Niagara Wheatfield Wrestling Falcons
Div I Team of the
Past Two Decades
Niagara Wheatfield Wrestling
A Tradition Of Wrestling Excellence
Falcons Finish 9th at Webster Tournament
The NW Falcons, competing with three weight classes not filled, finished in 9th place at the Annual Matthew Marino Invitational Tournament at Webster High School in Rochester. Taking third place finishes for NW were Derrick Printup at 138 and Jake Kelly at 195. Taking 4th place for NW was Marcus Popp at 126 and Max Antone at 220. Rick Schweickhard took 5th place at 132 lbs. For complete results and brackets go
Niagara Falls Edges Falcons 42-36
The Niagara Wheatfield Falcons picked up 5 pins and a forfeit against the rival Niagara Falls Wolverines, but dropped a 42-36 decision. The Falcons were down after four matches 19-0, but came back to take a 24-19 advantage on pins by Venturin, Popp, Schweickhard and Printup. NW fell behind again 39-24 before Antone picked up a forfeit at 220 and Kelly pinned at 285 to close the gap to 39-36, but McCoy won the final match for Niagara Falls and the victory.
The Falcons are in action again this Saturday at the Cheektowaga Dual Team Tournament.
NW Finishes 5th at Cheektowaga Duals
The NW Falcons took 5th place at the Cheektowaga Dual tournament going 4-1 on the day. NW finished in a three way tie for first place in poll "B"after four matches, defeating Will South 49-27, West Seneca East 48-34 and Lackawanna 48-20. Pal-Mac edged NW 41-36. The tie breaker was total matches won which went to Will South with 36. NW and Pal Mac both won 35 matches and the next tie breaker was head to head which was won by Pal Mac. NW then defeated North Tonawanda 48-30 for 5th place. Will South wrestled Webster Thomas in the tournament finals and Pal Mac defeated Cheektowaga for 3rd place.
NW Edges GI on Venturin's Late Takedown 36-31
Alec Venturin won the final match of the night at 145 lbs by a score of 8-6 on a late takedown to give the Falcons a hard fought 36-31 victory over Grand Island. The Vikings were coming off a win last week against Lew-Port and were looking for another upset in the NW gym, but the Falcons hung tough.
Pins by Plotz at 106 lbs, Popp at 132 lbs, Kelly 195 lbs and Antone at 220 were key in the win along with a decision by Brusino at 125 lbs and the win by Venturin at 145.
The Falcons are now 5-2 in dual meets and head down to the very competitive STOWA tournament this weekend in Jamestown.
Venturin works for back points in the key final match of the night at 145 lbs
Plotz picks up the pin at 106 lbs
Antone with the pin at 220 lbs
Antone Wins STOWA 220 lb. Championship
Max Antone won the 220 lb STOWA Championship in Jamestown Saturday night with a :50 second pin in the finals. Jake Kelly took 2nd place, dropping a 6-2 decision to Nickerson of Maple Grove in the final match. The NW Falcons finished in 7th place with Deion Harris taking 5th at 99 lbs and Marcus Popp taking 6th at 126 lbs and Derrick Printup taking 8th at 138 lbs.
Falcons Falcons Finish 4th at Fulton Tourney
Rick Schweickhard Wins 134 lb Championship
The NW Falcons finished fourth at the Kenneth Haines Memorial Tournament held at Oswego College and sponsored by Fulton High School. Rick Schweickhard had an outstanding tournament winning the 134 lb. championship. Taking second for NW were Marcus Popp (128 lbs), Jake Kelly (197 lbs) and Max Antone (222 lbs). Other place finishers were Shane Helbit 4th (108 lbs), Vinnie Falvo 7th (101 lbs), Austin Johnson 8th (287 lbs), Dion Harris 9th (101 lbs) and Alec Venturin 9th (134 lbs).
NW Stuns Lew-Port 46-24
The NW Falcons stunned the Lew-Port Lancers 46-24 in the Wheatfield gym. Lew-Port owns a victory over the Niagara Falls Power Cats this season, but NW started out taking a 15-0 lead after victories by Antone (285 lbs), Harris (99 lbs) and Plotz at 106 lbs. After three Wheatfield grapplers refused to allow their LP opponents to pin them Marcus Popp picked up a win at 132 lbs and that was followed by a dramatic 3rd period pin by Alec Venturin at 138 lbs and Derrick Printup at 152 lbs.
In all NW had pins by Antone, Plotz, Venturin, Printup and nine victories including two forfeits. NW is next in action Fri & Sat at the NFWOA tourney at NCCC.
Kelly & Antone Win NFWOA Titles
Jake Kelly and Max Antone won individual titles at the annual Niagara Frontier Wrestling Officials Tournament held at NCCC. Kelly won the 195 lb. class with a 2nd period pin in the finals over Dusty Lewis of Salamanca and Antone held on for a 1-0 victory over Holley's Michale Silvis at the 220 lb. class. NW finished 8th in 31 team field. The Falcons are back in action Wednesday, January 11th at Lockport.
NW Drops 45-29 Decision To Lockport
The Falcons lost a key road match to the Lockport Lions Wednesday night 45-29. Winning matches for NW was Popp at 132 lbs, Kelly at 195, Ferguson with a pin at 220 lbs. and Harris with a win at 99 lbs. NW also picked up two forfeits at 145 and 285. The Falcons are now 3-2 in NFL league competition.
Falcons Crush NT 76-9
The NW Falcons enjoyed "Senior Night" crushing neighbor North Tonawanda 76-9.
Picking up pins for NW were Venturin at 145 lbs, Kelly at 195 lbs, Antone at 220 lbs and Robert Yates scored a major decision at 119 lbs. The remainder of NW's points came from forfeits from the under-manned Lumberjack squad. The Falcons are next in action next week on the road against the NFL's #1 team Kenmore West.
NW Drops 46-24 Decision to KW
The Falcons finished their league competition Wednesday night losing a hard fought 46-24 contest to the 1st place Ken-West Blue Devils. The final score did not represent how hard NW battled West, winning 5 matches and losing 3 by a single point. Winning for NW was Helbig at 108 lbs, Venturin by pin at 132 lbs, Schweickhard at 138 lbs, Kelly by pin at 195 lbs and Antone by pin at 220 lbs. NW is in action this weekend at Salamanca.
Falcons Take 4th at Salamanca Tourney
Marcus Popp and Max Antone each won individual Championships as NW took 4th place at the Salamanca tourney. Popp took 1st place at the 126 lb. class while Max Antone upset Mark Mantara, a nationally ranked wrestler from Pennsylvania to claim the 220 lb. title. Taking 3rd for NW was Helbig at 106 lbs, Schweickhard at 132 lbs and Kelly at 195 lbs. Harris took 4th place at 99 lbs and Johnson placed 5th at 285 lbs. The Falcons are next in action at the 4A tourney in Jamestown.
Falcons Take 6th at AA's
Kelly & Antone Take 1st
The NW Falcons took 6th place at the AA Class tournament with Jake Kelly taking first place at 195 lbs and Max Antone claiming the 220 lbs title. Derrick Printup finished 2nd at 145 lbs, Marcus Popp took 3rd at 126 lbs and Rick Schweickhard took 3rd at 132 lbs. Dan Cicco finished 4th at 170 lbs, Alec Venturin took 6th at 132 lbs and Brandon Brusino took 6th at 138 lbs. The top five place finishers advance to the Div I State Qualifyer next Saturday at lake Shore High School.
Kelly & Antone Win Section Six Championships
Jake Kelly and Max Antone are returning to the New York State Championships as both repeated as Section Six Champions Saturday at the Div I Section 6 Championships held at Lake Shore. Kelly won a narrow 1-0 decision in the 195 lbs finals while Max Antone won by a 2nd period pin. Marcus Popp took 3rd place at 126 lbs, Rick Schweickhard 4th at 132 lbs and Derrick Printup took 6th at 145 lbs. The State Tournament is Feb 24 & 25th in Albany NY.
Coverage Of Jake Kelly & Max Antone At The States
Here Feb 24th & 25th
Special NYSPHSAA Coverage
Max Antone Drops 10-8 Finals Match
Jake Kelly Takes 3rd Place Div I
Senior Max Antone battled Josh Lackey of Fairport for six minutes before losing a tight 10-8 decision in the New York State Finals. Antone led 6-5 going into the 3rd period after rallying from a 5-2 deficit. In the 3rd Max chose neutral and gave up a takedown and 3 nearfall points. Max escaped and received a point for Lackey stalling, but could not get a final takedown for the tie.
Antone had pinned Derrek Dalton of Indian Rivers in the 2nd period of the semi-finals, Tyler Lilly of New Rochelle in the quarters and Anthony Osman of Vestal in 4:50 in the first round.
Jake Kelly defeated Jesse Kozub of Brockport 3-2 to claim 3rd place in Div I at 195 lbs. Kelly won his semi-final wrestle-back match defeating Zac Conner of Islip 4-0 . In his morning match Kelly pinned Deon Edmond of Kingston and yesterday Kelly pinned Nasoni of Baldwinsville in 4:35. Kelly's only loss was a 7-3 defeat to the #2 seeded Reggie Williams of Johnson City.
