Homer’s three heaviest wrestlers –– Chris Slade, Owen Burhans and Jack Brown –– all needed to win with at least one finish to top defending Section III Division II finalist Jordan-Elbridge/Port Byron. All three delivered pins to help the Trojans turn a 32-21 deficit into a 39-32 victory Wednesday night at Homer High School.
Slade (190 pounds) got things going, beating Drake Allen in just 53 seconds to move to 8-0 on the season. The senior understood the situation, but head coach Jason Reynolds stressed the importance of getting six before his match.
“I’m always going out there looking for a pin,” Slade said. “That’s the goal every match. Coach came up to me and said, ‘Look for that pin but don’t force it.’ I know if I go up there and work my stuff, don’t try to do anything extra, I’m going to end up hopefully with that pin.”
Burhans (215 pounds), a sophomore, followed his teammate with a pin 3:30 into his match. He led 7-0 after a period and reversed Ethan Sanchez to make it a 9-0 advantage before securing the pin and putting his team ahead 33-32.
“There was a little bit of pressure, but once I saw Chris get that pin I was up in joy,” Burhans said. “It’s a beautiful culture in Homer. It’s unbelievable. Right then and there, I was hyped. I was like, ‘It’s go time. This is what we live for. The big boys got it.’”
Brown (285 pounds) finished the job, running through Noah White and getting the pin in just 44 seconds.
“Us Homer kids, we just get it done,” Brown said. “There’s a certain standard with Homer wrestling. When we have to do something, we do it and we do it hard.”
The trio relished in the pressure and welcome it every dual meet the Trojans have this year.
“It’s happened before where it comes down to the three of us and it’s really great when it works out,” Slade said.
“There’s going to be a lot of that this season, for sure,” Brown added.
Lucas Barbieri (101 pounds) opened the match with a forfeit win for Homer, then Patrick Maslin (108 pounds) won by pin in 44 seconds. Edward Gonzalez (116 pounds) and Cody Hall (124 pounds) were both pinned and Anthony Cicioni (131 pounds) lost by tech fall, allowing Jordan-Elbridge to take a 17-12 lead. Garrett Carr (138 pounds) won a decision and Hunter Lines (145 pounds) won by pin in just over a minute before Evan Sullivan (152 pounds), Daniel Hardesty (160 pounds) and Karson Kemp (170 pounds) lost by tech fall, pin and decision, respectively.
Homer is now 7-1 overall and appears to be a real player for the Section III Division II crown. The Trojans know the season is still young, but the hot start shows the potential this team has.
“It feels awesome, but you can’t get too high and can’t get too low during the season,” Slade said. “You just have to do what works.”
Homer has two more tournaments in 2024, with the next one being the Cuneen-Doane Tournament at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at Walton.
BOYS WRESTLING
CHITTENANGO 54, CORTLAND 16
Jackson Marks (145 pounds) and Devlin Riotto (131 pounds) both secured wins in Cortland’s dual meet. Marks won by pin 36 seconds into the second period and Riotto won a 20-10 major decision. Rashad Allen (124 pounds) won by forfeit and Karter Bush (170 pounds), Anthony Donnelly (190 pounds) and Henry Reeves (285 pounds) all lost by pin.
TIOGA 63, MARATHON 6
Gabriel Crumb won by forfeit at 160 pounds for Marathon for the Olympians’ only points of the night. Simon Donah (124 pounds), Brendan Gumaer (152 pounds), Levi Strauss (170 pounds), Ka’ream Truitt (190 pounds), Trenton Vinson (215 pounds) and Andrew Infante-Franks (285 pounds) all lost by pin and Landon Power (101 pounds), Sitota Boring (131 pounds) and John Root (138 pounds) each fell by tech fall.
WHITNEY POINT 44, DRYDEN 24
Aedan Lange (124 pounds), Oscar Brotherton (138 pounds) and Conner Leonard (215 pounds) all won by pin for Dryden, while Lucas VanSlyke (285 pounds) won by forfeit. William Woodard (131 pounds) lost by tech fall, Gaven Valenti (160 pounds) lost a decision and Andrew French (145 pounds) and Travis Chamberlain (152 pounds) were both pinned.
PHOENIX 40, SOUTHERN HILLS 33
Tanner Clemens (145 pounds) and David Frazee (215 pounds) both won by pin in the first minute for Southern Hills, but the Storm couldn’t overcome forfeits at 116 and 124 pounds. Gavin Sherriff (131 pounds) and Jerod Olrich (285 pounds) also won by pin, Logan Sherriff (152 pounds) won by tech fall and Blake Wilcox (138 pounds) won an 11-0 major decision.
Sye Stanton (160 pounds) lost a major decision for Southern Hills and Jacob Meyer (101 pounds), Levi Seemann (108 pounds), Louis Bennett (160 pounds) and Cash Homer (170 pounds) all lost by pin.
BOYS BASKETBALL
FOWLER 66, HOMER 57
Homer trailed 33-24 at halftime and clawed its way back in it with a 20-12 third, but a slow fourth quarter sent the Trojans to their third consecutive loss to start the season. Kaden Durham paced Homer with a career-high 19 points on two made 3-pointers.
Ryan Beard added 14 points with a pair of makes from downtown, Jack Brady recorded 12 points, Max Franco pitched in eight points and Brycen Poole and Dane Francis scored two points apiece for the Trojans.
TULLY 88, FABIUS-POMPEY 44
Tully destroyed rival Fabius-Pompey to move to 4-0 behind big nights from Garrett Thompson, Connor Bastedo and Sam Dando. Tully won the first quarter 22-7 and the fourth 25-7. Thompson led all scorers with 30 points on three threes to go with three rebounds and three steals. Bastedo recorded his second 20-point, 10-assist double-double of the year with 27 points, eight boards, 11 assists and five steals and Dando rattled off five triples for 15 points, five rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Sean Mize (seven points, four rebounds, one steal), Wyatt Lund (six points, one rebound, one assist, one steal), Dan Garback (two points, two rebounds), Darrell Gables (one point, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, one block), Steven Pierce (three rebounds, four assists, one steal) and Abram Byers (two rebounds) all aided in the Black Knights’ win as well.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
MADISON 34, CINCINNATUS 15
Cincinnatus trailed 19-9 through three quarters, but the Lions couldn’t get back into it. Lydia Scutt topped Cincinnatus’ effort with nine points on three 3-pointers, eight rebounds, an assist, a steal and two blocks.
Londynn Widrick added two points and seven boards, Ruby Metcalf notched two points, five rebounds and an assist, Larissa Standish scored two points and Kim Hill grabbed two rebounds.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
BOYS BASKETBALL
McGraw at Otselic Valley, 7 p.m. today
Odessa-Montour at Groton, 6:30 p.m. today
DeRuyter at Cincinnatus, 7 p.m. today
Skaneateles at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. Friday
Marcellus at Homer, 6:45 p.m. Friday
Spencer-Van Etten at Marathon, 7 p.m. Friday
Elmira Notre Dame at Dryden, 7 p.m. Friday
LaFayette at Tully, 7 p.m. Friday
Candor at Moravia, 7 p.m. Friday
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Homer at Cortland, 6:45 p.m. today
Tully at Pulaski, 7 p.m. today
Marathon at Spencer-Van Etten, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Otselic Valley at McGraw, 6 p.m. Friday
Groton at Odessa-Montour, 7:30 p.m. Friday
Brookfield at Cincinnatus, 6 p.m. Friday
Dryden at Elmira Notre Dame, 7:15 p.m. Friday
Moravia at Candor, 5:30 p.m. Friday
HOCKEY
Cortland/Homer at Auburn, 6 p.m. today at Casey Park Recreation Center
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
Tully at CBA, 7:30 p.m. today
Manlius Pebble Hill at DeRuyter, 7 p.m. today
Cincinnatus at Faith Heritage, 7 p.m. Friday
BOYS WRESTLING
Marathon at Oxford/Greene, 6 p.m. today
INDOOR TRACK & FIELD
Homer, Tully at Onondaga Community College, 4:30 p.m. Friday
BOWLING
Cortland at CBA, 3:30 p.m. today at Strike N Spare Lanes
Bishop Grimes at Homer, 3:30 p.m. today at Hi-Lanes
Union Springs/Port Byron at Groton, 4 p.m. today at Memory Lanes
BOYS SWIMMING & DIVING
Southern Cayuga at Dryden, 4:30 p.m. today
