Leibl, Mayden, Kimball reach Division II finals

Among dozens of Dispatcharea wrestlers entered Saturday’s wrestling championship, only three remained.

Dozens of Dispatch-area wrestlers entered Saturday’s Section III Division II wrestling championships hoping to come away with the title in their weight class and an automatic berth in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association tournament in Albany.

By the time the finals rolled around, only three of those wrestlers remained.

Camden senior Josh Mayden and eighth grader Trey Kimball, along with Canastota junior Mike Leibl, advanced to Saturday’s final, earning the chance to wrestle for a sectional title.

“It feels amazing, it’s a dream come true,” said Mayden. “I’ve been working for this since freshman year.”

Early in Saturday’s semifinals the senior Blue Devil watched his young teammate work his way to the final at 99 pounds. Kimball pinned Port Byron’s Henry Smith in the first period and defeated Copenhagen’s Chace Nevils to set up a semifinal showdown with Beaver River’s Andre Lyndaker, the No. 1 seed. Camden’s eighth grader fell in a quick 4-0 hole but escaped and earned a takedown and three back points to take a 6-4 lead into the second period. The Blue Devil started the second period on bottom and used a late reversal to take an 8-4 lead. Lyndaker rallied back in the third with two takedowns, the second with 11 seconds left. Kimball, however, did not cede any back points and held on for the 9-8 victory to advance.

“My coaches and my family, they trained me hard, told me I could do it,” he said. “(Down 4-0) I thought I was going to lose but I stuck it out and got the win.”

Mayden, on the other hand, took control early en route to his semifinal victory at 152. The senior pinned Central Valley Academy’s Christian Cacciatore and beat South Jefferson/Sandy Creek’s Marshall Coe to reach the semifinals, where he faced Cazenovia/Fabius-Pompey’s Sam DeLeon. Mayden took an early lead with a takedown and two back points, adding to his advantage with a takedown early in the second period as well.

“With an early lead I know I can sit back a little bit,” said Mayden. “I don’t have to be too aggressive, don’t make any mistakes and keep wrestling solid.”

DeLeon fought back, escaping late in the second to make the score 6-1. He had a pair of takedowns in the third but couldn’t

get Mayden on his back and the Blue Devil prevailed with a 9-6 victory.

“I just didn’t let him get any hand control. I kept working for hand control, kept getting my knees under me, didn’t stay broken down too long. That’s about it.”

Leibl, the No. 1 seed for the Raiders, convincingly earned his trip to the fi- nal at 285. The junior had a first-round bye before pinning Mexico’s Jacob Becker in 1:39 in the quarterfinals. His semifinalmatch against South Lewis’ Gage Marolf wouldn’t last that long. Leibl needed just nine seconds to take his opponent down and earned the pin at the 1:29mark to move on to the final.

“I just had to push the pace with him,” said Leibl. “I knew that if I pressured him he wouldn’t be able to stay in the match. Then, I just ran the barbed wire (to

pin him). It’s my go to move.

“It takes a lot of tough practices to get to this level. I practiced with tough guys all week, ex-wrestlers. I’d like to give a shoutout to one, Dale Griffith, a Marine who used to wrestle for Canastota andmy other coach Jason Sgarlata.”

Several other local wrestlers didn’t fare quite as well in the semifinals. Leibl’s teammate Nick Rouse fell in the semis, as did Blue Devils Gavin Vera, Colby Johnson and John Mitch- ell. Kyle Burback was the top performer for VernonVerona-Sherrill, also falling one victory short of the finals.

Morrisville-Eaton, meanwhile, sent three wrestlers to the quarterfinals with Collin Shelton, Keith Lewis and Robert Eastman all suffering defeats in that round.

Saturday’s finals were not completed at the time of this report. For finals results, please visit the Dispatch website at www.oneidadispatch.com/sports.