Spencer-Van Etten/Candor had three individual champions and placed second behind Danville at the Mike Watson Invitational on Jan. 13 at Watkins Glen High School. Andrew Legare/Staff video
Spencer-Van Etten had three champions Saturday during the final day of the Mike Watson Invitational at Watkins Glen High School to finish second behind Pennsylvania's Danville High School.
Danville also had three champions and finished with 238.5 points. S-VE/Candor scored 194.5 points, Vestal was third with 177 points and Chenango Valley took fourth with 133 behind a tournament-best four champions.
The tournament originally had 16 teams, but that number was cut to 14 on Friday because of weather concerns. After ice and snow fell Friday night and early Saturday, championship contender Elmira High School and Thomas A. Edison pulled out.
![Danville's Logan Walters beat Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's]()
1 of 46![Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's Parker Sexton pinned Whitney]()
2 of 46![Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's Parker Sexton pinned Whitney]()
3 of 46![Nate Lehr of Chenango Valley pinned Vestal's Josh Randall]()
4 of 46![Nate Lehr of Chenango Valley pinned Vestal's Josh Randall]()
5 of 46![Bryant Sexton of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor, left, beat]()
6 of 46![Bryant Sexton of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor beat Vestal's]()
7 of 46![Bryant Sexton of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor, top, beat]()
8 of 46![Bryant Sexton of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor beat Vestal's]()
9 of 46![Bryant Sexton of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor beat Vestal's]()
10 of 46![Spencer-Van Etten/Candor coaches Eric Knolles, left,]()
11 of 46![Cole Volpe of Chenango Valley was a 3-1 winner over]()
12 of 46![Cole Volpe of Chenango Valley was a 3-1 winner over]()
13 of 46![Vestal coaches talk to Pierce Eynon during an injury]()
14 of 46![Cole Volpe of Chenango Valley was a 3-1 winner over]()
15 of 46![Brady Hope of Chenango Valley was a 3-0 winner over]()
16 of 46![Brady Hope of Chenango Valley was a 3-0 winner over]()
17 of 46![Brady Hope of Chenango Valley was a 3-0 winner over]()
18 of 46![Nate Aylward of Chenango Valley pinned Newark Valley's]()
19 of 46![Nate Aylward of Chenango Valley pinned Newark Valley's]()
20 of 46![Eric Sees of Danville pinned Mark Mullen of Spencer-Van]()
21 of 46![Eric Sees of Danville pinned Mark Mullen of Spencer-Van]()
22 of 46![Eric Sees of Danville pinned Mark Mullen of Spencer-Van]()
23 of 46![Eric Sees of Danville pinned Mark Mullen of Spencer-Van]()
24 of 46![Grady Alpert of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor pinned Joey]()
25 of 46![Grady Alpert of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor pinned Joey]()
26 of 46![Grady Alpert of Spencer-Van Etten/Candor pinned Joey]()
27 of 46![Todd DeGroat of Vestal pinned Greg Davis of Maine-Endwell]()
28 of 46![Todd DeGroat of Vestal pinned Greg Davis of Maine-Endwell]()
29 of 46![Seth Denmark of South Seneca beat Eli Socash of Vestal,]()
30 of 46![Seth Denmark of South Seneca beat Eli Socash of Vestal,]()
31 of 46![Seth Denmark of South Seneca beat Eli Socash of Vestal,]()
32 of 46![Dylan Dunham of Whitney Point pinned Kamryn Sheldon]()
33 of 46![Dylan Dunham of Whitney Point pinned Kamryn Sheldon]()
34 of 46![Dylan Dunham of Whitney Point pinned Kamryn Sheldon]()
35 of 46![Dylan Houseknecht of Odessa-Montour beat Quinton Mundell]()
36 of 46![Dylan Houseknecht of Odessa-Montour, left, and Quinton]()
37 of 46![Waverly's Garrett Skeens was a 7-0 winner over South]()
38 of 46![Waverly's Garrett Skeens was a 7-0 winner over South]()
39 of 46![Danville's Andrew Johnson beat Vestal's Peter Sacco]()
40 of 46![Danville's Andrew Johnson beat Vestal's Peter Sacco]()
41 of 46![Danville's Logan Walters beat Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's]()
42 of 46![Danville's Logan Walters beat Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's]()
43 of 46![Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's Parker Sexton pinned Whitney]()
44 of 46![Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's Parker Sexton pinned Whitney]()
45 of 46![Spencer-Van Etten/Candor's Parker Sexton pinned Whitney]()
46 of 46
Waverly's Garrett Skeens was named Most Outstanding Wrestler for the lower weights after winning the 99-pound title. MOW for the upper weights was 220-pound champion Dylan Dunham of Whitney Point.
"We wrestled a good tournament," S-VE/Candor coach Eric Knolles said. "We had to overcome the guys we were wrestling and the weather.
"Elmira was in great shape coming into the tournament for the second day and then their school district wouldn’t let them come because of safety concerns, so that opened the tournament up and I think our kids took advantage of that and on the second day climbed back into the top two. That was big for us."
Eagles' strong season continues
Spencer-Van Etten/Candor had 11 wrestlers turn in top-four finishes, led by titles from Parker Sexton at 120 pounds, two-time tourney champion Bryant Sexton at 132 and Grady Alpert at 170.
S-VE/Candor has an 8-4 record in dual meets and will compete in the Section 4 Division II Dual Meet Tournament on Tuesday in Afton. Knolles said he expects his team to be seeded third out of six teams, though final seeds won't be decided until Sunday.
"We’re a couple of small schools together," Knolles said. "We’re carrying 26 kids, 16 freshmen. They keep showing up. They were second in the Central Valley Tournament. Central Valley was the state champion last year and we lost to them by 12 points in our second match. We beat Norwich, which was a big win for us. Norwich is a powerhouse in Section 4. We’re starting to get our head above water with some of those schools."
Strong day for Chenango Valley
Chenango Valley had the most wrestlers atop the podium for the awards ceremonies with four. Champions for the Warriors were Nate Lehr at 126 pounds, Cole Volpe at 138, Brady Hope at 145 and Nate Aylward at 152. The titles for Lehr and Aylward both came with first-period pins.
Danville's champions were Andrew Johnson at 106, Logan Walters at 113 and Eric Sees at 160.
Other champions were Todd DeGroat of Vestal at 182, Seth Denmark of South Seneca at 195 and Dylan Houseknecht of Odessa-Montour at 285. Houseknecht beat South Seneca's Quinton Mundell, 1-0, with an overtime escape to close the meet.
Express still places sixth
Even without competing Saturday, Elmira still ended up placing sixth with 97 points. The Express was credited with four fifth-place finishes and 10 sixth-place finishes despite missing top wrestlers Charlie Mahon and Ben Howe, who competed at the Eastern States Classic at Sullivan Community College in Hoch Sheldrake.
Elmira put 10 wrestlers into the semifinals during Friday's competition. Semifinals were held Saturday and anyone scheduled to compete against an Elmira or Edison wrestler advanced to the finals by forfeit. The Express was in position to win a third tournament title this season.
Elmira will join Horseheads and other teams Wednesday in the Section 4 Division I Dual Meet Tournament at Vestal High School.
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