Warriors’ Gray wins fourth Section 3 wrestling title

SYRACUSE — Indian River junior Derrick Gray won his fourth Section 3 wrestling championship Saturday night at Onondaga Community College, and the Warriors won the Division I team title for the first time in school history.

Gray, wrestling at 120 pounds, earned the most outstanding wrestler award in Division I. Seniors Garrick Cook (182) and Derrek Dalton (220) also won their respective divisions for the Warriors.

Indian River tallied 167.5 team points, finishing ahead of Fulton with 152 and Baldwinsville with 143.

“I’ve been in the business for 15 years and this has been one of our long-term goals all along,” Indian River coach Jamee Call said. “The kids wrestled tough. You know it’s a good day when you can beat Fulton.”

In Division II, Derek Pfluger (152) of Sandy Creek remained unbeaten en route to his fifth sectional championship. Teammate Jared Soule, who entered as the fourth seed, won at 160. Soule beat General Brown’s Tyler Silverthorn in the semifinals, avenging an early-season loss.

“These are two seniors who worked hard over the course of their careers,” Sandy Creek coach Bill Benedict said. “They deserve all these accomplishments.”

General Brown senior Nathan Silverthorn improved to 46-0 with a win over Pheoinx’s Tyler Button in the Division II 145 championship. Button, the top seed, beat Silverthorn in last year’s sectional and state tournaments.

Ryan Snow won at 106 for the Lions, who finished third in the Division II team standings behind Canastota and Phoenix.

IHC’s Bill Koelmel beat Cody Houppert of Beaver River in the Division II 182 final, and Shayne Brady from Carthage won the Division I 170 title with a 7-0 decision over Indian River’s Matt Simpson.

Brandon Fayle of Lowville won the 285 championship in Division II, his second sectional title.

Each of the individual champions earned automatic bids to the state tournament on Feb. 24-25 at the Times Union Center in Albany. Wild card entrants will be determined on Tuesday.