Letchworth's Dakota Hendrickson (left) gets the takedown on Warsaw's Ty Flint at 135 pounds.
GAINESVILLE — Letchworth’s Tyler Salamone, Anthony Harding and Ric Stone all came up with big victories as the No. 26 state-ranked Indians earned the D-II wrestling title with the 38-32 victory over rival and No. 4 ranked Warsaw Thursday night.
Salamone won a thrilling 12-9 decision over Warsaw’s Jeff Royce at 119 pounds; Harding nipped Jake Royce 3-2 at 130 pounds; and Stone won a defensive 3-0 battle over Mike Cummins at 285 pounds.
The match started at 140 pounds as Letchworth senior Bucky Hendrickson disposed of Warsaw’s Zach Reynolds in just 48 seconds.
A much-anticipated match-up between Letchworth’s Chris Nevinger and Warsaw’s Burke Paddock at 145 pounds went uncontested as Nevinger received a forfeit to make it 12-0.
Frank Day increased the lead to 18-0 when he pinned Nate French in 2:48 at 152 pounds.
The Indians would take a stranglehold when David Woolley earned a 14-0 victory over David Royce at 160 pounds and Alan Bookmiller won a 7-2 decision over Tyler Boise at 171 pounds to put Letchworth on top 25-0.
Warsaw would finally get on the board when senior and three-time state rep Zak Griffith won by technical fall over Brandon Maines at 189 pounds to pull the Tigers to within 25-5.
Tom McFadden’s exciting 3-1 overtime victory at 215 pounds over Cody Waite would keep the Tigers in it making it 25-8.
Stone’s victory at 285 would stop the bleeding — but not for long.
Three straight pins — two in the first period — would give the Tigers 18-straight points.
At 96 pounds, Josh Griffith pinned Letchworth’s Dakota Woolley in 1:10; Hanna Grisewood pinned Keith Koerner in 1:24 at 103 pounds; and Warsaw freshman Austin Keough pinned Randy Rawleigh in 2:28 at 112 pounds to pull the Tigers to within 28-26.
After Salamone’s big victory at 119 pounds made it 31-26, Warsaw would take their first and only lead when junior Joey Paddock pinned Letchworth’s Austin Harding in 4:32 at 125 pounds.
Anthony Harding would give the Indians the lead for good when he gutted out a 3-2 victory at 130 pounds over Jake Royce.
Letchworth senior Dakota Hendrickson would seal the victory with a 12-1 win over Ty Flint at 135 pounds.
The two teams will meet again, this time with a tournament title at stake, as the Livingston Conference Wrestling Championships take place Jan. 29-30 at Cal-Mum.
