Dunkirk and Fredonia took their rivalry to the wrestling mat Monday, where Fredonia flexed its collective muscle for a 60-21 victory.
The Hillbillies used nine pins to take control of the CCAA Division 1 meet at Fredonia High School.
It was Troy Smith and Dunkirk that grabbed the upper hand early.
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OBSERVER?Photos by Courtney Gfroerer
Dunkirk’s Troy Smith, bottom looks to improve his position against Fredonia’s Edison?Velez during their 120-pound match of Wednesday’s Division 1 high school wrestling showdown.
After Tito Colom was awarded a forfeit victory at the 113-pound class, Smith earned Dunkirk's lone pin of the meet at 120 when he took down Edison Velez in 5:07.
"One thing we've been working on with Troy is being a little more aggressive," Dunkirk coach Joe McMurdy said. "That and working on the mat a little more. He's always been good with takedowns. He was real impressive."
Pat McCarthy turned around the meet for Fredonia with a grueling 11-5 decision over Teddy Griewisch at 126 pounds.
The Hillbillies rode that momentum to six straight pins from Dakota Gardner (132), Julias Woma (138), Tyler Cassidy (145), Jude Gardner (152), Sean Sluberski (160) and Damien DeGolier (170).
"They're attacking," Fredonia coach Alex Conti said of his guys. "They're out there hungry for the pin. It's nice to see."
"The best thing is we'll see Fredonia at probably two or three more tournaments," McMurdy added. "You like to wrestle the same guy and see how much progress you've made. If a kid gets pinned in the first period and then gets pinned in the third period a couple weeks later, that's progress."
The 182-pound contest between Fredonia's Steve Mignoli and Dunkirk's Tyler Aitcheson was the closest of the meet.
A first-round takedown by Mignoli was the only scoring until the third round, when Aitcheson escaped a hold and quickly covered for two points and the tie. Mignoli was able to regroup in sudden death overtime to earn the three points for Fredonia.
"This early in the season a little adversity can be a good thing," Conti said. "Sometimes people give up the tie and then get so distraught that they lose focus and they lose the takedown. (Mignoli) didn't. He stayed the course and did a nice job."
"The kids wrestled hard," McMurdy continued. "That's what we told every kid who came off the mat. They wrestled hard. That's all we're asking."
Following the sudden death match, Fredonia's Zack Buckley (195), Christian Saden (220) and Zach Gloff (285) each recorded pins in less that 45 seconds in their respective contests.
"That's a lot of experience right there," Conti said of his trio. "I was real proud of the way they came after those guys. It's good for momentum."
Dunkirk was able to capture the final two matches of the meet with Billy Seiders (99) and Hector Colom (106) each winning by decision.
"They're working hard," McMurdy said. "The kids will see success. I'm not worried about that."
"(Dunkirk) is out there scraping," Conti added. "They've got great numbers, which is the first key. (McMurdy) does a great job with them."
Both teams will participate in tournaments this weekend. Dunkirk will head to Cassadaga Valley while Fredonia goes off to Webster.
