over Sullivan County’s Wyatt Bagley.
“All the work put in for the season with my teammates - Gage and Bryghton - really helped me,” Jones said.
Jones jumped out to a 7-0 lead with a takedown, then ran the bar into four back points.
“I feel powerful when I catch,” Jones explained when he gets the elbow to start his run. “I need to work on staying over top.”
Jones got a reversal in the second, but Bagley was able to get a reversal this time when Jones ran it for a 9-2 score.
Jones came back with another reversal to go up 11-2.
In the third he got a single leg takedown for a 14-2 lead, then ran the bar again for a the 17-2 final.
“I’m going to keep working hard, keep pushing myself in the room with my teammates,” remarked Jones.
Jones is the third seed going into districts.
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Towanda’s Gage Evans joined his teammate Jones on top of the podium with a 2-0 win over Canton’s Tommy Preston.
A third period reversal was the difference in this low scoring bout.
“It feels great,” said Evans. “I came out here, and did what I needed to do. I knew he’s a tough kid, I love having good competition down here.”
It was scoreless after one, then Evans rode Preston out for two minutes in the second.
“I knew he was good on his feet, and I kind of figured going into the second it would be an 0-0 match,” explained Evans. “I knew I couldn’t let him up. I knew he’s tough on top, and didn’t know what I could do on bottom, but I knew I had to ride him out or get a quick turn and a couple swipes.”
He got the reversal in the third off a switch, then rode him the rest of the way.
“Knowing I just rode him for two minutes, I kind of figured I could do it for another minute and a half,” remarked Evans.
He’s the third seed going into districts with Preston the fourth seed with some pretty good competition at the top of the bracket.
“It just keeps getting better,” Evans said about the competition. “I want to place the highest I can and try to make it to the finals.”
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Wyalusing’s Jonathan Earle was another senior that got the monkey of his back, winning his first North Section title with a 12-1 win over Troy freshman Hunter Watson.
“It feels really good finally getting it done,” Earle said. “It wasn’t our main goal this postseason, but it’s really nice to add it along the way.”
Earle jumped out to a 6-1 lead after a pair of takedowns in the first period.
He would ride Watson out in the second, then got a reversal and cradled him up for six more points for the 12-1 final.
“After the second takedown,” is when Earle felt he took control of the match. “Then riding him, and then just riding him the entire second period.”
Earle was enjoying himself in his final North Section Tournament.
“It was just wrestling free,” Earle said. “I already made it to next week, and the biggest this is just advancement, so I just was figuring wrestle free.”
He’s the third seed going into districts.
“I’m going to focus on moving my feet,” remarked Earle. “Just realizing every match from here on out it’s just extra matches.”
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It was Towanda versus Canton in this final, again, but this time the Warrior came out on top with Carson Rockwell using a second period reversal to beat Towanda’s Reese Sluyter 2-0.
“I’m pretty happy,” Rockwell said about the title. “I just wanted to control the match the whole time.”
Rockwell got in deep on a single leg in the first period, but Sluyter was able to get out of bounds to keep it 0-0.
Rockwell would get the second period reversal, then rode Sluyter out the rest of the way.
He continued to stay tough on top, riding Sluyter for the final two minutes for the win.
“I just kept on mat returning,” Rockwell said.
Rockwell is the second seed going into districts with Sluyter the fourth.
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Sayre junior Jordan Brown repeated as sectional champion, pulling away from Canton’s Blane Wesneski for a 10-1 win.
“It feels pretty good having a nice little repeat there,” Brown said.
Brown went up 3-0 with a first period takedown.
Wesnesk got an escape to start the second, but Brown came back with a takedown, and two quick back points for an 8-1 lead.
He got a reversal in the third, then finished on top for the major decision.
“I felt comfortable the whole match,” remarked Brown.
Brown is the third seed going into districts.
“I’m going to focus on my conditioning,” he said. “Stay mentally prepared, and make sure that I don’t slip off of my turning.”
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Wyalusing’s Ethan VanderPool came into the season injured, and didn’t see his first action until after Christmas.
On Saturday he was able to gut out an 8-4 win over NEB freshman Asher Kolesar for the North Section title.
“That just motivated me more,” VanderPool said. “I was working hard, more time in the gym, in the wrestling room just to get here. After a lot of years coming here and not getting anything it feels pretty good.”
VanderPool used a single leg to go up 3-0 in the first period but Kolesar rallied in the second.
“It helped a lot towards the end when we both got tired,” VanderPool said about going ahead in the first period.
He got an escape, then took the lead with a takedown of his own.
VanderPool was able to get an escape for a 4-4 match going into the third period.
VanderPool got an escape to start the third, then fought off a pair of Kolesar attacks before getting a late takedown for the 4-point win.
“I can’t let him finish these,” VanderPool kept thinking in the final period.
VanderPool is the third seed going into districts.
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It was a high intensity match for the smaller of the heavyweights as Wellsboro’s Hayden Stevens nabbed a 7-0 win in his home gym over Wyalusing’s Daniel Fox.
“It feels great,” Stevens said. “I’ve been working for this for four years now. I’ve qualified, and been fifth and fourth, so to come in first it just feels amazing.”
Stevens had beaten Fox earlier in the year and used a single leg to go up 3-0 in the first period. He scored with an escape in the second, then got another takedown in the third for the 7-0 win.
“I was going in there to get it done and over with, and get first place,” remarked Stevens.
It was one of the more physical matches of the night with a rowdy crowd.
“I talked to my coaches about t it, because I was freaking out,” Stevens said. “He was freaking out, so I talked to Coach Bittner, and Coach Rendos just to get back in the zone, and finish the match.”
Stevens is the third seed at districts with Fox the fourth.
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Luke Sottolano was Williamson’s third sectional champion of the night with his fall over Sullivan County’s Carter Reis in 1:55.
“I wanted to come here and take care of business,” Sottolano, the top seed, remarked. “I’ve got a lot of respect for these guys, there’s a couple of tough kids in the this bracket, so it wasn’t going to be easy.”
The two were tied up when Reis fell to the ground. Sottolano got on him for the takedown, then got him to his back for the pin.
“I snapped, that’s all I do is snap,” he said.
Sottolano is the only top seed from the North Section going into districts.
“Hopefully it sets me up well,” he remarked.
The North Section also inducted five new members into their Hall of Fame - Athens' Mike Testen, Troy's Nick Stephani, Wyalusing's Colin Edsell, Towanda's Dayton Wickwire, and Williamson's Logan Everett.
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
