Blue Devils Runners-up at Windsor
Nigel McNeil and Louis Puca won individual weight class championships as the Huntington High School wrestling team finished second in the team standings in last week's grueling two-day 54th annual Windsor Christmas Tournament.
McNeil topped West Springfield, Massachusetts' Mizam Tamaradze in the finals, 7-3 to capture the 119 lb. crown. Puca moved past Towanda, Pennsylvania's Garret VanDeMark, 8-3 to grab the 171 lbs. title.
Huntington's Corey Jamison dropped a thrilling 3-2 decision to Chenango Forks' Jacob Green in the 112 lbs. final. The match was tied after six minutes of wrestling, 2-2 and it stayed that way through two 30-second tie-breaker periods. Finally, Green escaped seconds into the final ultimate tiebreaker frame to eke out a one-point victory.
T.J. Wilson outlasted Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton's Daren Terpstra, 4-2 to finish third at 152 lbs. Duncan Murchison rolled past Tylor Hubbert of Union-Endicott, 12-0 to place third at 189 lbs. Nick Lupi also grabbed third place honors with a 2-1 overtime victory over Jacob DuBois at 215 lbs.
Chenango Forks edged Huntington in the team standings, 152-142 ½. It marked the fourth time in five years that Chenango Forks had won what is billed as the state's oldest high school wrestling tournament.
"It was a tough tournament and we wrestled well," said Travis Smith, Huntington's assistant coach. "Our kids like good competition and they certainly got it at Windsor."
McNeil was voted the tournament's "Most Outstanding Wrestler" by the 20 head coaches leading teams at the massive competition.
Final team scores: Chenango Forks 152, Huntington 142 ½, Towanda, Pa. 140, Greene 126, Bainbridge-Guilford/Afton 118, Union-Endicott 103, Waverly 100, Ithaca 93, Norwich 87 ½, Lansing 74 ½, Windsor 68 ½, Maine-Endwell 61, Unatego 54 ½, Saratoga Springs 53, Corning 51, West Springfield, Mass. 47, Marathon 37, Canandaigua 34 ½, Susquehanna Valley 32, Unadilla Valley 23.