SANBORN — Jaron Barrientos and Brayden Kellison now wear different school colors but the intensity was on full display again.
While with Newfane last year, Kellison defeated Barrientos, then with Starpoint, in a 7-1 decision during the 102-pound final of the 2022 Linda C. Knuutila Memorial tournament, one of three meetings all season. Two years ago, Barrientos also came up short against Kellison, placing fourth in the Division II state qualifier while with Lewiston-Porter.
Now a junior and back with the Lancers, Barrientos had the final say when the two squared off again. The top-seeded Barrientos defeated the freshman Kellison, now with Williamsville North/East, in a 5-1 decision at the Knuutila tournament Saturday at Niagara County Community College.
“I wanted to get that win back from last year at this tournament,” said Barrientos, who is also a two-time class champion at 102, first with Lew-Port in Class B as a freshman and then with Starpoint in Class A as a sophomore in February. “Obviously, it didn’t go so well last time but this time I got it done.”
After a scoreless first round, Barrientos had a match-changing second period, with a reversal and a near-fall for a 4-0 lead.
“(The turning point was) I got a little bit better on my feet and on top,” said Barrientos, who won by two decisions, a pin and a technical fall to reach the final.
Kellison entered the Knuutila tournament as the three-seed and advanced to face Barrientos in the championship following a win by technical fall, a pin and a decision.
Noting his time at Newfane showed him what he “was capable of,” Kellison said he “felt good” heading into the tournament and was excited to see how he would perform, which grew as he continued to advance.
“I just felt like my shots (were going right),” Kellison said. “Everything was going good. (I) got gassed (in) the last match. I wrestled a really good kid. Hopefully I do better next year.”
Moments after Jaron’s win, older brother and senior Caden won at 124 for the Lancers, with a 10-0 major decision over Eden’s Trevor DellaPenta. Caden entered the tournament as the second-seed and advanced to the final following a pin, two technical falls and two major decisions. Once he got the first takedown against DellaPenta, Caden said he leaned into his aggression the rest of the match.
“I don’t really like being seeded No. 2 under kids I know I’m better than,” Caden said after the win. “Just going out there and proving myself and that I work harder than everyone else.”
The trend of old faces in new faces across the greater Niagara region continued as former Starpoint wrestlers Gage and Griffin LaPlante and Zach Caldwell all reached the final of their weight classes for St. Francis.
Gage, who was also named the tournament’s most outstanding wrestler, edged Michael Schaefer 3-2 at 170, while Griffin defeated Ithaca’s Daniel Parker in a 14-3 major decision at 152. Caldwell, meanwhile, fell in a 3-0 decision to Southwestern’s Tavio Hoose.
Lockport girls view third-place finish as program’s first step
When Lockport first announced girls wrestling would be available as a sport, Bill Morello had a foundation in place. Five returned from one year ago, including Ava Bragg, who placed third at 145 and Khamya J’Maxwell, who placed fifth at 185 during the inaugural state invitational in January at the SRC Arena in Syracuse.
Heading into the Knuutila tournament, the Lions had added 13 new girls to the team and saw the early weeks of the season take a giant step. Led by a pair of victories from sophomore Bella Andes (152) and junior Jyla Johnson (235), Lockport finished with nine total placewinners and finished third overall in the girls bracket with 157 points, trailing only Niagara Wheatfield (181) and Chautauqua Lake (171).
J’Maxwell finished second to Sweet Home’s Yaletsy Tamayo at 185 while Kyleen Maxwell finished second to Johnson at 235 in an all-Lions affair. In 165, returnee Ava Bragg placed third.
“We’re super excited,” Morello said. “The school supports it fully. I mean, we had tons of congratulations from Thursday on going 3-0 with our first girls quad meet (at Lockport). It’s just an up and coming sport and we’re just super excited that we have an entire girls team.”
Now in her third season with the program, Andes had one of the highlight finishes as she pinned Chautauqua Lake’s Lillian Hyde with 15 seconds left to win at 152. Andes said she already enjoyed being part of the program but appreciates it even more being one of the veterans.
“(It’s) very big (having a team),” Andes said. “We’ve gotten a lot of support (from) a lot of people that have joined us (and) some that have tried and found out it’s not for them, but they still come and support us. But we’re all here together. And we all love being seen together.”
Wilson’s Merrick still climbing ahead despite finals loss
Hamza Merrick had momentum going into the new wrestling season, well before the start of the Knuutila tournament Friday.{p dir=”ltr”}Merrick was the Section VI C/D champion at 285, placed second at the state qualifier and then, alongside Jacob Stephenson and Victor Cusatis, became one of Wilson’s first three wrestlers to compete at states in program history. Then, at states, Merrick placed eighth in the weight class and kept going heading into his junior season.
After starting as the top seed, Merrick lost to Palmyra-Macedon’s Luke Herendeen in a 7-3 decision at 285 to conclude the tournament. The match was tied at 2-2 heading into the third period before Herendeen recorded a nearfall and a take-down as part of a 5-1 score to seal the win.
“It was a battle, that’s how I would describe it,” Merrick said. “I mean, I got to work on my offense and what I got to do outside of my throws but it is what it is.”
Merrick still had a solid performance to reach the final, recording two pins and a 7-1 decision win against Clarence’s Bryce Hawes in the quarterfinal. Despite the outcome, Merrick was satisfied with how his weekend in Sanborn went and looks forward to what’s ahead.
“I thought (the tournament) went pretty good,” Merrick said. “Obviously, I lost, but, I think the opportunity to come here and present like how I did, it was pretty awesome.”