Tompkins County was well-represented in Albany from February 26-28 at the state wrestling championships. Six local wrestlers competed on the mat for the ultimate prize, two of whom came incredibly close to winning a state title.
Bishop brings home silver
Groton’s Carmen Bishop burst onto the scene as only a seventh grader by winning a Section IV title in the 114 weight class. She one-upped herself in eighth grade with another sectional crown and a third-place finish in the 126 weight class at the inaugural girls wrestling state championships. Bishop made even more history this season, becoming the first wrestler (boy or girl) in school history to reach a state championship match.
Entering the tournament as the second seed in the 132 weight class bracket, Bishop expectedly took down her first two opponents via technical falls. It was a much tougher battle in the semifinals against New Paltz’s Rebecca Brennan, but she powered through to win the match 11-9. That set up the title decider against the top-seed Haley Gonzales from Hicksville, where she fell to the senior via tech fall. That brought an end to a sensational freshman campaign for one of the brightest young talents in Section IV girls wrestling.
“We kind of fed into Haley’s offense, and we just came up on the short end of that,” said head coach Jayme Evans. “ I think that with Carmen being a freshman, I’m pretty sure that we can fix all the things that we’ve seen there and correct them for next year.”
What makes Bishop’s accomplishments this year even more remarkable is that she wrestled most of the season with a broken thumb back in early December. That didn’t stop her from posting a dominant 40-6 record, another sectional title in hand and a stellar showing at states.
Bishop wasn’t the only Red Hawk wrestler to take part at states. Mya Locke competed in the 126 weight class as the ninth seed. While she was pinned in both of her matches, the junior competed hard in a tough bracket. Locke ends her first season with the Red Hawks with a 38-11 record. She transferred from Homer after wrestling for two years with the Trojans, and the transition to a new school and section was smooth overall.
“I’m really, really proud of her for adapting the way she did,” Evans said. “This was not something that you really want to do in your junior year, move to another school district and start to learn the sport you love all over again with a whole new staff and a whole new wrestling crew.”
To make Bishop and Locke’s seasons even more special, they both reached 100 career victories on the same exact day (February 4) and on their home mat during a quad meet against Baldwinsville, Dundee and Horseheads.
The other county girls wrestler that competed at states was also in the 126 weight class bracket. Ithaca’s Rayna Coller was seeded 11th and went 1-2 at states. The junior was pinned in her first match but recorded a pin of her own against Irondequoit’s Amelia McAuley before getting pinned again in the second consolation round. Coller, now 29-6 on the season, became the first girls wrestler in program history to win a sectional title and qualify for states.
Clark comes runner-up
Like Bishop, Lansing’s Owen Clark had to overcome some adversity for his second-place finish at states. After missing some time in January due to an injury, Clark returned to the mat for sectionals, where he was runner-up to Norwich’s Maverick Beckwith. That finish was enough to qualify for states for the fourth straight year, entering the Division II 150 weight class bracket as the two-seed. Clark breezed through his first two opponents with a pair of pins under 50 seconds. He then won his semifinal match with a 9-0 major decision to set up a rematch against Beckwith for the state championship. Clark would fall 11-0 as Beckwith captured his third state title.
The University of North Carolina commit has plenty to be proud of, wrapping up the season with a 22-2 record and his best performance at states. It was the first time since 2015 that a Lansing wrestler competed in a state championship match.
Clark was joined by teammate Evan Sheils at states. The junior was seeded fourth in the Division II 144 weight class, where he powered his way to a fifth-place finish and a 3-2 record. That brings his season mark to 32-5, including IAC and sectional titles.
Rounding out the local wrestlers at states is Ithaca’s Quentin Getzin. The senior saved his best performance of his four trips to states for last, finishing in fourth place in the Division I 175 weight class and winning three of his five matches. Getzin ends his illustrious career with the Little Red with a 138-42 overall record, two STAC titles, and two Section IV titles.
