February 3, 2011

Wrestlers capture Coach Ken Baker

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T he Golden Horde gained momentum for the Class C Tournament on Feb. 5 with a dominating performance at the Coach Ken Baker Classic, formerly the Wasaren League Tournament, last Saturday.

With four of five wrestlers reaching the finals and ending the night as champions, the Horde cruised to the team title by 24.5 points over the second place team, Hoosick Falls, 157.5-133.

Brendan Miller (125), Karl Palmer (140), Kurt Ehntholt (145), Eric Hastings (285) and Steven Cohen (103) reached the finals for Granville, representing one third of the weight classes.

Palmer earned his third title at the Wasaren and was named lightweight Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament for the second time, pinning Brian Walsh of Maple Hill at 5:22. Joining Palmer as an MOW, for heavyweights, Hastings took the championship in a 1-0 decision over Hadley-Luzerne/ Lake George’s Jack Clark. Hastings, with an :08 pin, and also edged Palmer for the tournament’s fastest pin award by a single second. Hastings earned the fastest pin on his first match of the day.

“That’s my favorite (award) because we’re a pinning team and today it was kind of a competition,” head coach Steve Palmer said.

Ehntholt took a 6-2 decision over Salem’s Robert Tobin. Cohen finished second, falling by decision to Hoosick Falls’ Tyler Peabody.

Christian Carr (152), Justin Duel (119) and Greg Gould (171) earned points in wrestle-backs, taking a third place and two fourth places. The fourth place finish was the first place-finish for Gould, a senior.

First-year wrestler Carr earned the “Coach Tom Baker Never Give Up Award” for his performance in the tournament. Seeded sixth, Carr pinned the third seed before losing in the semi-finals. Carr won his consolation semi-final match, pinning the fourth-seeded wrestler in his bracket to take third place. The award goes to the wrestler in the tournament who overcomes the most adversity en route to a place finish.

Palmer said he couldn’t be happier with the results from the day as the whole team seemed to be achieving at some kind of mark and peaking at the right time.

“It went outstanding for us tonight,” Palmer said.

“We had some guys come through big time. Give credit to Christian Carr; he wasn’t expected to place but came back and finished very strong for us, including pins – that’s all good points when he does that,” Palmer said. “It’s kind of like a hat trick, winning and getting all of these awards at our place is just a really great feeling.”

“I think we have a good feeling into that tough competition at Corinth,” Palmer said.

Palmer also said the scheduled non-league match with Corinth, which hosted and won its own tournament Saturday, cannot be made up due to scheduling conflicts and lack of time before the beginning of post-season tournaments.

Team scores:

1 Granville 157.5

2 Hoosick Falls 133

3 Berne-Knox-Westerlo 93

4 Schuylerville 89

5 Salem 87

6 Maple Hill 86.5

7 Tamarac 73.5

8 Hadley-Luzerne/Lake George 70

9 Cambridge 63

10 Icabod Crane 58

11 Mechanicville 42

12 LaSalle 4

Championship Results

96 - Merecki (Sal) dec. Weirebach (HF), 2-1 (OT).

103 - T. Peabody (HF) dec. Cohan (Gran), 15-9.

112 - Ryan (T) dec. Jardine (HL/LG), 6-4.

119 - Anderson (Sch) dec. Radley (MH), 11-1.

125 - B. Miller (Gran) pinned Olsen (IC), 3:01.

130 - Seipp (IC) dec. Matatt (HF), 4-3.

135 - J. Peabody (Cam) dec. Struck (BK), 8-0.

140 - K. Palmer (Gran) pinned Walsh (MH), 5:22.

145 - Ehntholt (Gran) dec. Tobin (Sal), 6-2.

152 - Casullo (BK) dec. Pine (Cam), 8-5.

160 - Burns (HF) dec. Hulsebosch (T), 8-4.

171 - Thompson (Sch) dec. Groat (IC), 10-0.

189 - Yard (HL/LG) dec. Bazan (MH), 8-6.

215 - Stevens (Cam) pinned Wagner (MH), 4:19.

285 - Hastings (Gran) dec. Clark (HL/LG), 1-0.

Consolation Results

96 - Luna (Sch) dec. Burt (T), 2-0.

103 - Giroux (Sch) pinned Keys (Sal), 3:44.

112 - Garmely (Mech) pinned Diehl (Sch), 2:00.

119 – Cramer (HF) dec. Duel (Gran), 4-1.

125 - Randall (HF) dec. Baker (Mech), 6-0.

130 - Rhodes (T) dec. Whitbeck (BK), 8-7.

135 - Sherman (HF) dec. H. Miller (Gran), 8-1.

140 - Pasquini (BK) pinned Humphrey (Sal), 2:02.

145 - McGuire (HF) dec. Davis (MH), 7-2.

152 - Carr (Gran) pinned Axtmann (MH), 4:04.

160 - Coreno (Mech) dec. Gould (Gran), 10-3.

171 - Bachem (HL/LG) dec. Wilson (Sal), 5-0.

189 - Morris (Sal) dec. Procter (Sch), 5-3.

215 - Sprung (BK) dec. Flanagan (Sal), 1-0.

285 - Montesano (BK) dec. D’Urso (T), 6-0.

: Brendan Miller (125) pinned Ichabod Crane’s Dustin Olsen for the Coach Ken Baker Tournament title, reaching 99 wins in the process. Miller went on to reach the 100-win milestone as Granville picked up a match with Mechanicville on Jan. 31. Miller and teammates Eric Hastings, Kurt Ehntholt and Karl Palmer expect to be high seeds at the Class C Tournament Feb. 5 at Corinth.

: Karl Palmer (140) collects another tournament title, defeating Maple Hills’ Brian Walsh by fall. Palmer wrestled up in weight class as high as 160 pounds the season he claimed the school’s “most wins” lead and has defeated both 160-pound finalists Hoosick Falls’ Brad Burns, 6-5, and Tamarac’s Joe Hulsebosch, 9-2. Palmer seeks a return trip to the state tournament.

: Kurt Ehntholt (145) works for control of Salem’s Robert Tobin on his way to the win and the Coach Ken Baker Tournament title. Ehntholt should reach the 100-win plateau in Corinth Feb. 5 at the Class C Tournament with a place finish.

: Steven Cohen nearly pulls off the upset as he gets Peabody of Hoosick Falls to his back late in thier match. Cohen placed second losing a decision.