The Bethlehem wrestling team turned in one of its best performances of the season at Saturday’s Schenectady Invitational.
Five wrestlers won their weight classes to help the Eagles finish second to Cobleskill-Richmondville in the team standings.
`We were surprised that we didn’t win. I heard we were down four points entering the finals, and we went five-for-five,` said Bethlehem coach Chris Braga. `But other than that, I was very pleased with our performance.`
Braga’s son Rowan got things going for Bethlehem in the finals with a 4-2 victory over Mohonasen’s Mahesh Bhoge in the 113-pound finals. Tristan Canova followed by pinning Niskayuna’s Eoghan Sweeney with 24 seconds left in the first period to claim the 126-pound title. Gabe Naviasky defeated Greenville’s Isaiah Papol 8-3 for the 132-pound championship.
Bethlehem’s last two champions came in the heavyweight divisions. Chris Tangora edged Niskayuna’s Khaled Abdoun 3-1 in the 220-pound final, and Jake Groesbeck pinned Cobleskill’s Zach McFarlandwith 23 seconds left in the 285-pound title bout.
`I was thinking we would get three (individual champions) and possibly five,` said Braga. `Then as the tournament went along, we thought we could win the whole thing. We came up just short of that.`
Bethlehem will test itself at next weekend’s Shenendehowa Invitational, which features several of the state’s top teams.