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TUNKHANNOCK – You’ll have to excuse Tunkhannock wrestling head coach Bob Hegedty and assistant coach Cory Ray if they popped open a bottle of champagne a day prior to New Year’s Eve.

That’s because the coaches and their team had plenty of reason to celebrate on Wednesday night after winning their host event, the Tunkhannock Kiwanis Tournament for the first time in 31 years.

The Tigers crowned three champions and four runners-up to run away with the team title, racking up 254.50 points and topping previous champion Wyalusing (207.50) by 47 points to claim the tournament title for the first time since 1984.

“We set this as one of our goals this year to win our tournament,” Hegedty said. “The kids worked hard throughout the week at practice. They’re putting the hard work in and they’re starting to see the rewards of that.

“To win it after 31 years, it’s a good feeling.”

Tunkhannock, which entered the day with a slim 11-point lead on the Rams, piled up the points in the semifinals and entered the afternoon’s medal rounds with nearly a 50-point lead. Wyalusing gained on the Tigers’ huge lead in the finals by winning four championships to Tunkhannock’s three, but those points weren’t nearly enough.

The finals started at 152 pounds, and after Tunkhannock’s first two finalists, Billy Manley and Mike Manley each lost close decisions, 170-pounder Dalton Ray stopped the two straight losses with an emphatic pin in 58 seconds over Wyalusing’s Ed Mapes. Ray’s title in his home event was the second straight year he walked away as the champion.

“We were pretty confident because we had a few more finalists than them and we were confident with our finalists (before the finals,” Ray said. “I think last year was a little more special since it was the first time and I had to sit out the year before (with an injury) so it feels better. But the team championship has a little effect on it this year.”

Joining Ray as champs from the Tigers were 126-pound freshman Tommy Traver and 138-pound senior Jake Richards. Traver showed how dominant he can be by defeating Jake Brown from Coughlin via tech fall with 25 seconds remaining in the third period. Richards, who entered as the bracket’s No. 1 seed, defeated Zack Meckes from Valley View with a 5-4 victory.

“Traver, he looks so tough right now and he’s done so much wrestling in the offseason, and he’s just so smooth in the way he moves everything,” Hegedty said about his standout ninth-grader.

One of the most entertaining matches of the finals came after Ray’s win when Wyoming Area junior Adam Buczynski held on for a 7-6 win over Honesdale’s Alec Dragos in the 182-pound final.

Buczynski built up a 5-1 lead after the second period thanks to a pair of takedowns and an escape. But Dragos got an escape in the third period and two takedowns of his own to tie the score at 6-6. Dragos then let up a tiring Buczynski with about 30 seconds left to give the Warrior a 7-6 lead. Buczynski fought off several shots by Dragos to hang on for his first tournament title.

“I was definitely nervous, but you just gotta push through it. I worked all year for this, so you just gotta go,” Buczynski said. “I knew I could do it but I know I need to work. I need to work on my conditioning and work harder in the room.”

Hanover Area’s Jeff Bennett was the next Wyoming Valley Conference wrestler to claim a title when he defeated Valley View’s Brandon Judge, 4-1 to win the 120-pound bracket. Bennett led 4-0 after the first period and only gave up a third-period escape as he improved on his showing at last year’s event when he was runner-up.

“I’m really confident on my feet so I try to run up the score as much as possible. I have all the energy,” Bennett said. “I’m in the finals a lot, but it feels good to get a championship. It’s definitely a confidence-booster going on for the season.”

Perhaps the best match of the finals was not won by a Tunkhannock wrestler, or a WVC grappler, but it did consist of one. Abington Heights’ Nick Carr topped the Tigers’ Mike Manley 2-1 in the ultimate breaker at 160-pounds when Carr chose the top position and rode out Manley for the final 30 seconds to nab the win.

Joining Manley as second-place finishers from the Tigers were his twin brother, Billy Manley (152) – who lost to returning fourth-place state medalist Collin Edsell of Wyalusing, 3-0 – Dave Gavek (106) and Dakota Quick (132).

Wyoming Seminary’s B team participated and finished fifth in the team standings, while the next-closest WVC team was Hanover Area, which took sixth. Sem’s Nick Bauer was runner-up at 113, while Coughlin’s Mike Brown finished second at 145.

38th Annual Tunkhannock Kiwanis Wrestling Tournament

Team Scores: Tunkhannock (Tun) 254.50; 2. Wyalusing (Wy) 207.50; 3. Western Wayne (WW) 149.50; 4. Pocono Mountain East (PME) 135.50; 5. Wyoming Seminary (Sem) 125; 6. Hanover Area (Han) 118; 7. Abington Heights (AH) 108.50; 8. Coughlin (Cou) 106; 9. Pocono Mountain West (PMW) 102.50; 10. Valley View (VV) 101.50; 11. Mount Carmel (MC) 96; 12. Wyoming Area (WA) 89; 13. Honesdale (Hon) 79.50; 14. Mahanoy Area (Mah) 74.50; 15. Northeast Bradford (NEB) 74; 16. Scranton Prep (SP) 64; 17. Crestwood (Cre) 62; 18. Montrose (Mon) 55; 19. Canton (Can) 53; 20. Lackawanna Trail (LT) 47; 21. Blue Ridge (BR) 40; 22. Sayre (Say) 28; 23. GAR (GAR) 21; 24. Elk Lake (EL) 17; 25. Nanticoke (Nan) 15; 26. Mountain View (MV) 9

Finals

106 – Braden Breithaupt (PME) dec Dave Gavek (Tun) 10-5

113 – Noah Siriani (AH) pinned Nick Bauer (Sem) 3:39

120 – Jeff Bennett (Han) dec Brandon Judge (VV) 4-1

126 – Tommy Traver (Tun) tech fall Jake Brown (Cou) 16-1, 5:35

132 – Josh Haley (Wy) dec Dakota Quick (Tun) 7-2

138 – Jake Richards (Tun) dec Zack Meckes (VV) 5-4

145 – Creighton Edsell (Wy) dec Mike Brown (Cou) 5-1

152 – Collin Edsell (Wy) dec Billy Manley (Tun) 3-0

160 – Nick Carr (AH) dec Mike Manley (Tun) 2-1, UTB

170 – Dalton Ray (Tun) pinned Ed Mapes (Wy) :58

182 – Adam Buczynski (WA) dec Alec Dragos (Hon) 7-6

195 – Allen Yancoskie (MC) dec Trent Phillips (LT) 6-1

220 – Cole Fuller (WW) pinned Gabe Bogutskie (MC) 1:42

285 – Dawson Otis (Wy) dec Matt Bruno (PME) 5-2

Third Place

106 – Hester (Mon) maj dec Mrsich (WW) 9-0; 113 – Hernandez (PME) dec Beeman (Tun) 8-1; 120 – Russell (Hon) dec Clarke (Cou) 4-2; 126 – Giallorenzi (Sem) maj dec Sheppard (PMW) 12-4; 132 – Moss (Sem) maj dec Benjamin (PME) 3-2; 138 – Dobrzyn (WW) dec Bond (NEB) 4-2, OT; 145 – Stefanowicz (Sem) dec McCutcheon (Say) 5-0; 152 – Munn (Sem) dec Rakowski (Han) 9-5; 160 – Briggs (WA) dec Lewandowski (Mah) 3-2; 170 – Doggett (Sem) dec Fletcher (MC) 2-1; 182 – Balavage (SP) dec Kipp Wy) 8-4; 195 – Rice (Tun) dec Joseph (WA) 4-1; 220 – Bryington (Can) dec Bensley (PMW) 4-2; 285 – Sheridan (Han) dec Balavage (SP) 3-1, Ot

Fifth Place

106 – Devine (NEB) maj dec Kruczek (Sem) 9-1; 113 – Schum (Wy) pinned Putzi (Hon) 4:53; 120 – O’Brien (Mon) pinned Gutierrez (PMW) :49; 126 – Austin (BR) dec Hoherchak (WW) 4-1; 132 – Uhrin (VV) dec Josh Brown (Cou) 6-3; 138 – Davis (Han) dec Beyer (WA) 3-0; 145 – McIntosh (WW) pinned Fegley (Mah) 2:07; 152 – Clookey (WW) pinned McDonald (MC) 1:10; 160 – Stoner (PME) pinned Porter (Wy) 2:31; 170 – Hivner (AH) pinned Fegley (Mah) 1:44; 182 – Brisco (PMW) dec Hildebrand (AH) 3-0; 195 – Swoyer (WW) pinned Wilcox (Wy) 3:33; 220 – Hannon (Han) maj dec Stevens (tun) 14-5; 285 – Maryott (NEB) dec Pittsman (VV) 4-3, OT

Seventh Place

106 – Jones (Nan) dec Shaud (Cre) 2-0; 113 – Rey (Cou) dec Smith (MV) 5-4; 120 – Ganser (LT) dec Lewis (BR) 9-2; 126 – Barazza (Mah) default Rinehimer (Cre); 132 – Heck (WA) dec Baltrusaitis (LT) 2-1; 138 – Castano (Cou) dec Doss (Wy) 6-4; 145 – Stine (VV) dec Lukashewski (Cre) 4-3; 152 – Ingrassia (Say) dec Roe (BR) 10-5; 160 – Hand (EL) pinned Lenahan (Han) 1:26; 170 – Parola (SP) dec Hooper (Han) 3-2; 182 – Flaherty (Tun) pinned Swoyer (WW) :48; 195 – Wellard (AH) maj dec Williams (Hon) 11-2; 220 – Caravella (Mah) pinned Tunicliff (Wy); 285 – Shuder (MC) pinned Nuss (Cre) :20

Semifinals

106 – Breinhaupt (PME) dec Hester (Mon) 3-2; Gavek (Tun) dec Devine (NEB) 5-4; 113 – Sirianni (AH) pinned Putzi (Hon) 1:58; Bauer (Sem) dec Schum (Wy) 6-3; 120 – Bennett (Han) dec Russell (Hon) 12-5; Judge (VV) pinned Clarke (Cou) 5:15; 126 – Jake Brown (Cou) dec Sheppard (PMW) 4-0; Traver (Tun) tech fall Giallorenzi (Sem); 132 – J. Haley (Wy) dec Moss (Sem) 4-1; Quick (Tun) dec Josh Brown (Cou) 5-0; 138 – Richards (Tun) dec Dobrzyn (WW) 3-2; Meckes (VV) pinned Beyer (WA) 3:15; 145 – Edsell (Wy) tech fall McCutcheon (Say); Mike Brown (Cou) dec Stefanowicz (Sem) 3-2; 152 – Edsell (Wy) dec Munn (Sem) 1-0; B. Manley (Tun) dec Rakowski (Han) 5-4; 160 – M. Manley (Tun) dec Porter (Wy) 10-7; Carr (AH) maj dec Stoner (PME) 18-4; 170 – Ray (Tun) tech fall Fletcher (MC); Mapes (Wy) dec Fegley (Mah) 4-3; 182 – Dragos (Hon) dec I. Balavage (SP) 9-7; Buczynski (WA) dec Kipp (Wy) 8-3; 195 – Yancoskie (MC) dec Rice (Tun) 5-2; Phillips (LT) pinned Swoyer (WW) 3:13; 220 – Fuller (WW) pinned Hannon (Han) 5:34; Bogutskie (MC) pinned Pensley (PMW) 5:10; 285 – Bruno (PME) dec T. Balavage (SP) 3-2; Otis (Wy) pinned Sheridan (Han) 3:05

Tunkhannock’s Billy Manley tries to reverse Collin Edsell of Wyalusing in the 152-pound final. Edsell won on a 3-0 decision.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_wrestle-1.jpg.optimal.jpgTunkhannock’s Billy Manley tries to reverse Collin Edsell of Wyalusing in the 152-pound final. Edsell won on a 3-0 decision.

Tunkhannocks Mike Manley works a ride on Abingtons Nick Carr in the 160 lbs final Carr won in overtime 1-1—————Fred Adams|for Times Leader; 12=30-15
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_wrestle-2.jpg.optimal.jpgTunkhannocks Mike Manley works a ride on Abingtons Nick Carr in the 160 lbs final Carr won in overtime 1-1—————Fred Adams|for Times Leader; 12=30-15
Tunkhannock wins its wrestling tourney for first time in 31 years

By Dave Rosengrant

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Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant